An interview with Top Drawer Diva

Every once in a while you meet someone who is so inspiring, you want everyone to know about them. And one such woman I’ve come across recently is Vicki Williams, known in the Twittersphere as Top Drawer Diva. Not that she’s in any way a diva! It’s more that divas themselves, (the J-Los and Mariah’s of the world), want a bit of what she’s got; gorgeous undies that get her noticed.

Indeed it’s not everyday you come across a professional underwear designer (there’s no shortage of ‘fashion designers’ but specialising in under garments just sounds so much more interesting.) I ‘met’ Vicki through Twitter and have been following her progress from appearing in her local paper, to running private workshops and parties. Like me, she is someone who ‘likes making stuff’, so I thought it would be nice to do a special blog interview with her (something I’ve not done before, but I’ve decided is going to be the first in a new series!) And so…introducing Vicki:

Inspiring Vicki

Underwear…some people can’t even say the word and keep a straight face!

Saying ‘bras’ and ‘knickers’ is second nature to me. It’s what I know about about! During a post school fashion foundation, I really got into the corsetry side so I went on to study for a degree in Contour Fashion at Leicester De Montfort University. It was the only ‘underwear degree’ in Europe. I studied swimwear and all aspects of lingerie including learning about different types of lace. Underwear construction is highly skillful, especially when you’re sewing the tiny pieces of a bra; nimble fingers are a must! After that, I landed several designer jobs creating undies for a range of high street stores from Top Shop and Miss Selfridge to Next. Just as the rest of the fashion world is fast paced, trends in underwear design have to keep up too.

Could a parent have a more embarrassing job?

My kids are always getting embarrassed, they say all I talk about is knickers! It’s even a talking point at school and when their teachers tell them they should be proud of me, they walk off!

Girlie glamour

Pants parties: why did you start running them?

My husband landed a job in Australia so I left the designing for a bit to concentrate on bringing up our two children, but while I was there, I got bitten by the making bug. The handmade culture in Australia is huge and it inspired me to take the buzz back to the UK. I just though ‘I can do this’, so I set up a part-time business running ‘pant parties’ where women can get together and customise their own knickers; it’s the ultimate girls night out and lots and lots of fun.

Sounds just like my kind of thing!

It’s proving a popular activity for hen dos and birthdays and it’s very good value. Sessions costs £20 per person with all materials, equipment and tuition included. Plus, you get to keep your new panties!

Bedroom bunting

Life isn’t just about lingerie though; what else does Top Drawer Diva get up to?

I also sell my own work, you can buy directly from my Folksy store or from stalls I often hold at local events. I make a range of sewn items like aprons, lavender bags and cards but my Top Drawer Diva signature product is Boudoir Bunting. This is not your usual gingham and floral tea party decoration, but sensual, seductive bow edged bunting that was made to be hung in your bedroom.

I can testify to just how extravagant it is as Vicki sent me a sample (above) and it’s absolutely gorgeous. She’s an exceptional seamstress, the construction is perfect and the style delicate and decadent. Mine is hung where it belongs, just beside my bed!

Sugar & spice...

...and all things nice!

Where and how can we find you?

I’m based in Cleethorpes, in the North East of England and workshops are held throughout Yorkshire and the North West including Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and as far south as Nottingham. Most private parties are held inside the hostesses’ home and I bring everything with me, but some people prefer to hire spaces like local halls or rooms. The best way to contact me for a booking is via Twitter or email; the website is on its way.

It’s a new business, but the scope is huge…

I’ve only been up and running since May and bookings have been increasing thanks to word of mouth and support from the local press. Right now I spend about three days a week on the business while the kids are at school and I have a friend that helps me. Looking forward I’m really keen to get myself a proper studio, where I could design and host parties and possibly even turn it into a craft café. (Fingers crossed she does!)

