Well would you believe its been six months since my last blog post and in that time there have been a fair few changes. I have moved to a new unit within Chilvers Coton Craft Centre, and I now share a shop and work space with my partner and owner of The Personalised Gift Company Gary.
In my last post I told you that there was a resident ghost at the craft centre, and as it is spooky season and I have been working on a special witchy commission, I thought it was time to share our little spooky experience.
Firstly the commission, all the treat with none of the tricks...
Reference photo of beautiful Maple
I had already created crackers for Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter for this particular customer, featuring her beautiful dogs, and now if was time for her fourth dog Maple to get her own Halloween crackers. Originally I created a motif with Maple surrounded by crunchy leaves and stars on a dark green background for a more autumnal vibe, but my client told me how much her daughter loved all things spooky and in particular Julia Donaldson's Room on the Broom. There was only one thing for it, Maple had to get her own witches hat and cauldron of bats. And yes, a cauldron is the correct name for a group of bats! How appropriate!
Original sketch of Maple with leaves and stars on a dark green background
Updated procreate sketch of Maple with witches hat and bats
I started by using Maple's reference photo and drew a simplified outline in Procreate. I added the witches hat and bat shapes to help determine the correct size and shape of the finished motif, to ensure it would fit in the centre of the cracker. The sketch was then transferred to PE Design so I could start filling in the stitched areas, paying extra attention to the direction of the fur to give the embroidery some shimmer.
Embroidered motif in PE Design embroidery program
We went for traditional purple linen fabric with orange ribbons and stitched edges to really pick up the orange in Maple's fur. I am so pleased with how the finished design looks and thankfully my client and her daughter are too. What a fantastic addition to the Halloween table.
Set of finished Maple Halloween crackers
And now for a ghost story...
Around February this year we had arrived at work, and as the centre was yet to open to the public it was very quiet along the central corridor. We were still in our old unit, number 13, and both of us were busy setting up for the day, putting displays out and printing orders. After tidying the floor and returning the hoover to the utility cupboard, I came back to the unit and started to cut out cushions whilst leaning over the cutting table. I then felt something brush past my bottom and thought I had stepped back into the display behind me!
Gary saw me turn around to look and asked if I had felt something. When I answered yes and why do you ask, he shared that the same thing had just happened to him five minutes earlier whilst stood in the same space. He thought I have come back from the utility cupboard and tried to squeeze past him (I told you the old unit was getting tight!) but when he turned around no one was there. Upon asking the other business owners if they had experienced anything, we were told that the craft centre is meant to be haunted and on dark nights when working late, others have heard foot steps walking along the corridor.
Corridor outside our old unit 13. Is there something spooky going on?
Although I have not been able to find much on the history of the craft centre, I understand that it used to be a engine shed with a set of rails still visible outside the fire escape. Maybe the phantom footsteps are one of the restless engine workers who can't quite seem to stop patrolling the building, maybe we have a cheeky spectre that likes to pat bottoms for attention, or maybe we all have overactive imaginations?! Anyone who knows me, knows I love a spooky story, but for my own sanity I am going with the later explanation.
If you fancy sharing your own spooky story I love to read them, otherwise have a very Happy Halloween.
