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Featured Seller

Tobyboo creates lovingly made one off little works of art using freehand machine embroidery and applique. I started off making baby gifts and accessories but now take on wedding commissions. Name art, nursery bags, small handbags and I always try and come up with something different for holidays and Mother's and Father's day.  

Tell us a little bit about the person behind Tobyboo?

Where do I start? Well, my name is Tina and I'm a 37-year-old mother of a 19-month-old little fella - the Toby in Tobyboo. I went to Central St Martins College of Art and came out with a degree in jewellery only to go into television. I was a researcher and producer for quite a few years and then suddenly became ill.

  I had to give up work and rather than being stuck at home watching all the programmes I used to work on I decided to make one off handbags under the name Twinkle;  the likes of Donna Air, Jools Oliver and Lisa Rogers were all Twinkle owners but unfortunately I hadn't to give it up when I became more ill. To cut a long story short, after marriage and and a long awaited Toby, I was able to get some treatment so my pain is under control and came up with Tobyboo after doing a course in machine embroidery.  

Where does your inspiration come from?

Mainly playing around with fabrics and trimmings but also from Victorian art, I love the decorative but almost dark side of that period and as strange as it sounds things do filter through to Tobyboo. My brain does seem to go for things less obvious - I like to have some sort of twist to pieces: for example the 'Love it, Hate it name frame'; the easiest thing to do would have been a boat or train but I like the food label twist.

 

What is your greatest handmade achievement?

I'd say Toby - but if I had to pick something that involved applique then I'd say my Christmas stockings. I really wanted to come up with something different and having a proper sole in the boot shape make them (as far as I can see) unique to Tobyboo - it means you can fit so much more in. When I started them last Christmas I took commissions and based the pieces on the personality given, one of them was for someone's pet gay dog!

   

Besides making things what do you like to do?

My time is really taken up with Toby and his friends, but at the weekends as a family we either go to a museum, gallery or historic house and being in London is great for that. Poor Toby gets bored having places like the V & A thrust upon him! Oh and TV, lots of TV!!

How are you enjoying Misi so far?

Really like it! Its a great expanding eclectic place! What's even better is being on Twitter and Facebook and 'meeting' familiar names - its got a real community.