#2 / Lights, cameras, action: Introducing… Dawn Bibby

The world of garment decoration and crafting covers so many different areas and involves so many amazing people, and when we can, we love to share with you some of the talented people we have had the pleasure of working alongside over the years.

In this month’s ‘Introducing…’ section we are delighted to present the multi-talented Dawn Bibby. If you’re a watcher of any of the big craft channels you may recognise her from one of the many programmes she’s presented over the years. Her long career as a tv presenter is only one of the many things she does, and her kits and demonstrations have enabled generations of crafters to develop their skills and produce some wonderful things.

Here’s what she had to say to us…

Sum yourself up in 10 words or less
Designer, craft expert and tv presenter.

Dawn Bibby

Tell us a bit about your background, why you took the path you took and how it led you to now?
My background is in textiles and fashion, but my career path led me into the world of paper crafting. My first business was designing knitwear and embellishing it with gorgeous fabrics and embroidery. However, as these items where quite expensive to produce, I started fabric painting on to garments to bring the final cost to the customer down. It was then that I began painting onto cards which eventually led me into paper crafting!! It was 25 years ago last year that I first took a crafting kit onto shopping tv!

What or who is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration is definitely nature. We have beauty all around us ­– trees, flowers, animals – all are wonderful concepts for designs and inspire incredible colour palettes. 

All about now and Dawn Bibby Creations
I’m now going back to my roots and working with fabrics – designing my own range for quilting and embroidery. I love creating appliqué motifs and satin stitching around the edge with beautiful shiny threads. Which is where the lovely Marathon Threads come in! They give a gorgeous sheen and add that finishing touch. 

Wildlife quilting examples

Why embroidery?
I love embroidery! With simple stitching you can create a beautiful lustrous work of art. My brand Dawn Bibby Creations of course does a comprehensive paper crafting range too and I have a jewellery and fabric collection that sits alongside all this too.

What’s good about Marathon Threads?
I just love to combine machine embroidery with hand embroidery and Marathon Threads allows me to do that. If I’m hand stitching I just use multiple threads off the spool so it perfectly colour matches.

Embroidered flowers

What could Marathon provide that they don’t already offer?
It would be nice (and also useful) if Marathon did matching skeins of embroidery threads in coordinating colours.

What’s been your most unusual project?
Years ago, I stitched a wall hanging for my sister that included machine embroidery, beading and hand stitching. It was a wonderful challenge to create such a piece and when I have the time I would love to produce something similar.  

Work set up for display
 

We’d like to thank Dawn for taking the time to talk to us and for her amazing answers. To find out more and see what she has to offer, pop over to her website, find her on Facebook and Twitter or take a look at her Instagram feed to see what she has been up to.

And if you’re reading this and would like to feature in a future ‘Introducing…’ slot, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch here or send us a message via our Facebook page.