Warrillow Studio

My name is Rachel, and I am a craft addict! As a shy child, with ASD, (unknown at the time,) it was a way to express myself, an escape from the real world and a comfort to find myself in a place where everything made sense.

As an adult, a number of years ago, during some really hard times in my personal life, getting involved in craft activities gave me some time to take my mind away from everything else that was going on. It was a time out, an unofficial therapy with something tangible at the end, and gave me space to build up my strength to carry on.

Being part of a crafty, creative community can be something special. We’re generally a really great group of people! Generous of spirit, eager to share skills and knowledge, I knew I had found my people.

One particular workshop that I attended really lit a spark inside of me. It was a day learning how to create fascinators, using a material called sinamay. Something about this material really caught my imagination; I went home to order supplies straight away and became immersed in the world of millinery.

When I started to run workshops for millinery skills, I knew I was onto something special. Every workshop was well-received and the feedback was heart-warming and wonderful to hear. Now I take that further by sharing my craft skills with more people to show them the joys of the handmade world.