We are pleased to introduce you to our New Design Team Member: Pauline Hickey. CraftStash did an amazing competition where three lucky people were chosen to become part of our Design Team. Pauline, Sasha and Sandi were the very well-deserved winners, and we wanted to share with you now that we know a bit more about each of them.

It was great to meet her and talk about her interests, crafting background and much more! We are sure you will love her as much as we do.

Read Pauline’s story…

Pauline is a mum of three sons and has a grandson and a granddaughter who she loves to craft with when she can.

Her passion for crafting started a long time ago, inspired by her parents. Her mum used to knit and sew and she used her scraps to make collage pictures. In addition, her dad was a carpenter/joiner so she became familiar with using hammer and nails and bits of wood all this at the age of 5. Isn't that fascinating?

She has always done lots of crafts ever since she was quite small and ensures she cannot imagine her life without it. At junior school, Pauline's favourite lesson was craft where they would make houses from shoe boxes. In high school, needlework and craft were her favourite classes, and she started to make her own clothes at 12. Pauline, in fact, attended college in Manchester for Fashion Design and Technology.

Her journey into paper crafting began 12 plus years ago when a friend said she had been making a few cards. She then discovered Craft T.V, which was an eye-opener and she watched lots of demonstrations and collected a few more products. A few years later she joined the Hunkydory Design team and enjoyed making lots of samples for tv shows, etc. She designed this little dressing table as a one-off project.

One of her favourite things she has created is this beautiful embroidery which took her 2 years to complete. She has been offered a 3-figure sum for it but she doesn't want to sell it.

About our lovely Pauline

She studied Travel at night school and passed the ABTA exams with merit. However, she could only find part-time work in travel so instead, she became an estate agent for a few years before becoming an optical assistant for the local Optometrist. She also joined Ballroom and Latin classes and won bronze and silver medals.

On one of her special birthdays a couple of years ago, her partner took her to an airfield where he had arranged for one of his friends to take her up in his microlite. It’s one of those three-wheel trolley types with a sail. Although she was completely shocked, she took up the challenge even though her stomach was in knots. She confirms it was very exhilarating if not a bit surreal.

Pauline's favourite brand is Card Making Magic by Christina Griffiths for her feminine style. Daisy Mae Designs by Clare Rowlands and Simply Made Crafts by Helen Griffin are also in her top brands! She loves Hunkydory for the beautiful images on their toppers, and Chloe's Creative Cards for when she wants to get the glitter out and have a sparkly day!

Finally, we asked her what being on the Design Team at Craftstash means to her. She said is a dream come true and she feels very privileged. We are also glad to have the opportunity of enjoying her knowledge and creativity in our team! She has been a big fan of Craftstash and practical publishing magazines for a quite a while. It's a huge honour, and she is excited to be working with lots of her favourite brands.