Meet The Maker - The Handmade Clothing Company
Sophie Lombardi
This is the last post in our series of Meet The Maker blogs and we have a lovely treat for you. Here at Poppy and Honesty, we regularly get asked if we make liberty print children's clothes and the answer is no (too fiddly for these Frank Butcher fingers) but we know a woman who does. This week we meet Amy from The Handmade Clothing Company...
I’m Amy, Mum to three, Seth (11), Theo (6), and Eden (4) and the founder of The Handmade Clothing Company. After a few years working different Visual Merchandising roles in fashion retail stores I decided to go to uni. I graduated from London College of Fashion just before having my second son. I was so fed up to have ended up in another retail role that I decided to start sewing things to sell to have a creative outlet. I started with mainly bunting and simple items of clothing. After the birth of my daughter in 2014 a fabulous friend from uni suggested using Liberty fabrics and so the idea was born!
I started making childrenswear samples using classic prints and had a photoshoot at the end of 2014. I finally settled on a name for the brand and launched the website and Etsy store in January 2015! Gradually more styles were added and I gained loyal customers through Instagram that have really been instrumental in raising the awareness of the brand and growing the business. I wouldn't be where I am now without those first customers that still come back today! At the beginning of 2017 I was so busy that I was able to give up my part time job and to work in the business full time! This has meant so much to my family, I can do every school run, I don’t have to worry about childcare in the school holidays and really be there for my daughter who is still undergoing investigations for an Autism diagnosis. Every single order really does mean so much to me!
This year I am continuing to collaborate with the amazing Magnificent Stanley which is an absolute pleasure! We have an amazing collection of prints for this season and some lovely new styles for Summer. I am also working to grow the womenswear offering which is really exciting! The current items in the womenswear collection have been popular and I can’t wait to have more products to offer to the fabulous women that shop with me. And if things continue to grow at the rate they have been for the last year I will be needing much more space to work and some help!! I am really excited to see what we can achieve once all the kids are at school full time!
We do hope that you have enjoyed our Meet The Maker series. We always like to support our fellow crafty handmaidens and burly handymen, so if you would like to be featured on our blog please get in touch.
Can you believe it's time for the big bunny ? Other than the supermarkets bursting with confection, I'm not even sure you would even know it was Easter. Whatever the weather, get into the chocolate and have a lovely long weekend.
Sophie xxxx