How it started

If you haven't heard of me, here's a short intro to the world of AD. If you've been here for a while, you'll probably already know some of this story. But here's the behind the scenes of how it all started.

In 2015, I'd fallen pregnant and wanted to learn how to crochet. At the time, I was only 17 and recently out of work, so the idea of investing in learning a new project was just out of the question. Not to mention, I was in a hippy era. Why buy wool, when surely there would be an alternative? Hopefully a free one, with my budget, bonus points if it included recycling. And then I found it, rags!

I soon learned that if you had an old sheet, cut it into one flat piece, then cut it at inch intervals along one edge, you could easily tear it into strips to crochet with, if you had a large enough hook. After quickly working my way through my mum’s old sheets and curtains, I took to Gumtree and made a request.

“Looking for old fabrics, sheets or curtains.” - I figured people always had old sheets hanging about, why not put them to use.

A woman called Sue responded saying she had something she'd like to give mel. We arranged for me to go over and collect from her house. I was a little nervous as I was young, meeting someone to get something for free kind of went against the 'stanger danger' code we had drummed into us. But I've always been trusting and I felt something was brewing, and I felt like I should trust the process, and the lady who'd reached out to my post.

Sue was kind, welcoming and clearly a fantastic sewer and above all generous. She had bags of fabrics she'd collected over the years that she wanted to go to a good home. I couldn't believe my eyes, the generosity. Sheets, cut fabrics, whole fabrics, embellishments. I was like a kid in a candy shop, thinking of all the things I'd love to make. But so far, the only skills I'd learned in terms of fabric fibres were knitting and cross-stitch. Despite going to four secondary schools throughout my teenage years, I'd managed to dodge every textiles class there was due to rotating timetables. My twin sister, Saph, on the other hand, managed to do it fourfold. She went on to be a bookkeeper, with not a single sewing streak in her body. I knew the moment I'd seen those bags, I'd be needing not only to learn to crochet in an unconventional way, but I'd need a sewing machine for what my mind was brewing. 

I took the huge IKEA bags of fabric home, thanking Sue more than a million times and so excited and grateful I could burst. 

I examined every piece of fabric in those bags to within a stitch. The colours. The textures. The materials. The flexibility. The structure. I'd decided nearly every piece’s fate almost instantly, seeing clearly in my mind what they could become. Some fabrics, too beautiful to imagine cutting, and to this day remain in my “rainy day, special fabrics” drawer at home. I doubt they'll ever become anything more than a memento of the start, inspiration for the future and gratitude for the people along the way.

I began researching, dreaming, and digging down into something I knew was already there. I cut the fabrics, making them flat and tearing them into strips, then rolling them into big balls. I used a 10mm hook to learn crochet (I think I even whittled it from a stick, until I found one in a charity shop). I picked it up almost instantly and started making huge circles and squares into rugs. People like them and actually asked to buy them. 

I was excited, I love the products I was crafting and I loved that people liked them too. I quickly built myself a weaving loom from a pallet and an old CD rack I'd found, hammering in nails at the top, developing my skills from crochet rugs to woven rugs. I thought it was perfect, in reality my loom looked like something heading towards the log pile for burning. So in 2015, I welcomed the traditional woven rugs, which I still sell today, just with a professionally built loom instead. The first rug I made on that hazardous loom is proudly in my mum’s house. The second, in my bedroom.

Woven rag rugs, crochet rugs and ragged rugs were popular from 1860–1920, as they were an extremely cheap way to recycle worn-out clothing, sheets or fabrics into hard-wearing rugs. Not to mention, they were (and still are) stunning pieces of craftsmanship to brighten up the home.

Meanwhile, Claire, a loved friend, had heard of my venture and generously gifted me my very first sewing machine. Boxed and everything, I couldn't believe it. It was the tool to my whole future. Unknown to me at the time, it was the gateway to my dreams. I learnt nearly everything on that machine, from winding a bobbin to complex panneling for clothes.

I spent the next few years with my dreams on hold, but constantly there, whilst I had my children, Aurora and Rowan. You'll notice Aurora got there first with the business name, but it's actually the name Rowan that inspires the business most. Rowan's name comes from the rowan tree, the medium-sized tree with red berries and somewhat pointed leaves. It's the entire colour of my branding.

I have always been a lover of the outdoors, but with a name like Rowan, we were naturally drawn to learning less common names of UK trees. It encouraged us to explore more, to be in nature, to appreciate nature and respect our planet. Which inspired my art and the designs I use today.

I'd learned the skills. I had the motivation and the passion. I was, and still am, extremely passionate about making something recycled, organic or eco-friendly into something beautiful, practical, wearable and desirable. My sister Saph used to say I could go into the woods and come back having made something worth hanging on a wall or selling. I can hear her now: “You can make something amazing out of sticks and sell it on Etsy for £50.” I used to laugh, but it is almost true.

And so, in 2019, I made my hobby “official” with a name, going by Aurora's Destination. The hobby I dreamt would one day build our dreams and provide for my children. An outdoor clothing destination, built with nature in mind and our planet at heart. I still sell “sticks” on my website now, just search Home Decor. Some go for more than £100; some have even sold before they're complete.

