Many of the makers taking part in the auction are doing so because of their own experiences of loss. Indeed, some of the small businesses or items donated exist as a direct consequence of these losses. In this blog post, you can meet some of the makers, hear about why they are donating and learn how their makes have been influenced by these experiences.
Jane (After the Storm Mobiles)
My name is Jane, and my small business is called After the Storm Mobiles. I make felt nursery mobiles as a sort of mindful hobby that started while on maternity leave following a turbulent and heart-breaking period of recurrent pregnancy loss. Having had my son with no complications in 2016, for reasons we may never understand I then went on to lose five pregnancies to miscarriage (along with most of my self confidence!). It was utterly devastating. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to have our little rainbow in 2019 and this is how the mobiles venture began – as a mindful coping mechanism for me (having never sewn a stitch before this point!).
A rainbow is often thought of as a symbol of beauty and hope that appears during or after stormy weather, and many of the mobiles I make feature a rainbow. Initially, I wanted to create something that would celebrate rainbow babies (what some people call babies born after loss) while also honouring losses in some way. I really wanted something like this for my own little rainbow and this is why I made my first mobile!
This project has been a massively helpful creative outlet for me in re-building my confidence and a positive way to give some meaning to our experiences (on top of the therapeutic benefit of actually sitting and sewing). Half of the sale price of every mobile sold is donated to Tommy’s the baby charity who provide specialist care at their clinics and fund pioneering research investigating why pregnancy goes wrong, in the hopes of being able to prevent complications and loss. All of my mobiles are made to order and bespoke, and many of them have been made to honour losses in specific personal ways. I make mobiles around working and my two children so it’s a tiny enterprise but I feel very lucky to have been kept so busy with it over the last two years.
Victoria (Felixfiftytwo)
Hello, I am Victoria and I am one half of ‘felixfiftytwo’ the other half being my wonderful husband, Joe.
Our small business all came about when in 2018, at our 20 week scan, we were given the devastating news that our baby had a severe congenital heart defect called, hyperplastic left heart syndrome, which ultimately meant that the left side of his heart hadn’t developed properly.
We were offered 3 ‘choices’ (I use this term loosely as they are choices no one should ever have to make) termination of our pregnancy, allowing our son to be born and then comfort care, comfortably allowing him to die, or a series of operations throughout his life, that wouldn’t fix him, but may prolong his life. After a long conversation we decided to try operations.
Felix was born and at 8 days old he underwent open heart surgery, he was doing amazingly and even on the morning of his death the nurses spoke about him coming home, something we hadn’t dare dream. Sadly, that afternoon he went in to cardiac arrest and died at just 15 days old.
I was then thrust into a maternity leave without my baby boy and a mind that couldn’t function and I somehow fell in to ‘crafts’. I’ve never been crafty in my life but I began taking all the classes; calligraphy classes, floristry, embroidery, wreath making anything to stop my mind from going in to over drive and to help me think of anything else apart from the sheer heartache and primarily being mindful.
The shop started with Christmas cards and then evolved to making foiled products and just this year I have added in my own calligraphy and art work as I’ve grown with confidence. I love that a part of my little boy is in people’s homes all over the country and we have been able to help other loss parents in the process.
We hope we are making you proud little man, as it’s all for you!
Kim (Alifesewsimple)
My name is Kim and I am the face behind A Life Sew Simple. My handmade business came about after finding my love of sewing in a very difficult time. Just over 8 years ago I found out I was pregnant; it was to be my third child and my partner and I were really excited. I naively thought as I had been through pregnancy twice before with my boys it would be all plain sailing and started planning ahead much earlier. It was during one of my scans that my world fell apart and I found out baby number 3 was not meant to be. This was my first real experience of grief and it hit me very hard.
I was a stay-at-home mum to my boys, and my days were long and lonely whilst they were at nursery and school. Having been bought a sewing machine a few years earlier, I decided one day to give sewing a go. Never did I think from that day that 8 years later I would still be sewing every day. Creating something new every day was so cathartic and gave me something to focus my mind on. I found so much joy in searching for fabrics and patterns, and from there A Life Sew Simple was born.
