new!
why we craft + the best summer home buys
PAPERCUT PROJECT BOOK
MAKE IT!
8 fruity illustrations
EASY-SEW
ESPADRILLES RAINBOW POCKET PATCH
TROPICAL BAG CHARM COOL
CROCHET CARDI KIDS'
TOY STORAGE GARDEN CHAIR CUSHIONS &more..
Bathing belles!
CONTENTS
54
18
ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK; MODEL: ALEXANDRA FIA
VINTAGE DOLLS
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81
Tropical cushions
INTRODUCING... LIVING
The latest news from the world of handmade
Fill your life and home with crafted goodness
9 INTRODUCING…
43 LIVING
Handpicked crafty happenings
The loveliest hand-crafted, creative buys
14 TRENDS
46 HOME TOUR
Brighten up with the rainbow look
Designer Teri Muncey’s minimal abode
18 VINTAGE DOLLS
51 FOOD COVER
Sew these sweet pals, complete with retro-style swimsuits and fun floats
Upcycle a plain cover with colourful raffia
26 TEA AND A CHAT Rebecca Thomas, founder of Bonbon Balloons, shows us around her studio
32 ESPADRILLES
@MollieMakes
issue number eighty one
54 CHAIR CUSHIONS Give your garden furniture an update with these tropical print tasseled cushions
59 HANGING STORAGE Make this easy-sew toy tidy for a kids’ room
Whip up a new pair of summer sandals in a quirky pineapple-print fabric
63 SOAP DISH AND SOAP
36 GOOD READ
Create a Moroccan spa vibe at home with botanical soaps and a concrete soap dish
The importance of crafting for yourself pinterest.com/MollieMakes
youtube.com/user/MollieMakes
39 PAPER PEONIES Hand-cut petals to make lifelike flowers
4 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 81
67 PULL-OUT PAPERS Cut, stick and paste Mia Dunton’s painterly prints to give your crafting a summery twist
NEVER MISS AN ISSUE 24 Subscribe UK
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82 Subscribe overseas International subscribers save up to 40%
83
Handbag charm
51
Food cover
93 Bean bag
LOVING
16
SUNNY DAYS
When the sun’s shining, all I want to do is go out into the garden with a picnic blanket and an easy-to-pick-up project. There’s something about making outdoors that always leaves me feeling inspired. This issue has plenty of al fresco makes – top of my must-try list is Melodie Telliez’s tropical bag charm on page 83. For a more involved project, get stuck into Suzie Kemner’s pineapple-print espadrilles on page 32 – they’re surprisingly easy to make and go with just about every summer outfit. If you fancy turning your hand to a new craft, delve into your free papercut project book. It’s packed with 27 new designs, and there’s something for every skill level. Share your results using #molliemakers.
Rainbow patch
Treats and treasures to fall in love with
Cath Dean Editor
75 LOVING Our pick of the most beautiful things for you to adore and make
76 CROCHET BAG Hook up a home for your yarn stash
83 BAG CHARM Add a pop of summer sunshine to your bag with these Hawaiian-style florals
89 CROCHET CARDI Make a colourful boho cover up
93 BEAN BAG
76
Crochet bag
Squishy, cosy seating that kids’ll love
98 TEMPLATES All the shapes for this issue’s makes
106 BACK PAGE PROJECT Old English Company’s Ben Treanor shares how a studio helped them grow Subscribe at molliemakes.com
Turn the page to discover your project book! Turn to page 67 for your papers
INTRODUCING trends
THIS MONTH WE’RE OBSESSING ABOUT...
RAINBOWS Sunny skies are coming your way... Brighten up with a burst of colour
Wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care. www.boden.com
14 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 81
INTRODUCING trends 01
02
01
Pot of gold, meet
rainbow. www.noton thehighstreet.co.uk/ connieclementine 02
Take your party tea
to the next level. www. shopmerimeri.com 03
Who needs Insta?
Live your life through a rainbow filter. www. skinnydiplondon.com 04
An abstrast take on
a rainy day. www.noton thehighstreet.co.uk/ 08
ingridpetriedesign 05
Because sometimes, 03
you’ve got to make your own rainbow. www. presentandcorrect.com 06
04
Aww, thanks guys
– we try! www.skinny diplondon.com 07
We recommend
getting one in each colour, natch. www. thehambledon.com 08
The ultimate
footwear for chasing those rainbows. www.vans.co.uk 06
05
MAKE IT! TURN THE PAGE TO 07
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DIY THE RAINBOW TREND 81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 15
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK
NO DIVING
Bathing belles Dream of sunny days beside the seaside with Lucy Woodrow’s vintage-style dolls
CafĂŠ
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Subscribe today and you’ll save 72% today on theand shop price, Subscribe you’ll paying an issue! receive just a set£1.66 of RICE’s iconic melamine cups in tropical prints A crafty lifestyle magazine, and polka dots! Colourful and Mollie Makes features must-read durable, they’ll brighten up interviews and home tours, as your kitchen, and youofcan take them outside well as a wide range easy-to-make sewing, on sunny days. knitting, crochet and embroidery projects. Mollie Makes is abest crafty magazine Bringing you the oflifestyle handmade from around bringing you the best of handmade from around the world, each issue is filled with creative the world. You’ll save 25% on the magazine shop inspiration, so don’t miss out. Take advantage of price when you subscribe, paying just £26.95 our limited offerDon’t and try your every 6 issues. miss out!first 6 issues for just £9.99 – that’s less than £2 an issue!
