Meet the Maker: Amanda Barnes

Textile artist Amanda Barnes creates a world of magical mice and other small creatures stitched in Liberty fabrics, tweed, velvet and vintage finds. Based in a small Aberdeenshire town in Scotland and surrounded by woods and fields, she has a wealth of inspirational colours, patterns and wildlife on her doorstep, including nesting puffins and gannets, but it’s the mice that have really captured her imagination. She’s not alone. Amanda’s textiles have many devoted fans, who have commissioned her to make mice cake toppers for their wedding, special pieces to remember loved ones, and characters based on people in their lives. Amanda tells Richard Gubbin from RG Pens how her menagerie of mice first began and how they went from a chance sketch to a (miniature) starring role in US TV show, Criminal Minds…

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After my baby son had a fall, I was a nervous wreck… for a long time. Finally somebody recommended cross-stitch as a way to relax and I fell in love with it. It worked on my anxiety issues, as well as feeding my creative need. That eventually led to a degree in textiles where one of the modules involved using fabric to make 3D forms.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what you do?
I’m Amanda, I live in Aberdeenshire with my husband, son and various animals, including a mutant French Bulldog called Eric and a totally insane Jack Russell puppy called Rudy, who make regular appearances on my Facebook page and Instagram! I’m a mother of two – there’s Rory who uses his creativity through music and games design, and Lou, otherwise known as Yarntistry, who is an incredibly talented and creative crochet designer. I also have two grandchildren, yes I know, I don’t look old enough right? :)

I spend my days making small creatures from Liberty, Harris Tweed and velvet, adding various vintage pieces to make each one unique. I also do commission pieces, which have been used as wedding cake toppers, memorial pieces for lost loved ones and one has even appeared on the US show Criminal Minds.

When I’m not making tiny feet or miniature Christmas crackers, I like to cook, read and play World of Warcraft. I’ve just started the Couch to 5k running programme, which at the age 51, is hard going but strangely enjoyable! We are lucky enough to live in a small town surrounded by woods and fields, so walks with the dogs are one of my favourite things, especially when it’s windy and rainy.

Liberty Mice by Amanda Barnes – available here

One of my first 3D fabric creations was a jelly fish (of all things!) but it really captured my imagination and made me want to make other creatures. I moved on to insects and then finally to my embroidered birds and mice.

How did you start making little creatures out of textiles?
I’ve always enjoyed painting and drawing, anything creative really. When my son was 18 months old, he managed to open a stairgate and went bouncing down a flight of stairs. Amazingly he got up with just a carpet burn on his cheek but I was a nervous wreck… for a long time. Finally somebody recommended cross-stitch as a way to relax and I fell in love with it, moving on to harder and harder patterns. It worked on my anxiety issues, as well as feeding my creative need. I’ve always loved it.   We moved to the Middle East in 2001 and it wasn’t until we moved back in 2012 that I started sewing again. I started a distance learning degree in textiles and one of the modules involved using fabric to make 3D forms. One of my first 3D fabric creations was a jelly fish (of all things!) but it really captured my imagination and made me want to make other creatures. I then moved on to insects and then finally to my embroidered birds.

Liberty Mice by Amanda Barnes – available here

My mice happened entirely by chance! I was sketching some of the birds that I’d made, with the aim of turning one into a linocut for printing. One of my doodles turned into a mouse and I decided to see if I could make it in fabric. I made a few and posted them on my Facebook page and the response was amazing.

My mice happened entirely by chance! I was sketching some of the birds that I’d made, with the aim of turning one into a linocut for printing on to cards or fabric. One of my doodles turned into a mouse and then I decided to see if I could make it in fabric. I made a few and posted them on my Facebook page and the response was amazing. As the weeks went by, I worked to improve the shape and started to add in small props like spectacles or butterfly nets. The biggest thrill for me was making a small mouse in the style of a character from Criminal Minds. I’ve been a huge fan of Penelope Garcia on the show – she’s the computer genius and has a desk full of small colourful things, like unicorns and other fun stuff. I tweeted Kirsten Vangsness, the actress and the rest is history. My little mouse in bright yellow with a roses headband appeared in several episodes from last season and even had a close up on ‘The Bunker’ episode! [Watch the snippet below and look out for Amanda’s mouse at the end of the clip!]

