Hawkins Hobbies: 5 Star Service

As you may know I am a Canadian - born, bred and raised.  So it may seem odd that I keep endorsing companies that are based in the UK for cross stitch supplies and fabrics.  But the truth is we live in a global economy - the internet has opened the boarders and lets us choose the best of the best in the whole world.

Recently, I have had the privileged of getting to know and work with a fantastic UK company called - Hawkins Hobbies.  Zarina Hawkins, the owner approached me a while back via Facebook at the suggestion of Kate - the owner of Sparklies (another fantastic UK company).  Kate suggested that I may be a good help in choosing fabric for Mirabila patterns.  

Zarina shop is turnkey - total package - super easy.  You pick what you want to stitch - they send you EVERYTHING - even the needles.  But many stitchers are moving away from the suggested fabrics and choosing a variety of hand dyed options. Zarina wanted to offer her customers the option of choosing alternative fabrics featured by three UK fabric companies - Sparklies, Crafty Kitten and Polstitches.  All three of these companies are of the highest quality. It makes total sense for Zarina to help her customer's think outside the box from the suggested fabric. 

This is where I come in.  It has been suggested I have a good eye for fabric colour when it comes to matching it up with patterns.  I do have a bit of pride in this.  Firstly, never would it be possible without the help of the Design and Fabric Viewer.  This allows me to overlay patterns over different fabric colours.  I have been choosing 2 fabric colours from each of the three companies to give Zarina suggestions to put on her website.

As a reward, which was unexpected by me, Zarina did the kindest thing. She let me choose a pattern as a gift.  I chose Red Lady Pirate.  I have been wanting this one forever.  I adore her. I can’t wait to work on her. 

NOTHING, nothing was as exciting and thrilling as getting my package from Hawkins Hobbies in the mail (and trust me when I say this – I get a good portion of stash in the mail).  The pattern, fibers, specialty threads, beads, treasures, fabric and yes – needles. All there. You can open and stitch immediately. 

I love entrepreneurs – small business owners are the key to the global economy.  Support them whenever you can.  They are smart, they are customer service oriented – passionate... I want to give Hawkins Hobbies a shout out because it has been a pleasure to work with Zarina and again I am still so blown away by the level of service and awesomeness of getting a fully kitted pattern in this way!  I encourage you to take a look at her website and support her and other small businesses all over the world!