Over 50 years ago I started sewing as a child making doll clothes. As I outgrew dolls, I began making school clothes and prom dresses for myself, and Christmas gifts for my friends and family. Eventually I began making wedding and bridesmaid dresses, but grew tired of working with “bridezillas”. My interests then turned to quilting, alterations, and home décor items for my own home, which turned into a business as word spread and I was soon making all sorts of custom home décor and accessories for my clients. After years of travelling to clients’ homes to take measurements, picking out fabrics, wrestling with yards and yards of fabric and cutting foam cushion material, I discovered bag making and was hooked. When people saw the bags I had made, they would often encourage me to sell them or asked if they could buy one from me. I decided to give it a shot, and that’s how Katydid Handcrafted came to be. Katydid is the nickname I gave to my youngest daughter, Katie, when she was a baby (and I still call her that even now as a senior in college) and it seemed fitting to pass it down to my “new baby”.
The items on my website are often one of a kind, but some can be recreated, depending on fabric availability. All of the bags are made by hand, by me, in my studio in Toledo, Ohio.
Thank you for visiting my website and reading my story. I also have a Facebook Page, please follow me at Katydid Handcrafted.
Barb Veselka