My biggest thrill was making a small mouse in the style of a character from Criminal Minds. I’ve been a huge fan of Penelope Garcia on the show so I tweeted the actress Kirsten Vangsness and the rest is history – my little mouse in bright yellow with a roses headband appeared on her desk in several episodes and even had a close up!

Where does your inspiration come from?
I would say that I’m inspired by nature more than anything else – the wealth of colours and patterns is unrivalled. We live in Aberdeenshire, ‘from the mountains to the sea’, so the landscape here is amazing. We aren’t too far from Troup Head where you can see nesting gannets and puffins. It’s a bit of a climb and incredibly high but seeing them swooping and flying on the cliffs can really fire up the imagination. I nearly gave my husband a heart attack the last time we went there by lying on the cliff top to take photos.

We live in Aberdeenshire and the landscape here is amazing. We aren’t too far from Troup Head where you can see nesting gannets and puffins.

How do you choose which creature to make?
There is no set pattern to what I make. I wake up one day with one idea and then just roll with it. I seem to make primarily mice at the moment but I’m very wary of always taking the safe option. If I feel as though it’s becoming routine or I’m just going through the motions, that’s when I will decide to make something else. I am quite often led by the fabrics that I have at hand. Harris Tweed is a great fabric for giving me ideas. I bought some gorgeous orange tweed which I intended to use for some fox brooches but the moment I unwrapped it, I kept seeing squirrels!

We live in an old Manse (Scottish vicarage) with large, high-ceilinged rooms and when we moved, I picked out one room and said, “that’s mine!”. I try to keep everything in there and that makes it easier to finish at a reasonable time, shut the door and try to relax. It’s an absolute bomb site though, I keep tidying it but I tend to work in chaos.

How do the materials influence what you make? Do you choose the fabric and see what it turns into or carefully plan each piece, building it up in your mind before making it?
It’s always the fabric! I usually work at a large tall table where I have my patterns, scissors etc. Also on the table is a large pile of Liberty fabrics which I never put away. I have a chest of drawers full of other fabric and never get to it – the Liberty patterns and colours seem to be all I use at the moment. I normally have an idea of what colour scheme I want to go with that day, whether that’s blue, pink or yellow and then I’ll spend a little while looking at each piece of fabric.   I recently made a trio of mice from Liberty’s ‘Strawberry Thief’ fabric in three different colour schemes and used them to make a framed piece, which revolved around them attempting to break into a picture frame containing some textile strawberries. I was entirely guided by the fabric for that one and it led to a piece unlike any other that I had done.

Liberty Mice Wedding Cake Topper by Amanda Barnes – commission Amanda by sending her a message here

If I’m working on commission pieces for particular people I try to give them similar attributes or looks. I like to talk to them about the recipient’s hobbies, favourite colours and then incorporate them into that mouse.

Apart from making pens I also build guitars which I try to build character into. I find listening to different music influences the final build. Do you imagine your animals as little characters of their own, making up a little backstory behind them? I would.  
I tend to make each mouse with an idea in my head of how they will look and complement the props or accessories that I’m putting them with. They don’t really have characters as such, although when I’m working on commission pieces that are for particular people I try to give them similar attributes or looks. If someone commissions a piece from me, I like to talk to them about the recipient’s hobbies, favourite colours etc and then incorporate them into that mouse.

When I design a piece and spend tens of hours on it, I struggle to part with it. I still have my Osprey and a Swan on my shelf that are going nowhere.

You obviously pour a lot of yourself into your creatures – do you find it hard to let them go? Or if it’s a favourite, are you ever tempted to keep it for yourself?
There are a couple of pieces I made that I still have. My embroidered birds are always very special to me. If I’m working from a commission, then I know it’s not mine but when I design a piece and spend tens of hours on it, I struggle to part with it. I still have my Osprey and a Swan on my shelf that are going nowhere. I have worked on some mice that were commissioned for a wedding or, in a couple of cases, as a remembrance of a lost loved one and they always make me very emotional. It isn’t that I find them hard to let go of, but I’m incredibly honoured that someone thinks highly enough of my work that they want it as part of their special day or as a connection to someone very special. Sending those off to their new home is always very emotional for me.

