8 Years Of SewHayleyJane!
October marks 8 whole years of sending out these amazing boxes, so I thought I’d take a little look back over the past 8 years and how things have evolved. Sit yourself down and grab a cup of tea friend, and make sure to enter our birthday completion to win a sewing machine – scroll down for more.
The idea all started during a long car journey with Andy, my husband, after I had been blabbering on about sewing, the Sewing Bee, these cool girls who had made a business out of blogging and the amazing and modern fabric shops I was seeing coming to life in the big cities.
I had always enjoyed crafts and had turned my hand at baking and jewellery making but had always known how to use a sewing machine and even did textiles as a GCSE option at school. It wasn’t until the start of the Sewing Bee and an interest in vintage fashion that I started having a go at making my own vintage style dresses.
But it was when the indie pattern brands started to pick up speed that I realised I could make every-day style clothes as well and started diving into the world of YouTube and blog tutorials.
As I was dreaming on that car journey about how amazing it must be to run a fabric shop and work for yourself, it was actually Andy that first suggested a subscription box model. We had been getting a weekly fruit and veg subscription box which, although it was just fruit and veg, was so exciting. I had no idea what each box would bring and enjoyed trying to figure out what to make with veg I’d never cooked with before – Kohlrabi anyone?!
The seed was well and truly sewn, and I spent the following months researching everything I could about running a business, fabric suppliers, using social media as well as, of course, practicing my own sewing skills. I even had a group of friends round to do a focus group!
When I hit launch at the beginning of September 2016 I had no idea what to expect – would I get one or two sign ups? Luckily I had gotten in touch with this other new sewing company who were building up an online presence on YouTube – The Fold Line – to ask if Kate would like to feature a box on a video. When she said yes… well, I was buzzing for the rest of the day!
I put together an example box to send off – every element of the box was individually wrapped in tissue paper – even the thread. You won’t be surprised to learn that I ditched that idea pretty quickly!!
When that video came out I was a bag of excited nerves, I was being talked about on YouTube!! People were showing interest and following me on Instagram and Facebook (the only social platforms I had at the time) and I even had 14 subscribers to the first box in October!!
That first box in 2016 I named “Autumn Bliss” and had a leafy autumn print viscose twill in the Classic and Mini boxes with a cotton jersey from AGF in the Luxury box and a wrap dress pattern from Sew Over It. I had my first stress with late deliveries that month – the buttons I had ordered didn’t arrive until the morning of shipping day! I had decided to sew the buttons onto card to display them nicely so that added an extra element of time pressure!
But I managed it and was so proud of myself… next was to wait with baited breath to hear what everyone thought of that first box. Thank goodness the reviews were great and things began to take off.
I think we can all agree the photography skills have massively improved since 2016 thanks to Andy who has taken an interest in all things cameras!
The next big lesson came just two months later in December when I decided it would be lovely to send a wintery box with gorgeous snuggly fleecy sweat shirting fabric… what I didn’t consider was how 3.5m of fleece backed sweatshirt would fit into the box! When the fabric arrived at my door I realised my (rather stupid) mistake and after I let myself freak out for a few minutes bigger boxes were ordered, shipping was figured out and the 21 boxes were packed and sent off!
Over the next few months the boxes gained momentum, I roped in my mother in law to help me cut the fabric at the dining table which got harder and harder the more subscribers I had.
Every box included a hand written post card from me explaining the theme of the boxes and I started working with other small and independent businesses to include their products in the boxes. It’s something that has become one of my favourite things about SewHayleyJane – championing other creatives!
In January 2017 I decided to start a YouTube channel… something I knew would be good for the business but my goodness was I terrified to do it! The thought of talking on camera to who knows how many people was one of the most daunting things I’ve ever done. As a naturally shy person it didn’t come easy to me and took me a few hours of staring at the camera just to say “Hello, my name’s Hayley and welcome to my channel”. Happily I’ve gotten over that now and will merrily chat on camera to thousands of people every day!
Later that year we found out we were expecting a little one – our gorgeous Mia. As the numbers started to rack up and once a month the lounge and living room areas got taken over with piles of fabric and stacks of boxes I realised running SewHayleyJane from home with a baby wasn’t going to work. So the search started for the perfect space.