To find out more about Vicki and to book one of her Pants Parties, e-mail topdrawerdiva@hotmail.co.uk www.twitter.com/TopDrawerDiva

If you would like to be interviewed on this blog, email me with some details about you and your creative, crafty life. contact@momtazbh.co.uk

Some thoughts: Liberty Book of Home Sewing

If I don't sew at least once a week I get sad. It's a bit like going to the gym. I hate the thought of getting ready and dragging myself down there but as soon as I'm working out I love it. With sewing I hate the pressures of keeping my sewing table clear and tidy and the fact the needle probably needs replacing or the tension is wrong yet once I've sat down, foot on the peddle, all my worries and stresses diminish. I'm no sewing domestic goddess though....I can sew and I know how to set up a machine and teach others how to use it but my skills are by no means advanced. My work is a bit wonky, the odd missed stitch, the wrong tension, seams that haven't been totally flattened by the iron.... but I'm happy if it joins, it doesn't need to be perfect. I prefer to be known as a Subversive Seamstress (I screen printed these patches to remind me that being a sewer doesn't mean you have to follow all the rules.)

I'm a crafter with a dedicated home studio but it's not one of those ones that could be photographed for a magazine. I don't have piles of neatly folded printed cottons in glass cabinets instead I have masses and masses of piled up fabric scraps, in all corners of the room - this one by the door, starts on the floor and each day looks more and more like a rubbish tip. But when you're so active your craft room really can't look pristine and tidy...

Then there's my stash of sewing porn. I hoard craft books to look at the pictures and get inspiration. I own hundreds of them (this is a sample of sewing ones). It's totally fantastical oogling, ooing and aahhing over beautiful things I would love to own but realistically will never have time to make. Of all craft books, sewing are among the most complicated because as much as I'm not one to follow rules if you're sewing something and the size goes wrong you've got a potential craft disaster on your hands (and believe me I've had plenty of those.) Finding a good sewing book is hard though. Some look stunning but are too complex, some look easy but the layout is unappealing and some are full of yummy gorgeous fabrics that you just know you'll never source. The newest and most anticipated sewing book of the year that is published next month is The Liberty Book of Home Sewing. Unbelievably (what took them so long????!!!!) It's the first ever sewing book from Liberty despite the fact Liberty Print fabric is legendary in fashion and textile circles.

 

The book has received lots of praise in the blogosphere, some which sound like they could be describing any craft book listing contents and projects. So there's no point in me adding to the list with an equally glowing/informative review. The reason anyone keeps a blog is to have an independent outlet to express their opinions. And one thing that is integral to my blog is being honest so even when I get sent freebies (like a review copy of this book) it's important I stay true to my principles. And the truth is this book is not what I expected.

I don't own any Liberty Print fabric (possibly because of the price tag) but my sister who is a huge fan used her stash to make me a business card holder for my birthday. Today she tweeted about how much she loves their new Hello Kitty range....yes even I was surprised they are selling that! Liberty Print is very traditional and in keeping with these values, the books feel equally traditional but in some respects a little too old fashioned for the current craft book climate. But before I go into that, here's the features I like about the book:

The fabric cover is stunning. The book is about using Liberty Print fabric so to be able to own a sample is very satisfying. It's a craft book first (I think!) to have a fabric cover and I'm sure it's going to start a trend.

The most fascinating section in the book is at the back where it lists different Liberty prints giving details of their history. I feel like it would have been a much stronger book if the focus was more about the fabric and 'how to sew' which to me is what the title suggests. But it actually has very little on 'sewing' and launches straight into projects and this is where I'm slightly disappointed. There are hundreds of sewing books on the market so it's going to be hard to maintain originality but I felt overall that the choice of projects in the book are stale......they are all things that I've seen before - cushion cover, blind, curtain, doorstop, noticeboard and even a corsage.......corsage???? They were popular a decade ago.

The books switches from 'simple' like the corsage, to the ridiculously hard. Quilting has its place in home sewing but it's a specialist craft in itself and it felt like it was just brushed over by sticking a quilt in the book.....which quite frankly is far too complicated to be dedicated just six pages.

