CoolCrafting founder Sarah Peel has a lifetime of experience within the areas of clothing and accessories design and supply. Sarah spent her teenage years elbowing people out of the way at Jumble Sales to find precious pieces, which she would take apart at home to look at the pattern shapes, and then dutifully sew back together. Whilst studying at Loughborough College of Art, Sarah was chief alterations person at the local Vintage store, as well as setting up on her own, designing and making ballgowns and wedding dresses for the Leicestershire wealthy. After her mum and dad insisted on a proper job, Sarah went on to be a Pattern Cutter for Next and was able to train at a top tailoring factory in Europe. Promotion into Buying followed, along with an awful lot of travelling and spending time in factories, and until recently, Sarah has been involved in buying a number of product areas, specializing in leather garments and handbags, for Lakeland.

There is a movement away from the High Street and mass produced product, and as someone who still loves nothing better than to make a new outfit out of an old pair of curtains, I truly believe that we are becoming more considered in our spending choices, and that we are looking for experiences and skills rather than the next credit card hit.

Sarah says: There is a movement away from the High Street and mass produced product, and as someone who still loves nothing better than to make a new outfit out of an old pair of curtains, I truly believe that we are becoming more considered in our spending choices, and that we are looking for experiences and skills rather than the next credit card hit.

The business has grown through attending shows and we are now truly delighted to be opening our first shop in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria. We see the shop as part of your crafting journey – let us inspire you to make, create, reuse.

I hope that CoolCrafting will be part of an already growing movement back to traditional skills, valuing what we already have, and looking for learning in what we do.

I hope that CoolCrafting will be part of an already growing movement back to traditional skills, valuing what we already have, and looking for learning in what we do. This business gives me the opportunity to do what I love, all day, every day.

If you are looking for something unique, rather than High Street, and want to learn new skills along the way, we will help you get creative. Be it through the shop, the website, or attending workshops – we hope you will take away new expertise, find like-minded friends and end up with something gorgeous that you have made yourself! We want to share our skills and can also organize parties,
events and community projects in crafting.

We run our workshops at Hincaster House, the middle portion of an old country dwelling. The atmosphere is relaxed, but inspirational and instructional. Hincaster House is set in the beautiful location of Hincaster, close to Kendal and the English Lake District, J36 of the M6 and 6 miles from the mainline train station, Oxenholme.