More about Lavender Heart
Why Lavender Heart? Taken from the logo designed by my daughter it embraces lavender – which has long been my favourite fragrance, its calming qualities reflected in its delicate colour – and a heart for its beautiful shape and to show each item is made for you with love.
About me
I’m Alison Stokes, a crafty mum, who has always loved knitting and flowers. I’ve started this business because I want to combine these interests to bring something different to the market – hand-knitted decorative floral-inspired corsages designed and made by me.
About the flowers
I love working with all kinds of yarn from traditional wool and cotton to fancy fibres but am especially drawn to the new natural yarns – bamboo, milk protein, soya, even banana fibre - there seems no end to new yarn choices - and new takes on old favourites. Add to this the wealth of beautiful beads and decorations available and the possibilities for design are endless. I've recently been using hand-painted ceramic buttons from Injabulo (see links page) which are made by small cooperatives of women in South Africa and are trade fairly. These are currently only available at my shows.
Each flower is hand-knitted and hand-decorated by me and is backed by a gold-coloured brooch pin.
About the gifts
I love to bring the joy of handcrafted items to children so throughout the year will add seasonal gifts to my collection. All items will be hand-crafted by me and will incorporate this year's date so they can be kept as a memento and enjoyed year on year. Although every item is carefully crafted please remember that they are intended as decorations and not as toys for very young children as they often incorporate small beads.
About the Lavender
All my lavender comes from the Chelsea Gold Award-winning Downderry nursery in Kent.
About my shows
Throughout the year I attend a selection of craft shows which gives me an opportunity to meet customers face to face and get valuable feedback on what they would like to see next. I bring a wider range of products to these events than I can show on the website. Currently I'm developing a range of cushions incorporating knitting with other fabrics - come along to my next event to see how sugar cane knits up - yes, really!