Joy to Create is a family business nestled neatly in the village of Horndean, Hampshire. We provide people with the sewing skills, textile art techniques, equipment and materials to create beautiful, unique pieces of work.

Like many, we are concerned about the impact we have on our planet in today’s consumer society. Instead of repairing a damaged item it’s now often cheaper to throw it away and buy a new one, creating mountains of waste and pollution in the process. We want our business to consider these issues and believe in some small way that we can make a difference.

We have all heard Grandparents and Great Grandparents talking about difficult times during the war and the ‘make do and mend’ philosophy, quite simply, mending damaged clothes and making something new from old items, known today as ‘upcycling’. By applying a sustainable approach to textiles we can teach the skills to enable people to repair clothes and turn old in to new, with basic sewing skills you’ll be amazed at what’s possible. Many people may not have been taught these skills at school, or if they were they haven't used them for many years and this is at the heart of what we are trying to address.

Everyone is capable of achieving great things and we want to help people on that journey. Getting people familiar with their sewing machine, introducing basic techniques and enhancing their skills, we’ll have them making things they never thought possible. Sewing and textile art should be more accessible and we want to enable people to experience the pleasure that accompanies creating their own work. 

Our vision for the future is to develop our range of courses, equipment and materials that are available to our customers...and we have lots of exciting ideas.

- Early coverage by Meon Valley Newspaper