Busy Bees…
A Clitheroe-based soft furnishing business is leading the way when it comes to sustainable practices and eco-friendly fabrics
The talented duo behind Bee Creative Designs are Sally Sutcliffe and Jane Staples both originally from Lincolnshire, but now firmly established in the Ribble Valley.
While forging a reputation for their exquisite, hand-made soft furnishings, Sally and Jane recycle and upcycle whenever the opportunity arises.
“A while back we were going through a green award checklist and we realised we were already doing everything on the list,” explains Sally.
“We recycle everything, all the small leftover fabric bits are put in specially made bags to be re-cycled and the cardboard tubes at the centre of the fabric rolls are given to gardeners to plant seeds in.”
Bee Creative Designs make cushions, curtains and blinds – they also get involved in re-upholstery projects too, ideal for up-cycling pieces of furniture: “Young people especially seem to like the fact that they can recycle a family heirloom, a sentimental piece that they love that can be restored to its former glory.”
A recent project saw Jane and Sally collaborating with furniture restorer Mel Shute, who helped breathe new life into an old armchair and another project saw Bee Creative transform a 1960’s-style chair.
“People love the ‘repair shop’ vibe,” adds Sally. “In their own way customers are trying to be eco-friendly, which is lovely.”
Both passionate about sewing, Sally and Jane are equally keen not to waste any fabric: “We are both good at measuring and pattern matching so we never over-order and if there is any fabric left we will either make a cushion out of it or return it to the customer. If they are not a crafter and don’t want the fabric, then we gift it to local charities who get involved in crafting or to schools.”
Much of the fabric used by Bee Creative is eco-friendly and is Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) certified or has the global Confidence in Textile certification. Both accreditations mean manufacturers use organic cotton and recycled polyester: “More and more fabric books are featuring these eco-friendly fabrics,” says Jane. “It has filtered down from the fashion industry to the home interiors industry.”
Jane and Sally are equally passionate about good design and meticulous attention to detail and when a project is complete, new curtains, cushions and blinds are either protected in compostable wrapping or the original wrapping that the fabric arrives in.
Each year they accept curtains and blinds that are no longer used and re-sell them to be recycled with the proceeds going to local charity Derian House.
“Since we started Bee Creative we have always been mindful of reducing waste, being environmentally friendly and recycling everything we can – we even compost our tea bags!”
Bee Creative Designs
Unit 11, Hawthorne Business Park
Lincoln Way, Clitheroe BB7 1QD
01200 871536
07740 507684
hello@beecreativedesigns.org
beecreativedesigns.org
facebook/BeeCreativeDesigns