Instructions for making projects are clear but they are illustrations. There's nothing wrong with this, but sewing is difficult and step-by-step photos on this occasion would have been stronger.

There's a small section on sewing techniques but it's soooooooo bland! Grey illustrations? Who decided on that? The part of the book that frustrates me the most however is that you're expected to make your own patterns. It wouldn't have been hard to enclose an envelope at the back which contained patterns you could cut up and start using straight away .....honestly? Does any crafter actually have the time to sit and make a pattern and then craft?

This is where I struggle with the book. It's like picking up an old vintage craft book (with its choice of fabric, projects and instructions) but at the same time it's trying to be modern. It will sell and be popular because of the Liberty brand but if it was just another sewing book with the projects it contains, it would be a flop. What would have been so much better is if there had been more original ideas, like this peacock pin cushion.

It's my favourite project in the book because it uses their iconic peacock print in a novel way. More unique ideas like this would have made it a much more original and memorable book to suit it's lovely cover. 

Before I wrote this post I toyed with whether or not I really should say what I think. Maybe because I haven't been full of praise I won't be sent any more books to review and maybe I'll upset the author (I'd be upset if I read a review on a book I'd written that said it was unoriginal and boring) but I can't stand on the fence either and say 'yeah it's great go and buy it'. Some people love Liberty Fabric and will adore the book because of that, others may want a traditional sewing book (todays craft books are possibly too 'modern' for some tastes). My advice is have a look at it. You may find something in it that appeals to you. As for my copy,  it won't be one of those craft books I keep coming back to but luckily I know someone will would appreciate it and their birthday is coming up!

The Liberty Book of Home Sewing is published October 5th 2011 by Quadrille. There is a sewing class in store demonstrating projects from the book on September 25th. 

Liberty is a luxury London department store that opened in 1875 and fabric has always been one of it's key products.

Summer crafting highlights

Over the summer months I've been busy spreading the crafty gospel by running an assortment of crafts classes across London for children, young people and adults.


My favourite was the 'boho chic jewellery' course I ran back in July as part of the Greenwich Summer Uni programme which gives young people under 25 the chance to learn new skills for free through a variety of courses.


What I liked about the course is how my students were really inspired by my own work and used my love for bright colours and bling to create their own unique jewellery collections.


The student above became fascinated with acrylic stones and used them to make some amazingly sparkly items! 

Another one of my students who was just 15 created had a natural talent for design and composition and made this beautiful necklace, which I think is so much nicer than a lot of the hand made pieces you get in gallery gift shops.

On closer inspection you can see how she embroidered into each bead to add detail.

This student kept it more simple by adding anything and everything on to ring and earring findings.

On the 'Bollywood Crafts' course my students had the chance to make some of the projects that feature in my book including these gorgeous decorative bowls, handbags, books and photo frames.

One of the fun parts of running the courses was souring the materials. I picked up these rolls of sequin trims for just £1.50 each from Creative Beadcraft - superb value - you get 100m on a roll and if you buy 1m from a haberdashery they normally cost 40p per metre. 

I also ran a textile project over six weeks with mothers from a local school in East London in conjunction with The Women's Library. The project entitled 'My City' was an exploration of each woman's relationship with her local area. 

The best thing about teaching crafts is seeing students produce work they are really proud and getting inspired by their ideas myself! It's been a fantastic summer of crafting but I'm now going to wind down on the teaching front until next year.....come the Autumn, I have some other exciting projects to plan - crafts for my wedding!  

Easy peasy fabric printing

Why can't adults have 1/2 term, holidays? It makes so much sense to stop working every few weeks and rejuvenate. Last week was 1/2 term for many of the UK's school children. I remember my 1/2 term hols very clearly I would be bored for 4 days and then on the 5th day I would think of a huge to do list, most of it crafty and be sad I'd left it so late.