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USA READERS: SEE PAGE 82
Describe your style in a few words. Quite simple; I love wearing black with pops of colour and I always wear Nike trainers and a gold necklace. It’s pretty pared back in comparison to our balloons! Since becoming a mum, I’m a lot more practical in what I wear.
Following your passion with...
REBECCA THOMAS Jump in to your idea wholeheartedly with the sound advice and wisdom of Bonbon Balloons founder, Rebecca Thomas Words: LARA WATSON Photographs: INGRID RASMUSSEN
Rebecca Thomas is the brains behind the quirky, colourful balloon-in-a-box business, Bonbon Balloons. Launched six years ago on a creative whim, Rebecca’s ingenious idea to make much, much more of this run-of-the-mill party staple has revolutionised the industry. And, since then, her confetti-stuffed helium wonders have adorned fashion show runways, the facades of stately homes and front rooms all over the UK. It wasn’t an easy start for Rebecca, however. She soon discovered no one else was doing anything remotely along 26 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 81
the same lines, so had to invent the market herself, in turn, opening herself up to copycats. But, Rebecca has made constant innovation key to her business, giving her the momentum to take things further and stay ahead of the game. Now with plans to expand her ever-growing business throughout the country, Rebecca took time out from her busy day to share the story behind Bonbon and its success. Read on to find out how she turned her novel idea into a reality, and also the valuable lessons she’s learnt along the way.
How did you originally come up with your business idea? I had a full-time job as a product developer at Designers Guild, and while I really enjoyed it, I always wanted to have my own business. Looking back, I was a bit crazy. I gave up my job, started up on my kitchen table, and got out my sketch books. I had loads of images saved of Tim Walker’s giant balloons in seascapes and it just gave me a lightbulb moment: “Why doesn’t anyone make cool, beautiful balloons?!” I started to think around the name Bonbon. I didn’t know anything about balloons at all, but I got a gas canister and started playing with it. It was a very quiet idea and I knew I needed to do it quickly, so I got started and got my branding, website and photography right over six months after that. There was a lot of trial and error. What other roles or experiences led you to where you are now? My background is in textile design. Before the Designers Guild, I worked at
INTRODUCING tea & a chat
‘I was a bit crazy. I gave up my job and started up on my kitchen table.’
02
01
Burberry and did accessories. Working for big companies like that ingrains a great work ethic in you, and I understood how to develop a product. When you start a business, you have a naivety about you, but you need that at first. If you had any sense of how difficult it was you wouldn’t do it!
with clients, creating inspiration for an event, maybe do a site visit. As it depends what’s happening, it’s varied, and it is for the people who work for you too. I have an assistant at the studio and then a team of freelancers in London who have all sorts of creative backgrounds.
Tell us what a typical working day looks like for you. Every day is completely different. I’ll usually get to the studio and catch up on emails. In the evening, I develop concepts
How does your creative process work? I usually begin with an initial concept meeting and ask the client to start with a colour palette or a scene. From there I look at the environment, and how they
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03
01
A sunnier
sending out specs
workspace we’ve yet to see! This cheery
to her clients. 02
A balloon colour
desk is where
chart in an array of
Rebecca works
vibrant hues.
from, designing installations and
03
The finished
article itself.
81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 27
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK
Welcome to the jungle Give your outdoor space a tropical touch with Laura Strutt’s greenery cushions
32 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 81
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK; MODEL: ALEXANDRA FIA
Pineapple crush Meet your new summer faves – Suzie Kemner’s easy-sew fruity espadrille beauties
81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 33
LIVING home tour
Teri loves the neutral feel of her minimalist London flat, and the mezzanine level adds versatility to the space.
Teri Muncey shows us around her monochrome, minimal West London flat Words: LOTTIE STOREY Photography: TERI MUNCEY
The simplest looking spaces are often the hardest to create. And, when you rent it can be even harder. You might not think it looking at designer and blogger Teri Muncey’s minimally styled flat though, as she’s seamlessly applied the distinctive modern aesthetic that runs through her work to her new abode. When Teri and husband Nick both ended up working from home last November, they realised they’d outgrown their previous London
46 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 81
LIVING home tour
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81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 47
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LOVING
81
OH, YOU PRETTY THINGS! MOODBOARDS & MUSINGS TO INSPIRE US
PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON EVANS
Up your mini me’s #sockgame with a pair of snazzy snake knee socks from Bob & Blossom – they’ll have just as much fun using them as hand puppets as wearing them. Check out the range of cosy tees and party tutus too – where are the grown-up sizes? www.bobandblossom.co.uk
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81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 75
Still life
PHOTOGRAPHY: KATE MATHIS
Make hand-cut blowsy paper peonies for the loveliest summer bouquet – Livia Cetti shows you how
81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 39
Al fresco living
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK
Add a kitsch-cool twist to a plain food cover with Chloe Hardisty’s colourful tutorial
81 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 51
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molliemakes.com 26 MOLLIEMAKES 3
MAIN IMAGE STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK, PHOTOGRAPHY: JESSE WILD
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