All items by littlesparrowdesigns

Making hand-made somethings out of little bits of nothing.

I grew up in a family of artists, surrounded by artists- printmakers, photographers, bookbinders, antique restorers, painters and more. This was a wee bit intimidating but I guess some creativity must have lurked in my DNA somewhere, just waiting to be expressed, which is why little sparrow is here today.

30 years working in primary and special needs education helped to answer part of the call to be creative. I relished the challenge of turning the classroom into Merlin's sitting room or Kensuke's desert island complete with upturned boat, of being resourceful and making something out of nothing.
But it wasn't until about 15 years ago, when my partner bought me a sewing machine as a New Year's present, that I really started to want to learn how to make things in earnest. I can remember trying to thread the machine for the first time - it seemed to take forever, but I persevered and ended up improvising a cushion cover out of an old skirt, which I still have today. From there I taught myself to knit and crochet - something my Great-grandmother had tried, and failed to do, when I was five or so. Lino-cuts came next, alongside collage. I particularly loved sourcing materials for the collage, allowing me, as they did, to indulge in another passion for lettering, obsessed as I am with the alphabet.

Housequakeuk soon came along - a small online business 'putting the funk into junk' selling upcycled items for the home and an array of handmade creations, the quirkier the better! There was nothingI loved more than thinking about something I had made (little old, self-taught me) winging its way across the world to live in someone else's home in Japan, Australia, Spain, Germany...

I stopped teaching in 2024 and, with some major life changes, realised that there was so much more I wanted to do, that I had never had time for up until now. During the last year or so, making has really kept me going, helping me to drop anchor and find some calm while everything felt tumultuous around me.
This was never more true than when I had my autism confirmed back in March of 2025. Suddenly things began to make sense but I felt lost and had to find a new way of being me. Making helped me do that. There is so much joy to be had in turning odds and ends of unwanted material, wool, paper into something new - something that has a new life and a new purpose - a bit like me I suppose. I make stuff that I feel drawn to, that makes me smile and I hope that you'll have that same reaction. My ultimate dream is to carry on making things, because I love the whole process, but to also run crafting sessions and workshops. I know just how valuable doing something hands-on and creative can be for so many people, whether they're 9 or 90, have any sort of neuro-divergence or not, and are floundering or flying. I guess it feels like I'm on a bit of a mission - to bring making to the many, whether from my hand or theirs. I hope you'll join along for the ride!