You may be familiar with our Returned to Glory furniture showroom, based in Northbridge Road in Berkhamsted…jam-packed with quality pre-loved furniture, bespoke painted furniture, reupholstered furnishings, designer cushions and lampshades in gorgeous, contemporary and stylish fabrics.
One important element of Returned to Glory is the team behind our inspiring designer own-label range, ‘Creates & Makes’.
We visited the showroom recently and caught up with Jane, one of our ‘Creates and Makes’ team who volunteers every Wednesday…
“I can be found (and heard!)… in the workshop with my sewing buddies.
We’re a team of six, and mostly we create designer style bags, home gifts and small soft furnishings from donated designer fabrics. We came up with the name ‘Give a Little Love – Handmade in Herts’ as an identity for our products, and each of our designs includes a label.
“I started working in the early days of Returned to Glory back in 2014 and have very fond memories of the beginnings of the group. I used to sew vintage style aprons and lined make-up bags. We called ourselves the ‘Bag Ladies’ but have now tried to become more upmarket than that, hence the name on our label “Give a Little Love Handmade in Herts".
“Volunteering at Returned to Glory has become a big part of my life. I don’t have any connection with the Hospice, but over the years I’ve become very attached to all the people I volunteer with and they all mean a lot to me.
“It all began, when a friend was painting furniture, and knew I would love the showroom. I was looking for a new challenge, and so she enticed me in to help with the painting courses she was running.
“I love all the room sets that are on display. I quickly began picking up bits of fabric and making things. From here the seed was planted that we could create a group of like-minded people who could sew!
“I grew up in Herefordshire and then spent ten years in London where I met my husband at Spanish Evening classes. We moved out of London to Hertfordshire and had our two daughters, Emily now 29 and Annie 26. This year we have a big celebration as Emily will be 30, me 60, and my mum 90.
“Andrew, (my husband) retired 3 years ago, and we spent two months travelling on local buses and planes from the bottom of Chile, up through Bolivia and into Peru. The highlight was the Salt Flats at Uyuni - a bit of a physical and mental challenge because is it all at high altitude”.
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