I describe my business as my rainbow baby, she has helped me grow and given me something to pour that extra bit of love into. I now spend my days designing and creating kids decorations and keepsakes, which feature rainbows wherever possible. One of my most popular designs is a hanging star with the wording ‘After the storm comes a rainbow’, it was inspired by my loss and has gone on to so many families in similar situations. It is always so special when people share their stories with me, of their losses, they have really helped me learn to talk about mine too.
Leila (C'est Lala)
Hi all, I’m Leila from C’est Lala. A Welsh lassie living in Bristol with her two fur babies and hubby. I am a illustrator, crafter and maker of all sorts. I’m taking part in this incredible charity auction to support my friends and families and also everyone who have lost their babies.
Myself, we made the hardest decision not to have children because of my health which is so heartbreaking. It was such a tough decision to make but sadly was the right thing to do. It’s super important to raise as much awareness for this cause and help support all the families through the hard times and learn more through their research to help others. This is for all the rainbow babies and their families xx
Hannah (Our_Amazing_Maisie)
I’m Hannah, Mum to Maisie who died when she was 6 months old to Mitochondrial disease. She was such a beautiful baby and person, and I promised her when she died that I would try to be a better person and make the most of my own life for her. One way in which I kept my promise was to self-publish an illustrated book: Yellow Day – which was a life-long goal of mine. Yellow Day is a book about grief and loss, with an overall message of hope: showing how it is possible to still enjoy life whilst keeping the memories of those missing still alive. Being able to help others through their own grief – either through the book, or by chatting online – has really helped me through my own grief, and helped me to make sense of Maisies’ death.
£5 of each sale of Yellow Day goes to The Lily Foundation – a charity supporting those with Mitochondrial Disease and trying to find a cure. The Lily Foundation have been such a support for us as a family, and we have raised thousands of pounds for the foundation since Maisie died. Although the book doesn’t include a rainbow, it is full of a rainbow of colours, to help symbolise hope and joy. We have been lucky enough to welcome Maisies’ baby brother, Theo into the world, and one of Jane’s After the Storm mobiles takes pride of place in Theo’s nursery. It is an honour to be part of the Rainbow Maker’s Charity Auction.
Ruth (Little Dove Designs)
This is my second year taking part in the Rainbow Makers Charity Auction and it is an absolute honour to do so. Little Dove Designs exists because of my daughter Jemima, who should be 5, but was stillborn a few days before her due date in 2016. Our lives were completely shattered when, at the end of what had been a seemingly perfect pregnancy, we found out our little girl had died.
Because of the research into placentas carried out by Tommy’s we were able to find out why Jemima had died so unexpectedly. Not only did these answers help to lift the enormous guilt and confusion that filled my grief, but also gave us hope that a subsequent pregnancy might end with a baby in our arms to take home. In the months of my maternity leave without Jemima, and when I fell pregnancy with our rainbow baby, I began to sew. There is something therapeutic in stitching that allowed me to escape my anxiety and sadness for a few moments, channelling my energy into creating and finding ways to add pieces in our home that celebrated and remembered Jemima’s life. I started sharing these online in May 2020 as ‘Little Dove Designs’ (named for Jemima which means ‘little dove’ in Hebrew). It’s been an enormous privilege to connect with and create items for other bereaved parents through Little Dove, as well as raising money for Tommy’s with each sale.
I’m really excited for this year’s auction and to be joining with so many other makers for such an important cause. There’ll never be enough words to express how thankful I am for Tommys and what their work has meant for our family. Their work gave us hope and the confidence to grow our family and we are now a family of five, with two little siblings for Jemima at home with us. Knowing the difference Tommy’s makes to bereaved families it’s my hope and prayer that the money raised in this auction will help another family to find hope amidst their heartbreak.
