Just a Little Bit About Blue Lily Magnolia
The Beginning
Blue Lily Magnolia was created in 2014 following lots of experimentation on making beautiful flowers out of fabric pieces, laces, brooches and buttons. It all started with my own wedding when I designed and made my own bouquet of vintage brooches, complemented with lace, buttons and silk flowers. After this, I spent a lot of time designing and making other wedding bouquets in my little studio based in Nantwich, Cheshire, UK, using new and upcycled fabrics to make the flowers. Soon, this progressed into making bridal sashes, bridal hair accessories, corsages, and also other headpieces and accessories for special occasions. Some of these are still being regularly sold in my Etsy shop. Some are bespoke requests to match a specific dress or a theme. The best sellers are the made-to-measure simple skinny wedding belts, which can complement all sorts of dress styles, by providing minimalistic definition on the waistline.
Now...
Shortly after setting up the bridal accessories side of the business, it was followed with offering the design and making of bespoke dresses for formal occasions and for weddings. Naturally, the scope gradually expanded to altering dresses brought in by others, particulary wedding gowns, dresses for balls, bridesmaids, mother-of-the-bride and of course prom. I also take on general alterations for everyday wear, so no clothing-related job is too small - although during the peak season (spring-summer), it can take a bit longer for these to be done as I need to prioritise wedding and prom gowns.
Today, the majority of the work that I do is general and bridal alterations and bespoke dressmaking and the bridal accessories side, which was the start of the business, is only a small but fun part. After getting some requests about sewing lessons, I also offer them on a 1-1 basis, covering anything that someone might be interested to learn - from the very basics to corsetry.
About Me
Thank you for visiting this page today and finding out about the business and me. My name is Sharon Lam Gilding and I am (so far still) the one-woman-band of Blue Lily Magnolia, juggling the appointments, the fittings, the cutting, the stitching and the teaching! I don't subcontract any of the major work, so all the bespoke dresses and alterations, and accessories are being handled with lots of love and care in my studio in Nantwich.
For me, it has always been my passion to design, create and make, and I have been experimenting with fabrics and textiles for over 30 years now. It all started when I was still a very young child in the beautiful island of Mauritius, with sewing, knitting and crocheting. Then in my teens, I moved on to learning different textile decorative techniques such as tie and dye, batik, beading, embroidery, painting, appliques, and lots of other interesting or obscure techniques! My passion for textiles continued well into adulthood, and I went on to obtain a First Class in Textile Design from the University of Leeds, and a couple of postgraduate degrees in Textiles too. Before setting up and growing Blue Lily Magnolia, I worked in developing new products in large corporations, but gave this up when I decided to have a lifestyle change and work more from home and with more flexibility.
Creative Collaborations
One of the very core reasons for me to have given up corporate work is that I wanted to have the chance to be more freely creative in my day-to-day activities. So if you do have a crazy idea that you would like someone to collaborate to - to create this unique wearable item, whether it is simply for a photoshoot, or for the sake of art, please do not hesitate to get in touch, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear more!! Call or text me directly on 07766766573!