About Sian

Your Workshop Facilitator

Stories Textiles was founded by Sian, a maker with over twenty years of sewing experience and a lifelong love of creativity.

With one grandmother a dressmaker and the other a passionate home sewer, the skill and appreciation for handcraft were passed down naturally. Sewing has always been part of Sian’s life, shaping how she creates, observes and connects.

Sian studied fashion, including design, sewing, patternmaking and grading; and later marketing. Her diverse career spans industries and roles including fashion, Pilates, education, government and IT, each chapter adding depth to her creative and analytical approach.

Known among family and friends for her long and reliable memory, Sian loves recalling and preserving stories and core memories. This instinct for remembering, noticing and connecting details flows directly into her work.

As a mum and partner, family is her greatest love. Creating meaningful moments with her children and passing on a love of art and craft is central to her life and values. Libraries and art galleries are her favourite places to share with her kids.

Growing up in a home filled with antiques collected by her parents, Sian developed a deep appreciation for objects with history and character. She is an avid collector of interesting things, especially through op shopping, where the thrill of discovering something unexpected often sparks new ideas for her ever-growing list of creative projects.

About Stories Textiles

Sewing has been Sian’s longest and most meaningful hobby. It is her most valuable creative outlet and a source of joy and serenity. From following fashion, saving inspiration, drafting patterns and sewing garments, to wearing them out into the world, there is a special thrill in being able to say, “Thanks, I made it”. Sewing starts conversations, and those conversations lead to connection. Every piece has a story.

Stories Textiles is inspired by far more than fabric and thread.

Reading and books have always been central to Sian’s life. She began reading and writing at three years old and was rarely without a book growing up, once dreaming of becoming an author and illustrator. That love continues today through family bedtime reading rituals and a much-loved, ever-growing home library. Her partner is a natural and engaging storyteller, a quality she has always admired in others.

Sian collects children’s picture books from the 1960s, drawn to the beauty of mid-century illustration and the richness of their visual storytelling. She also collects many other objects, each with its own history and narrative waiting to be shared.

Growing up, The Storyteller by Jim Henson was a favourite television show, alongside films such as Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz. These formative influences shaped her love of imagination, atmosphere and narrative, elements that continue to inform Stories Textiles today.