Catherine McAtier

That's me.

A visual glance.....

The Story So Far

When did it all start?  I don't know I guess I've always been creative.  I've always had this gift and I've always had the need to do my own thing.

I got my sewing machine in 1972, when I was 17, my creativity having been spotted after making a golly costume for Halloween.  after that I made clothes for myself, family and friends.  Most of my time for the next few years was taken up with studying, or being a student.  And after that my creativity was shelved for a few years as I went in search of other things and lived in London for a while.  I attempted to study Interior Design on a few occassions but couldn't quite commit.

On returning to Paisley my creativity grew again as did my interest Interior Design.  I created what could be looked upon as my first collection for Children's Nurseries in both pastels and bolds.

Whilst the products I made were of a high quality and I enjoyed designing and creating them I didn't pay the same attention to detail with regard to turning this all into a business.  Any attempts at starting a business were somewhat half hearted and went nowhere.

Rather than looking at the reasons why ID's for Kids didn't work as a business I went off on another path and focussed on window treatments.

This was at a time when swags and tails, valances, trims, tie-backs and all sorts of decorative fabric accessories were in fashion.

Again I enjoyed designing and creating window treatments, although admittedly, I didn't really enjoy making standard curtains.  A curtain is a curtain, it's a square/rectangle of fabric headed, hemmed and lined.  I know that fabric and finish can make the difference between a bad curtain , a good curtain and a beautiful curtain but really the accessories make the major difference.  Unfortunately I couldn't create the accessories alone and lost interest in making the curtains.

Along with other things going on in my life my creativity went on the back burner again for a while.

Time and again I've come back to my creativity and my love of fabric.  I have toyed with the idea of running my own business.  At one point I worked for a well known fabric retailer part-time and set about doing window treatments again - perhaps not one of my better ideas.

I spent some time soulsearching and thinking about what I really wanted.  I want to bring together the aspects of everything I enjoy about creativity along with my bleief that everyone deserves quality and luxury and the price tag does not have to be excessively high.

I want to create a business providing affordable luxury which is ethically sound - recycling fabrics that are already out there and raising money for charity in the process.  10% of all proceeds go to Save The Children.

My ultimate goal is to open an Abundance Centre that provides a springboard for all creative talent.  In the meantime I'll make the most of this virtual abundance centre that is The MacsX.