Bee Free Kids Clothing was founded by Caoimhe Tuthill, a ballet dancing, stilt walking, archaeologist who spent 10 happy mucky years digging for treasure. Unfortunately along came the recession, then came redundancy so it was time to hang up my hard hat and put away my trusty trowel and to try something totally different.
So how does someone who hasn’t a notion about sewing start designing and making children’s clothing and accessories? I have always loved design, art, colour, crafts, textiles and experimenting with different materials so I started thinking of possibilities...
I am very lucky to be Mama to an absolutely gorgeous wee gal and I noticed that at a very young age the kid’s clothes seemed to change from bright vibrant colours to a more grown up, conservative look. I love seeing kids in clothing that allows them to play, to have fun, to jump in puddles & to explore the great outdoors without restrictions. I love having pockets for their treasures, hoods for cosiness and making clothes that are as unique, colourful and distinctive as they are themselves.
So with that in mind I decided to call on the skills of my talented and patient Mam who gave me a crash (and very frustrating!) course in dress making and with the help of my Papa’s 40 year old sewing machine I started designing and making kids clothing...
Well it wasn’t that easy, there was a lot (and I mean a whole heap) of trial and error but once I started creating the clothes and baby wraps out of fleece I found ways of putting more character and fun into each piece. The feedback and comments that I was getting from children and adults alike was very positive so I decided that it was worth giving it a shot & I started expanding my range.
I met with the Meath Enterprise Board in late 2011 who suggested that I try Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo. I didn’t have a clue what to expect but in January of 2012 I officially launched Bee Free Kids Clothing at Showcase. I had a great response and things started to take off after that...
There is so much more I want to create. I have had lots of cool conversations with my daughter, nephews and nieces about fairies & fairytale land, dinosaurs & monsters, pirates, planes, trains & automobiles, the sea and the stars, rainbows, flowers & all creatures great & small so I have a mind full of ideas just bursting to get out!
This is starting to sound like an award speech so I will stop it there! I hope like what you see, if you do please tell others (& if you don’t please tell me!)
xxx Caoimhe