I knew it wouldn't be an instant thing. The few pennies I made were nowhere near enough to provide and pay bills. So I took any work I could when the kids were small, always taking them with me, then trained to be a teacher’s assistant when the kids hit primary school.

Meanwhile, I saved hard for the next big machine, an embroidery machine. One of many machines I didn’t yet know I’d need to invest in.

My hobby slowly turned into an inconsistent whirlwind alongside my day job and single parenting, sometimes staying up all hours of the evening to ship hundreds of handmade bits out to the UK and USA. But sometimes, nothing for a while. And to be honest, it’s still like that now sometimes. I still always worry in January, or if I have some quiet days or weeks.

But as it built up little by little, I decided to take the leap. I'd saved. I'd invest in me. I'd work all the hours my body would let me and my kids would allow me. I was going to do it. Full time. Shit! 

So in 2023, I quit my job at the school. It took me a few months to find my feet, but by January 2024, I had customers, a website, and a tonne of stock I'd built up over the years, I'd learnt jewellery making too. I had a support network of people who believed in me, and I was enrolled on a business course, which I optionally took twice, just so I didn’t miss anything. With the days soo full, I really struggled to get information I didn't understand to stay in. They told me no one asked to take the course twice… but I did. I wanted to listen, learn and understand, as much as I could.

I'd entered a whole new world of scary, the unknown. Sometimes I'd cry and question all that I'm doing. But for the most part, it worked for me.

Every person who helped me, supported me, shared my posts, followed me on social media, shared my page, mentioned my business, recommended me, proofread something, gifted me something to help me grow or inspire me, bought me coffee, gave me tips, or consoled me on a day when I felt like leaving to get a job in a café, every single person has given me the flexibility to be there for my children’s nativity plays, certificates, school drop-offs and pick-ups. To be the present Mum I want to be for my kids.

I believe this journey was there all along, from picking flowers and sneaking buttons into my pockets, whether I was able to learn art and textiles at school or whether I missed half the classes. Clothing brands like mine are important to slowing the consumption of cheap, disposable fast fashion filling our earth. I’m here to make sure my clothing brand is an advocate for that, but also thoughtful and affordable - providing products and services with lasting quality.

Aurora's Destination is a clothing brand that cares, built by people who care. 

I was recently asked, what’s your top 5 makes? So here you go:

• I once made a selection of stag do t-shirts with horrendous names and a huge photo of the stag’s face. I never posted them online as they were crazily inappropriate, but hilarious. Ask me to see them if you fancy a laugh.
• I was once asked to make a custom waistcoat… out of tiger skin. It went against all my morals, but they’d asked several seamstresses and due to the cost of replacement, they’d said no. I said “f**k it”, priced something crazy, and got to work without ever having made a waistcoat before or using a pattern. Looking back, I'm not sure I'd be as ballsy now. But the customer was insanely happy, I've got photos of this too, if you'd like to see.
• The first dress I made for my daughter on Claire’s sewing machine. It was stunning. 
• Gladys (as my sister calls it), after the monstrosity Phoebe made in Friends. I made my Dad a mannequin, completely silver with shiny embellishments. He actually really liked it and had it in his living room on a glass shelf for years.
• The Be Yourself design, one of my first designs and still one of my best sellers. So many people reach out to tell me how much they love it. And if you'd have seen the first doodle I chucked together in the passenger seat of a friends car on a road trip, you wouldn't believe it would go on to become a best selling design. 

Top 5 achievements:

• Going full time. From pocket money job, to side hustle, to part time, then finally full time. It’s without a doubt the scariest thing. I wear all the hats: IT guy, analyst, content creator, designer, stock checks, emails, chasing payments, rebranding, blogging, scheduling, meetings, all around family life. Me, me, me. But it's a balancing act, because I need to do the behind the scenes "none paid jobs" to be able to do the "actual" work... Taking the leap and continuing to grow is my biggest achievement.
• Launching my new website. Hours of coding and listings I never thought I could do, but after months of behind-the-scenes work, switching websites was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
• Keepsake hoodies. A friend sent me a photo of her grandad’s handwriting from a birthday car, from before he passed away, and asked if I could use the handwriting for embroidery. I stitched “Love Grandad” onto hoodies for her and her siblings. It was one of the most touching items I’ve ever made. Her review is still on the homepage of my website.
• My biggest order, 800 items. Tote bags, cut by Cricut, weeded by hand. It took weeks. This was before I could print and press, which is waaayy quicker and easier!
• Teaching my first paint class to local elders. Watching them recreate a painting I’d painted years earlier was incredibly uplifting.

So, there it is. A little story from me, Roxy, creator of Aurora’s Destination. Just a mum chasing her dreams, grateful to be doing so, and grateful for the support. I'm just over 2 years into fulltime, I've invested an arm and a leg and thankfully racked up zero debt! But I've sold thousands of products and had so many lovely reviews. I'm building my dreams, with so much support, around a life that I love. I wonder what the next few years will bring...