The Maker's Atelier

The Maker's Atelier, in Brighton, UK, is celebrating its first birthday. I thought you'd enjoy reading about this lovely place with impeccable design, so here's an excerpt from their press release:

Frances Tobin

Frances Tobin and The Maker’s Atelier

Designer Frances Tobin has been making clothes for as long as she can remember, her mother taught her. When she left home, she trained in fashion and textiles graduating from The Royal College of Art in London. She went on to design for many leading fashion brands in Italy, the US and the UK, including Gucci, Les Copains, Esprit, French Connection and Warehouse.

Throughout her design career, Frances has always continued to make her own clothes. But she has never used shop bought patterns, as they don’t have the look that she wants. When someone suggested she publish her own dressmaking patterns, she thought yes, why not! Here was an opportunity to create something special.       

So she created The Maker’s Atelier for women of any age or shape - who know how to dress well, but can't always find what they want. Her aim is to help fashion-conscious women, create beautiful clothes to wear with style. She takes the key shapes from current fashion trends, refines them into clear dressmaking patterns, and then sources the perfect fabric. Frances believes that the simplest shapes in the finest fabrics make the most successful clothes.

The patterns and making-kits are sold exclusively from the website, and the making-experiences take place in a beautiful, vaulted atelier in Brighton's Kemp Town. The courses are suitable for beginner and intermediate dressmakers; they focus on fabric selection and making an individual item from the current range. Lunch, refreshments, maker’s gift bags and, of course, the finished garment, are all included in the experience.