In November 2017 the business moved into it’s very first unit – an industrial style warehouse near Romsey. I was so proud of what I had been able to achieve in just over a year, it was a real pinch me moment.
Around the same time I received an email from a lovely girl called Bruna who had been following me on YouTube and was looking for some volunteer work in the sewing world. What excellent timing, with a baby on the way the need for an extra pair of hands was great! Two months after Bruna started I offered her a part time job helping to cut fabric and pack the boxes a couple of days a month, she said yes and stayed with us for just over 6 years!
Mia came along in February 2018, I vividly remember heading into the unit to cut ribbon whilst my parents cut fabric and having to stop every 15 minutes to ride the contraction waves – at that point I just needed a distraction!
Continuing to run a business with a little one is no easy task – I took what time off I could, worked when I could and just figured it all out. I definitely felt a creative slump around that time. Luckily I had also taken on board my first blog contributor – the lovely Harriet received the boxes for two years, sewing up something from the fabric to write about on the blog. It was a massive relief to have something taken off my hands for a little while whilst I figured out motherhood.
The next big change came in the form of our lovely magazine that accompanies the boxes every month. Once we got to about 200 subscribers hand writing the postcards every month became somewhat less enjoyable. I wanted a way to convey the theme of the box, communicate better with my customers and add even more value to the boxes – and so the idea of a mini magazine came about. I could feature my amazing subscribers, interview incredible sewing businesses and pack so much more great stuff into those 32 pages.
In June 2019 I put a call out for monthly contributors to the magazine after Harriet left and welcomed the lovely Laura and Gemma into the writing team – 5 years on they are still with me and of course now we have the added bonuses of Esther and Tamlyn. Together they bring so much not only to the magazine but they have become great friends in our WhatsApp group – often helping me decide between fabrics and theme titles!
Of course you know what comes next… March 2020! I had Aprils boxes all planned out “Adventure Is Out There” oh the irony!! But I decided to forge ahead and put a positive spin on it. That box was a mission and a half to get together. The warehouse that stocked the fat quarters I’d pre-ordered had closed their doors and weren’t sending out orders, we had a nightmare with couriers trying to deliver patterns from Nina Lee and I had to cut all the fabric and pack the boxes in the kitchen whilst also looking after Mia. The boxes shipped about two weeks later than usual but my lovely subscribers were so understanding about the whole thing!
The next few months were a juggle! My wonderful parents who could work together went into the warehouse to cut fabric, I had a lovely lady called Paula who was happy working alone and of course all packages and surfaces were wiped down as much as possible – what a bizarre time it was!
But I had to make it work – the business nearly tripled in size throughout that year as everyone was looking for ways to practice crafty pursuits and the boxes brought a little bit of joy to the door every month!
And work it did! In the summer of 2021 we moved the business into a bigger and better premises on the edge of the stunning New Forest. A converted barn that had previously been an estate agent. The space we now call home was so much more welcoming and comfortable (and warmer!!) than the industrial warehouse we had been in.
Of course further challenges were taking place in the form of Brexit and of course the current financial climate we are currently in. Running a business is never easy but these things definitely made things tougher. The need to continue growing and getting SewHayleyJane in front of new customers is an ongoing project. So any shares, comments and reviews on social media will always be warmly received!
September 2022 came along and Mia started school – I was finally able to fully dedicate 5 days a week to the business, start growing my YouTube channel and plough more energy into content creation as well the boxes themselves. The quality of the boxes I feel has just gone up and up, especially over the last 2 years and I had a real pinch me moment in July 2023 when I collaborated on a box with none other than the amazing team at Tilly and the Buttons.
I now have an incredible team of box packing superstars who help me every month to cut the fabric and get the boxes ready to ship – we have a great couple of days putting the world to rights as we get your boxes ready to ship out.
So… what next?! I have big plans for SewHayleyJane with something exciting coming in the first few months of 2024 that Andy and I have been working on behind the scenes. The boxes will of course continue to provide all the sewing inspiration you need every month and our lovely SHJ community continues to grow and support each other.
So thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping to make all of this happen! I hope you stick around for our next big celebration – the 100th box in February and of course a 10 year anniversary in 2 years time!
To celebrate we are giving away an amazing Janome 230DC sewing machine worth over £400 – to enter you need to click here and make sure you are following me on YouTube and social media!
