Every Kid Deserves That

Ashley is a 22 year old mumma at home with two under two, and the maker behind the beaded felt letters known as FeltLetterCo.

Her days are hectic. Cleaning up after the toddler, vacuuming golden retriever hair for the hundredth time, and somewhere in the middle of it you will catch her at her little desk, crafting away. (After the iced coffee, of course.)

She is a Pinterest girly through and through. She may also have an op shop addiction... her words, not ours.

Every kid deserves that

FeltLetterCo started with a price tag. Ashley kept seeing beautiful keepsakes going for the kind of money nobody has right now, and one day she thought: I can make that myself. Handmade would mean more than mass produced anyway.

That is why her prices sit where they do. She is not going to charge $100 for one letter on a banner, because who can actually afford that. She wants every kid to have something special from their childhood, something they can keep and come back to. Every kid deserves that.

What holds her days

Ask her what holds the days together and the first answer is her Dyson. (The amount of beads that end up on the floor is ridiculous.)

Then the real one. Her partner is defence, so his own life is full on, and he has backed her from the very start. And naps. She would be a bit lost without those.

The harder days

She has her days, and she says so plainly. Sometimes it is a lot, mentally. When she gets into that headspace she stops crafting for a couple of days and lets herself regroup. Putting herself first is what gets her through it.

For anyone thinking about it

Don’t be afraid to be out there. Make your work unique. Use the bold colours, do the weird shapes. There is no need to be like everyone else, that is just boring.

And when she needs reminding why she keeps going, she looks back at her first post. Her first banner. It is not great, she will tell you so herself, but she has come a long way already and she knows she can keep getting better.

Made to be kept

Years from now, she hopes the child holding one feels special. That it brings back some of their best memories, and reminds them they were loved, especially by the parent who spent their own money on something just for them.