Here's a super easy project I tried out last week at a children's half term workshop, perfect for doing at home on a rainy day (and oh my, how it is raining at the minute!):

You will need:

• Cotton fabric (in this case an apron)
• Funky foam/neoprene
• Card (from a cereal box)
• PVA
• Paper
• Fabric paints

To make:

1. Create a template of the shape you want to print and cut it out of paper.

2. Draw around the paper shape on neoprene, cut out and glue to card.

3. Lay newspaper under your cotton to protect surface. Apply paint all over the neoprene shape careful not to get any on the card. Cover the whole foam otherwise you may get gaps.

4. Press it into position on the fabric, lift up and reveal your first print. Carry on printing until your composition is finished. You will need to apply fresh paint to the foam for each print you do.

5, Follow the instructions on the paint, when dry you normally iron the motifs to fix them so your fabric can be washed.

What a super easy method! Cheap, quick and easy...give it a go! Remember you can mix colours, print on top of shapes and go all out as wild as you wish!

"Mastercrafts The Book"

The postman woke me up in the early hours with two very exciting pieces of post, the book 'Mastercrafts' to accompany the new BBC Series that I am soon to be on and a picture drawn by my 4 year old niece depicting all my favourite things (Note the cupcakes and pretty dress!)

Published by the brilliant David & Charles (brilliant because they publish lots of wonderful

crafty titles) the book is celebration of the six crafts that feature in the series - stonework, thatching, woodwork, glass, metalwork and weaving. A beautiful 256 page hard back book, its a bit like an encyclopedia of the crafts in question.

The book is written by Tom Quinn, a writer and historian who knows a lot about the countryside. However this is where I started to get a bit frustrated. The book is about re-discovering British Craftmanship of which I am a passionate advocate, and despite how informative and interesting the content, the cover is atrocious. I honestly think it's one of the worst craft book covers I've ever seen (and having been the editor of a crafts magazine I have seen a lot of craft books). It panders to every stereotype you could possibly think of to do with country crafts making it extremely unappealing, if it doesn't sell well, I wouldn't be surprised if the cover is to blame. Hence this is why I have covered it up with my niece's drawing.

But of course, never judge a book by it's cover, give it a chance.......

Each chapter begins with the history of the craft exploring the origination of raw materials, how the craft has developed, going into alot of detail which makes it the ideal book for college libraries to help with research - there is information here that is impossible to find in other places.

The book also includes some photos of the trainees who took part in the TV series and interviews with the 'mastercraft' tutors. Can you spot me? Sadly from the aforementioned 256 there are just two photos of me in it (and three photos of my hands!). The day the book photographer came I was working on my own outside for 12 hours, the two shots that are in the book were 'test shots' taken in doors. But the most disappointing aspect of the whole book is the fact NONE of the trainees have their names mentioned.

In the way the that I can't understand why they chose the hideous cover, I can't understand why they haven't mentioned our names, even a simple 'thank you' in the back would have been nice. They have thanked the production company, the tutors, and Monty the presenter but not the 18 people who gave up their lives for 6 weeks to take part in the show. It's not like they didn't know our names, we all signed release forms. It's just plain mean.

And on that note my final verdict of this book is that it's an excellent resource for people who want to know more about the specific crafts in question and may be considering taking it up themselves and students who are studying crafts but with it's uninspiring cover I don't think it will appeal to today's new breed of modern hip crafter which is a real shame : (

Sneak preview: New BBC series on Crafts - starring me!

Ok, so I'm not in this trailer but I'm in the series - honest!

Last year I took two months out to undertake an apprenticeship in Weaving as part of this new craft series on BBC coming next month!!

It's presented by Monty Don (who these days is best known for gardening but back in the 80's was a world famous jewellery designer.)

In the series you'll learn about 6 different crafts and watch three people per episode trying to 'master' the craft in question. This sneaky peak is an insight into the episode on 'thatch,' I applied to be on it but at my interview they said I was far better suited to weaving. We shall see......stay tuned for more updates!