ADHCrafts explained ;)
Learn more about me - episode 1
There was a time when I thought I had lost who I was.
There was a time when I was working full time as a nurse — advocating for my patients, teaching students, helping them become safe and compassionate professionals.
I remember feeling purposeful. Capable. Needed.
Nine years ago, I was introduced to historical re-enactment. What began as curiosity quickly became something much deeper. Through it, I discovered fibre crafts not just as hobbies, but as heritage. As skill. As slow fashion. As resistance to fast consumption.
Spinning wool by hand. Knitting garments constructed exactly as they were centuries ago. Learning how clothing once held meaning beyond trend.
I fell in love with the idea that yarn carries story.
For years, I balanced it all. Nursing full time. Evenings and weekends immersed in wool, history, and heritage craft.
And then my health changed.
Five years ago, my body began to slow in ways I couldn’t ignore. Chronic pain. Endometriosis. Burnout layered on top of compassion fatigue. Energy that didn’t return with rest.
I remember feeling confused first.
Then exhausted.
Then lost.
No one was talking about the grief of losing the version of yourself you had always known.
No one was talking about what it feels like when your identity — career, capability, independence — shifts without your permission.
No one was talking about how isolating it feels to step back from a profession you love because your body says no.
I felt guilty for not being able to provide.
I felt ashamed of needing rest.
I thought I would never be able to return to nursing.
For two years, I worked quietly on rebuilding.
Learning my limits.
Understanding that productivity is not identity.
Accepting that rest is not weakness.
Throughout all of this, fibre remained constant.
Spinning. Crochet. Processing fleece. Slow, repetitive work that allowed my nervous system to settle.
Fibre craft protected my mental health while I learned who I was outside of being “the nurse.”
Eventually, I returned to nursing — something I’m deeply proud of. But I cannot work full time. And I became acutely aware that many professions, including healthcare, struggle to flex around fluctuating health.
At the same time, something else was happening.
A Movement Was Growing
I was seeing small flock owners with beautiful fleeces and limited local options for processing.
And the truth is — I am not alone in noticing this.
Across the UK, there is a growing movement of independent mills, micro-processors, heritage fibre specialists and sustainable textile businesses building from the ground up. Organisations are championing British wool again. They are reclaiming value from what was once discarded. They are proving that traceable, small-batch fibre has a viable future.
This is not a lonely fight.
It is a collective shift.
ADHCrafts is joining that movement.
But with a focus that feels deeply personal.
Because alongside supporting small flocks and sustainable fibre systems, I am building a structure that supports and values people like me — people living with chronic health conditions who are trying to find where they fit again.
There are incredible businesses already transforming fleece into yarn.
What I am intentionally building alongside that is:
A flexible employment structure.
A supportive team culture.
A heritage craft model that recognises human limitation without judgement.
ADHCrafts exists within the wider sustainable fibre revival — but it also exists to prove that ethical business can include flexibility, understanding, and dignity for those whose bodies don’t always cooperate.
I want to help small flock owners, heritage breed keepers, rural makers — and those navigating chronic health.
Because I know what it’s like to feel your world shrink.
I know what it’s like to feel invisible inside systems designed for uninterrupted productivity.
I want to help:
• Smallholders whose fleeces deserve value
• Heritage breed guardians protecting rare genetics
• Rural businesses wanting traceable fibre services
• Pet owners who want yarn spun from beloved animals
• Skilled creatives living with chronic illness who need flexibility
• People rebuilding identity after burnout
Because I know what it’s like to rebuild from less.
ADHCrafts is not just about yarn.
It is about value.
It is about dignity.
It is about flexibility without apology.
It is about care — for animals and for people.
The future I am building looks like this:
A workshop space filled with quiet purpose.
A team working on projects together — ensuring every commission receives the care we would want ourselves.
Flexible home-based options for those who need them.
Shared workload when someone is struggling.
Community working days.
Teaching heritage techniques.
Inviting people back into skill.
It looks like:
Yarn created from small flocks that once had no processing options.
Value added to rural holdings.
Memory preserved in fibre spun from beloved sheep, goats, alpaca — even dogs.
It looks like sustainable systems.
Transparent sourcing.
Slow growth rooted in ethics.
It looks like financial stability without burnout.
And this time — no one has to do it alone.
Beautiful project. I wish you well - and look forward to buying yarn from you when it's all running.