.jpg)
Trouvaille Stitch Kits was born out of love of two things... cross stitch and my home town.
In December of 2019 I was trudging my way through a huge cross stitch piece of the New York Skyline and had been for months. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful design and I was so excited when I bought it and started it! About 4 months in, however, I hit a wall. A few people had asked me if I picked New York for a reason and in truth no.... I picked it because it was pretty. While New York means a lot to many, it means very little to me, and yet I couldn't find any modern cross stitch designs of places that did mean something to me, my home, the places I loved. And so, the idea of designing my own cross stitch patterns was conceived!
Initially the idea was to create them just for myself, but then I thought.... I can't be the only one who might like this... I'll put a handful together and see if people would like them. So I researched design softwares and created my first two designs, (Sunny St Mary's and A Seaside Rendezvous), hummed and harred over a comany name, and put together a handful of kits, still with that voice inside my head going 'don't be silly, no-one's going to want these' (all artists and creatives will be familiar with this voice!). Luckily I had very supportive family and friends whose feedback was lovely enough to make me ignore that voice!
Then on 23rd March it all got a bit real when I created a Facebook page and Etsy shop. I still remember the excitement of my first sale on 28th March! I went running downstairs to tell my partner that I had sold a pattern on Etsy then even more excitedly told him that was a grand total of £3.52 profit after fees. It didn't matter that it was my mums friend who may have bought it just to be supportive.... it still showed me that those negative inside voices were wrong, someone did like them!
To be honest, I was half expecting that to be the end of it... but nope! Word spread and with the help of a local Facebook page who shared the Trouvaille Stitch Kits Facebook page, I suddenly had an influx of orders! Subsequently I spent much of April through to August sat cross-legged on the attic floor, surrounded by supplies putting orders together every evening and weekend - my hips were NOT a fan! I even had my partner helping put boxes and thread holders together.
Since 28th March I have amazingly made over 350 sales and am humbled by the love and support of all of those who have shared my social media posts, bought the cross stitch patterns and kits, and given feedback which has helped me improve the kits over time. I now have my own workspace (my hips are thankful!), four designs and my very own website! I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!
J xx
PS - the New York cross stitch remains unfinished to this day!