Karen Collins
I originate from Yorkshire, on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors but have lived in Moray for over 20 years.It was my grandparents who inspired my love of the natural world and creating things by hand.When walking the moors with my grandfather I would gather things that caught my eye, often ending up with pocketfuls of wool picked from the fences.My Nana taught me to sew and knit when I was old enough to hold the big needles at the right end. This early creativity was nurtured by an inspirational handwork teacher at school which eventually led me to study fashion design at Jacob Cramer Art College in Leeds.From an idea to a finished garment, all made by hand. From nothing to something useful just made sense to me.
An innate sense of curiosity about what ‘found’ natural materials could offer meant I explored other hand made skills such as paper making and using a fleece to spin wool.A desire to share this love of making led me to teach in youth clubs after graduating. After time spent travelling in my early twenties I settled in the Scottish Borders.Here I led a craft workshop in a community that supported young people with specific needs, both physical and cognitive. This was where I learnt and developed my basket weaving skills.
An opportunity to work in the Moray Steiner School took me and my family to the North East of Scotland. Here I taught hand work and craft to 7 – 17 year for over 10 years. Life events then reconnected me to the older generation as I moved into care work .It was in this role that enabled me to explore the immense value of connection and the intimacy of sharing with someone who is reaching the end of their life journey. These experiences were the starting point of a unique service that I now offer alongside my work at Naturally Useful.
The creation of Naturally Useful was inspired by my surroundings at Marcassie Farm. The availability of wool, willow and hedgerow materials inspired me to return to making and the space in the Pole Barn allowed me to run courses to share my knowledge of traditional skills, as well as developing a product range for home and garden.
It was my own desire to learn more that took me on a willow coffin making course. This became a catalyst for the development of a new strand to the business and a truly personal tailor made way to show care for a loved one.
‘ I look forward to growing as grey as the seals up here. This is my Patch and I love it.’