Hello there,
I thought I’d just give you a bit of background to the Missy Mop story. I started Missy Mop Fabrics in 2019, because when I started sewing I found it really hard to find fabrics that I actually wanted to wear.
Looking back, I clearly had a bit of a thing for fabric (or an addiction) for a very long time and had accumulated a significant STASH before I had even started to learn to sew.
It all began many years back, when I worked for companies such as Laura Ashley, Emanuel, Katharine Hammnet, Karl Lagerfeld & Yves St Laurent. It’s obvious now, that being surrounded by gorgeous, divine, luxurious fabric every day was going to have some kind of long term impact and with hindsight, I see now it was the perfect training ground to learn about fabrics.
The second big contributor was TRAVEL. I am half Nigerian and half German and grew up amongst indigo Adire and dirndl dresses. I have a huge love of traditional textiles and until I got shackled with a mortgage I used to spend all my money travelling. Over the years I’ve collected textiles from the Far East, Sub Continent, Africa and South America, as well as having raided the odd fabric shop in France and Italy.
Despite this stash, I only really started dressmaking a year before setting up Missy Mop Fabrics. Always looking to top up the stash, I quickly realised how hard it was to find inspiring dress fabrics. So after more than 20 years in the corporate world I took the plunge and decided to launch a fabric business.
So Missy Mop Fabrics started life as a pop-up shop in Hastings on the South East coast of England and I am now absolutely delighted to have a website. It feels like a very big step but also very, very exciting.
From the outset, I have been on a mission to bring the most inspiring and (positively) challenging fabrics to my customers. So what you see on the website or in my shop is very much curated. I don’t buy ‘unseen‘ fabrics or in bulk and I always make a beeline for the unusual either in design or composition. I also, always take the time to envisage the fabric’s potential as a finished garment.
I want my fabrics to challenge my customers out of their comfort zone. By that I mean, I want to tempt my customers into maybe choosing a bolder or more colourful print than they might usually wear. Or perhaps technically challenge them to experiment with a new material they have never sewn before such as a reversible PVC or faux fur. I very much want to encourage a ‘give it a go’ attitude and I love it when customers come back wearing their fabulous creation and we celebrate together!
I tend to specialise in deadstock. I think this is now an understood term but deadstock fabrics are left over from the garment industry, textile mills, discontinued lines, slight seconds etc. Clearly, there is a strong sustainability story here as we are now all becoming more aware of the environmental, social and people cost of the fashion and textile industry. I am always stunned that in years gone by all my beautiful fabrics would’ve been destined for landfilI. I find that quite shocking.
Deadstock fabrics rarely come with composition or care instructions so I describe them to the best of my knowledge based on discussions with suppliers and my experience working in fashion. Deadstock also typically means quantities are limited and when they’re gone, they’re really gone. But what that also means is that I am always searching for new gems. So it’s always worth regularly browsing the website or popping into the shop as the stock changes frequently.
So that’s my story so far. It’s very early days but I truly love Missy Mop Fabrics. I love the thrill of sourcing beautiful fabrics, I love sharing and talking about the fabrics with my customers and I absolutely love it when a customer comes back to the shop and shows me what they have made. I hope that any new customers reading this will be inspired and have fun looking at my fabric selections.
And lastly just in case you’re curious ‘Missy Mop’ was my mum’s nickname for me as a child as I have wild, crazy hair and my real name is Nicki!
I invite you now to browse my cornucopia of fabric, what will you find today?