From legal wranglings to festive cheer.
Christmas has come early for a young Hagley mum whose artistry is paying dividends.
For Claudia Buckle has discovered how to have it all by running a craft business from her kitchen. The 29-year-old is producing handmade plaques and gifts including a range of personalised Christmas signs, boxes and decorations with what she calls “a touch of magic”.
Launched only six months ago, Magic by Mimi has been such a success that orders are now coming in from across the globe, with Welcome to Christmas signs and tree baubles the most popular items.
“I started making handmade items after the birth of our second son Hugo this year as a way of keeping myself occupied because I didn’t want to return to my full time job in a law firm,” she said. “Having studied history of art as my first degree at Manchester University and enjoyed painting at school, I decided to do something creative by producing personalised wall plaques for our children.
“Friends were so impressed that they asked me to produce similar items for them – which encouraged me to launch a business. Using my Facebook and Instagram accounts and my website at www.magicbymimi.com, I am now thrilled to be getting orders from as far away as America.”
With items priced at between £3 and £25, Claudia has just shipped a Welcome to Wonderland plaque with an Alice in Wonderland theme for a baby Alice in Florida and a standalone letter G with a handwritten name, weight and birth date for a new-born Grace in Texas.
Having honed her artistic skills on a graduate programme at Disneyworld in Florida, Claudia does most of her creative work after Hugo and her elder son two and a half year old Sebastian have gone to bed.
Claudia will have a stall at the annual Christmas Fayre at her old school, Hagley Primary School, on Saturday, December 5th from 11am-2.30pm. She will also be at the Bonded Warehouse in Stourbridge on Sunday November 29th from 11am-4pm; Kidderminster Harriers Social Club on Sunday December 6th from 11am-5pm; and Becketts Farm Shop in Wythall all day on Sunday December 13th, Saturday December 19th and Sunday December 20th.