Paraffle

Paraffle was founded by Sammy Bishop in 2016 while she was studying for a PhD in Edinburgh. Looking for a creative outlet - and a way to give meaningful gifts that would suit her student budget - Sammy taught herself how to embroider in her spare time.

Although she picked up embroidery in her twenties, Sammy was taught to sew by her mum when she was young - and even told her parents that she was going to start a business called 'Sammy's Sewing' when she was 7 years old! At school, she followed this interest by studying a Textiles GCSE and getting one of the top 5 grades in the country - despite an awful report card!

After moving to Edinburgh to study - and struggling with the pressure of a PhD - Sammy found comfort in the calming benefits of stitching: it gave her some much-needed space to relax and take time away from everyday life.

She began designing her own embroidery patterns, playing around with colours and patterns. Shortly afterwards, Sammy decided that a career in academia was not the place for her - and instead threw her energy behind creating and growing an embroidery business.

Scouting around to name her new venture, Sammy came across 'paraffle': an old Scots word meaning 1) 'embroidery'; and 2) 'an ostentatious display' - and the name stuck.

Sammy completed her PhD in early 2020 - just in time to respond to the 'craft boom' created by the lockdown of March that year. She moved Paraffle into a studio in Edinburgh, and brought her partner Ali on board to help her grow Paraffle even further. Sammy continues to be inspired by the natural world, flowing patterns, and bright colour combinations.

Sammy loves running workshops - one of her joys in life is seeing people learn and grow and know she's played a part in that, however small.