As a young girl of six, Nicole owned dolls for the main purpose of wearing her hand-sewn clothes. She had a special handmade sewing bag to hold her thread, needles, scissors and fabric which she treasured and would carry around always.

At age 11, Nicole’s mum sent her to school holiday sewing classes to learn the craft of sewing and how to use a sewing machine. Nicole received her first sewing machine at age 12 and over the next couple of years taught herself how to make clothes by buying dress patterns, each slightly more difficult than the last so she could continuously develop her skills. Nicole would collect Simplicity and Style sewing patterns and catalogues, and consumed them with the same enthusiasm that her friends of the same age would read novels and teen magazines.

Nicole spent her teen years sewing clothes for herself and her mum. While other teenagers were buying their expensive clothes from shops and boutiques, Nicole would venture into the Surry Hills clothing district to buy cheap remnants of fabric to create her own clothes.
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After school, Nicole spent time working the corporate life and didn’t have much time for sewing again until her three children started school. She rediscovered her joy of sewing by creating costumes for book week, dance groups, musicals and fancy dress parties. Not only would Nicole create performance costumes for her own children but much of the cast as well.

Nicole began teaching 10 years ago when a school mum observed her flair for sewing and requested lessons for her daughter. It was then Nicole discovered the pleasure in teaching these skills to young girls and the importance of passing on this time-honoured tradition. While our grandmothers had these handcrafting skills, Nicole fears they have gradually been lost over recent generations.

Nicole is driven by her love of traditional handcrafting skills and her passion for ensuring today’s girls have the opportunity to be equipped with this valuable life skill. Most importantly, Nicole wants girls to discover the same joy she has experienced in creating handcrafted items.