How it all began

Today three years ago my webshop dotsnstripes went online. And I thought, I'd tell you a little bit about the story behind it, the how and why. So if you are curious keep reading:

Before my daughter was born, I worked in a travel agency. Then Leoni came along and I stayed at home to look after her. I was very fortunate that I didn't have to go back to work, thanks to my dear husband. I enjoyed being a mum and still do, but there came a point when it wasn't enough and I wanted to do something. I didn't want to go back to the office job as it would have been a bit difficult with childcare arrangements and going back to work only to pay the childminder seemed a bit silly. So it had to be something I else. At that point I wasn't really thinking of working, just doing something for myself, a course or something.
From a very early age on I enjoyed knitting, but never had any interest in sewing. So to learn something new, I took up a sewing class at our local college, that was in 2006. My mum thought it was a good idea. I then told my gran and she was absolutely delighted: "That is a fantastic idea, a wife needs to know how to sew". I suppose she was thinking of all the mending of worksuits that she had to do for my granddad!
Anyway, I went to the class and got hooked! The only thing that I was struggling with was finding some nice materials. I must admit I was spoiled by all the lovely fabrics that were available in Germany. So at the beginning I ordered lots of ebay Germany for my private use. And people kept saying what lovely fabrics I had and where I got them from. And so the idea was born: why not selling them myself! I got in contact with the German and Dutch suppliers and they were all very helpful. A friend of Alan built my website, which took about 6 months. Believe me, I had a few sleepless nights thinking: am I doing the right thing, will people actually buy anything from me, what if they don't like the material, etc.
And on the 15th of January 2007 I started trading. I still remember how excited I was when I had my first customer! And this lady is still a customer, isn't that nice?