I’m quite often led by the fabrics that I have at hand. Harris Tweed is a great fabric for giving me ideas. I bought some gorgeous orange tweed which I intended to use for some fox brooches but the moment I unwrapped it, I kept seeing squirrels!

Do you have a dedicated work room or like many crafters, me included, spread out of the workshop into any spare bit of room in the house. Personally, I never use the bedroom or living room – any other room is fair game, though.   
Until we moved three years ago, I was working in the dining room and then spread out to the conservatory, which was a nightmare – too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter. We now live in an old Manse (Scottish vicarage) with large, high-ceilinged rooms and when we moved, I picked out one room and said, “that’s mine!”. I try to keep everything in there and that makes it easier to finish at a reasonable time, shut the door and try to relax. It’s an absolute bomb site though, I keep tidying it but I tend to work in chaos. If I want to work in a less cluttered space, I’ll take my materials and tools into the kitchen where there’s a lot of natural light and I can look out into the garden.

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Learn how to stitch your own fabric bird with this textile kit by Amanda Barnes

Make your own Liberty Bird DIY craft kit by Amanda Barnes – available here

I love to see what people make with my craft kits and encourage people to share their makes on my Facebook page.

You sell kits too. Do you find that people buy a finished piece and then follow up by trying it for themselves?  
Actually yes, quite a few of the people who have bought my patterns or kits are already owners of my birds and mice. I love to see what they make and encourage them to share their makes on my Facebook page.

Liberty Birds by Amanda Barnes – available here

I have boxes of threads, beads, vintage lace, vintage buttons. Vintage haberdashery is my addiction! The reason I started to sell my pieces was to fund that addiction!

Are you a hoarder? Do you buy threads and materials ‘just because’ and try to justify it to yourself or only purposely buy materials?
I’m terrible and, yes, I’m a hoarder. I buy fabrics because I like the look of them, with no idea what I’m going to use them for. I have boxes of threads, beads, vintage lace, vintage buttons. Vintage haberdashery is my addiction! The reason I started to sell my pieces was to fund that addiction. I don’t try to justify it; I accept it, although I do try to curb it. I am Amanda Barnes and I am a vintage haberdashery addict.

Christmas Mice by Amanda Barnes – available to buy here

When I’m not making tiny feet or miniature Christmas crackers, I like to cook, read and play World of Warcraft!

If you weren’t making animals, what would you be doing? Did you try other things before arriving at what you do today?
Before we went to Saudi Arabia I was an account manager for an online training company. Obviously it’s hard to work in Saudi as an ex-pat woman, so I spent a lot of time by the pool, reading or cooking, which sounds idyllic but can soon become very dull. When we moved to Qatar in 2005, I was doing more of the same as well as riding and golf. Then I worked as a restaurant reviewer for a lifestyle site in Qatar. I loved that but it was NOT conducive to a great waistline! Coming back to the UK, I really had no idea what I was going to do, which is probably why I started the online degree. Even then I had no idea how it was going to benefit me but I suppose part of the idea was to find an area that I would want to explore. I’m not sure what I would be doing to be honest, I have drifted into everything I’ve done, so who knows where I would have drifted next?   I never did finish the degree…

Coming back to the UK from Qatar, I really had no idea what I was going to do, which is probably why I started my degree. Even then I had no idea how it was going to benefit me but I suppose part of the idea was to find an area that I would want to explore.

How do you see your creative business long term? Is it something you’d like to grow even more or are happy where you are?  
This is a tricky one. I have just the one pair of hands and only so many hours in the day to make my animals, so there will be a limit to where my business can go. I would like to make more detailed and bigger pieces – the framed pieces were a step towards that, I think. I have grand plans involving a hot air balloon and my mice, creating a large scale wall hanging.    I already have some of my pieces in a wonderful gallery in Wargrave, Berkshire, and would like the chance to be in more locations. My dream stockist would be the Imaginarium in York, so for now that’s my goal for the future.