My name is Kate and I started Bothy Threads about 25 years ago. Stitching has been my life-long hobby and I simply ran out of kits that I wanted to stitch and so made some of my own! The business really took off when I began to ask artists, whose work I liked, if I could use their work as a basis for designs. Since then, the business has grown really strongly and now I use about 20 artists’ work under licence and produce about 300 different designs. I really like designs that are a bit unusual! I love finding little beads and charms to enhance the stitching.
Up until 2013 I lived in Newmarket, in the East of England, which is famous for race horses. Unfortunately this part of England is very flat and my other hobby is mountaineering! My husband had another job but helped me out with Bothy Threads at the weekends. We are now lucky enough to live in Cumbria!
In September 2017 we took over the business interest of Derwentwater Designs who were also based in Cumbria. We now produce all of their designs in the Bothy which has doubled the amount of designs we now have available! Sid and Rose who built up Derwentwater designs for over 20 years have a beautiful range of classic English countryside inspired designs.