Please be welcome in my beloved studio. This is the room where I welcome people for my workshops. I’m so proud of this place because it’s all made by me and my loved ones. Slowly new pieces been added to the place.

At the moment me and my dad are working on the metamorphosis of the next two chairs, the ones that are still brown in the picture. Yesterday I bought the fabric for the seating, and when they are finished they will be fresh and new and will sit much more comfortable.

I’m planning to start the new year with the launch of my new website, new workshops will be planned and the webshop will be up and running then….. I hope by saying it out loud like this, I will be extra motivated to achieve this deadline :-)

Today was my first christmas themed workshop. All the girls wanted to make a fabric wreath. It’s so nice to have a fabric wreath that you can decorate to your own taste, and you can use every year again. Just a nice handmade piece made with love.

What I still have to learn, is how much time it will take to create the projects I select. I always think I made it in an hour, but then, for example, I totally forgot the time I have spend to create the felt heart I hung in the wreath…. So all the girls left with homework today :-)

I have been making these christmas decorations as examples for my coming workshops. The fabric wreath is inspired on the beautiful wreaths of Holland Fabric House, the star is a design from Jenny from Allsorts, all others are my own design.

If you would like to come to my Atelier in Amsterdam to make christmas decorations, you could on Sunday december 6th or 13th. From 13:00 till 16:00 you are welcome to come and work on one or more of the projects. The price is € 40,- per person, this price includes 0,5m fabric of your choice, 4 pieces of wool felt, all ribbon and other haberdasheries you use, tea and/or coffee. Everything of the fabric and felt you don’t use during the workshop, is to bring home to make more.

If you would like to subscribe for one of those dates, please go to my website.

Last sunday was fun!! We had a great time and I learned a lot. Everybody gave useful feedback, and I now know that the room suits for this purpose, yeah!

At the moment I’m very busy preparing for the coming christmas themed workshops, and working hard to get the webshop up and running.

Below you see the projects that were made last sunday, everybody was very proud with the result. You can see that one of the Aspegren ribbons was very popular.

I read about Aspegren on the Erleperle blog, and I instantly have fallen in love with the ribbons of this brand. Especially the way they are presented, on a wooden spool.

I found out how I can make wholesale purchases for my workshops and webshop. So today arrived these lovely ones. And look at those labels…. sigh…. I love those spools so much, I’m afraid it will be hard to use them.

These ribbons are available at my workshops to use for embellishments. They will be for sale in my webshop around the second half of november.

Update: Thanks! The try-out is fully booked.

Before my workshops set off, I planned a workshop try-out. On sunday november 1st, from 12 till 16 o’clock, you are invited to join me in this try-out.

For only 10 Euro, you can attend a workshop ‘Etui met rits’ (zippered pouch). This price is included lunch and drinks, 0,75 m fabric of your own choice, and all haberdasheries you use.

During this try-out I like to learn if the description I made is correct, want to find out If everyone fit’s at the table, etc.

There are, in total, 6 seats available, so please let me know if you are interested, so I can mail you the details. You can leave a comment, or you can mail me directly on info(at)bypetra.nl

I love to see you in my new ‘atelier’

What was keeping me busy the last few months…. yes off course revalidation because of my achilles tendon rupture. But also my plan to start my own workshop business.

It first started with the idea of starting a fabric store in Amsterdam like you have Frau Tulpe in Berlin, combined with a workshop room. Because I have a passion for fabrics and a passion for sharing my enthusiasm.

After debating my business plan, I came to the conclusion that starting a physical shop besides my job at the office, wasn’t such a good idea after all. So I went back to the drawing board with my passion for fabrics and passion for sharing….

What came out as a feasible plan, was organizing workshops together with a web shop for fabric and haberdasheries. So I started working on that.

And now, after a few months of work I can proudly present to you:

‘byPetra – Creatieve workshops, stoffen & fournituren en handgemaakte kadootjes”

What makes these workshops special, is that the fabric and haberdasheries are included in the price. You can just come and let yourself inspire by all the materials available.

So the coming year I hope to find out that it all worked out well, and that it’s going to give me a lot of pleasure.