Where tough topics meet tender hearts
Creative Mischief for all that life throws at you
I throw creative mischief back at life's challenges, with a sewing machine, a gluestick, and a room full of hoarded fabrics.
UnlikelyGenius delivers creative workshops for all ages. Think heritage textiles. Sustainable making. Memory-keeping. The kind of hands-on, messy, creative time that reminds you who you are when life's thrown everything at you.
The Reality
Life throws things at us. Grief. Anxiety. Major life changes. Loss. Occasionally a brief sniff of joy. It’s no wonder the weight of everything can be too much.
The traditional response? Move on. Get over it. Tick the box. Have a cuppa.
But that's not how humans actually heal. We heal through connection. Through joy. Through remembering the great bits. And creating something with our hands. Through time that's just... for us.
What I Do
I run craft, textile and sustainable making workshops for people who want to show up, create something beautiful, and process life at the same time.
For all ages. For anyone. For the messy middle of being human.
I create space where:
🧵 You learn real skills (sewing, textile work, sustainable crafting)
🎨 You make something you're genuinely proud of (an ACTUAL thing)
💚 You connect with your hands, your creativity, your emotions
🌍 You do it sustainably (reclaimed fabrics, deadstock, zero waste thinking)
☕ You just... exist for a bit. Without pressure. Without performance.
The laid back workshops are rooted in story, creativity, heritage, culture, and the understanding that making things is how we process life.
All designed around one simple truth: when life throws lemons, we throw a sewing machine, wax pot and a whole lot of colour back at it.
How This Works
Easy… we create. Using heritage textile skills, cultural skills, exploration, sustainable materials, and time-honoured craft techniques. But we do it TOGETHER, in a way that feels joyful, not preachy.
You can talk, or you can back in the calm and quiet. You can work frantically at pace, or methodically slow and steady. You can share your story or just listen to others. My only rule is to create (and it doesn’t even have to resemble what you intended).
You leave with:
✅ A real thing you made — something uniquely YOURS
✅ New skills you can keep building
✅ Space you gave yourself to just be
✅ Connection — to the craft, to your emotions, to other people in the room
✅ The understanding that you ARE creative, you ARE capable, and your hands know what to do, even when you brain is doing more loops than a fighter jet.
The Workshops
Heritage Textile Workshops
Learn sewing, weaving, textile skills using reclaimed and deadstock fabrics. Build confidence. Make something beautiful.
Memory-Making Workshops
Transform treasured clothing and fabric into keepsakes. A longer series of sessions where you turn sentimental materials into something tangible. For bereavement, commemoration, life transitions.
Sustainable Making Sessions
Create from waste. Learn that beautiful things don't need new resources. Make tiles, cards, bookmarks, brooches from scraps. Prove to yourself that "waste" is just a story we tell.
Crafts & Creative Sessions
Whatever you need. Textile work, mixed media, hand-making. Rooted in YOUR story and needs.
All ages. All abilities. All welcome.
Part of something bigger
UnlikelyGenius is one expression of Creative Mischief —
three interconnected businesses, all throwing creative mischief back at life.
UnlikelyGenius throws creative mischief back at grief, anxiety, and the idea that education has to be boring.
ISWaS throws creative mischief back at climate doom, passive learning, and the idea that young people don't care.
Lovely Magnifique throws creative mischief back at traditional weddings, cookie-cutter ceremonies, and anyone who says "but that's how it's done."
Same philosophy. Three different ways of showing up.
Creative mischief for the highs, lows and messy middle of life. 🩷
Ready to get mischievous?
Workshops can be adapted for all ages. All abilities. All emotions.
You don't need experience. You don't need to be "creative." You just need to be willing to show up and try.
Current clients & collaborations:
“It opened neurodivergent minds!”
Parent, Bradford Museum workshop
Featured interviews:
