Hello there, I'm Jo, the owner of Mam's Fabrics. I've recently added this blog to my website, mixing my old life with my new one. For 10 years before starting my shop, I was a blogger, it was a way to empty my brain, to give me some relief from my daily life.
I needed the relief as I was a carer for my son (who is diagnosed with autism and related learning difficulties, he's an absolute sweetheart), my husband (who had to retire early, on medical grounds), also spending a lot of time with my mother and looking after my other 2 children......Phew!
Then life kind of changed: My eldest boy moved out (he's about to become a dad), my middle child left school, my youngest is now 15 and, although he still needs a lot of care, it's not as physical as it used to be. The big shock came when we, very suddenly, lost my mother. She was my rock, my best friend and my place to visit. Suddenly I was sat at home, watching TV all day.
This was the point that my husband, Andrew (who you will see taking over occasionally) reminded me of my dream to own my shop. I'd wanted to take over a fabric shop in the past, but it just wasn't' financially viable, at the time. Thanks to my mam, it was now. I wish I could say this was a well thought out plan, it really wasn't. From conception to opening was around 2 months!
So, Mam's Fabrics was born.
If you visit the shop, you'll see a lot of my mother there, she was a big part of my life when she was with us, she will continue now.
In the 18 months I've been open, I've been awarded runner up in the Best of Welsh Business awards, business specialist and am a finalist in the same category this year.
I adore my little business, my customers have become friends and I've even started doing small groups of sewing classes. Hopefully it will long continue.
Thanks for reading, I will continue to update with news from the shop, things I've made and, hopefully things my customers have made, with my fabrics (with their permission, obviously).
Much love
Jo x