Jo-Anna's Attic

It is my dream to create a massive community of mums who are passionate about the health and wellbeing of their families and who provide support for each other along the parenting journey. Through a networking group for women in business I recently found the amazing Jo-Anna - creator and founder of Jo-Anna's Attic , a mum of two beautiful boys and her story about why she got her business started speaks for itself so she has done a special guest blog sharing it!

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Hi, I’m Jo-Anna, creator and founder of Jo-Anna’s Attic where I hand make a variety of décor and accessories for children.  I began just over 5 years ago when I was pregnant with my first child.  I’ve always been a very ‘crafty’ person and have enjoyed making my own things to decorate my home.  While I was pregnant I was planning to return to full time work after having bub and I wanted him to have a special blanket to take with him wherever he went.  At the time there was quite a bit of talk about children having a ‘transitional object’ to take some of the comfort of home with them while they were away from their parents.  I thought this was a lovely idea!

I knew I wanted something special for my wee boy, however I quickly became frustrated with the mass-produced items that were on offer at the shops as they didn’t have the uniqueness and specialness that I wanted for my son - and they were asking quite a lot for a plain fleece blanket!  So I set about making my first quilt.  I carefully selected the fabrics and created a design of what the blanket would look like.  I didn’t own a sewing machine at the time so I carefully hand-stitched every square together… but it gave me something to do during my pregnancy. This quilt is still on my son’s bed today!


I then began making quilts for friends and family along with other items that I couldn’t find in the shops.  Being from Canada, burp cloths/ burp pads were readily available, but I could find none where I lived in Australia.  I began making them and they were a big hit because not only did the do the job of keeping our clothes clean while burping baby, they didn’t take up much room in the washing machine!

Over the past 5 years I expanded my range and grew my business.  I still put the same time and effort in to designing and sewing quilts today as I did with that very first quilt (though I have a sewing machine now!).  As I create them, I imagine the wonderful little babies being wrapped snuggly in their blankets and their parents and families enjoying bub who is wrapped cozily in their special item.  I truly believe that our surroundings make a huge impact on our lives and as mothers, our surroundings are often the inside of our homes, especially in those early days.  My dream is that I make those surroundings a bit brighter, a bit cozier and a bit more cheerful in the hopes of lightening the load.

I hope you enjoy browsing my items and please keep in mind that I am happy to custom make something specifically for you and your family!

Love Jo-Anna x

You can check out Jo-Anna's Attic at:

www.joannasattic.co.nz
www.facebook.com/joannasattic
http://www.pinterest.com/johohua/

 

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