About
A little about me and my creations!
Kia ora, my name is Dolly Thunders and everything you can find in my store is handmade by myself in my Waikato home!
My creations are all about reusing and reinventing old fabrics and making something brand new and entirely unique – and environmentally friendly. Very much the antithesis of today’s fast fashions.
The fabrics that I use are all high quality materials with beautiful bold colours and designs. Sometimes they are old fabrics that finally get to live their life, sometimes the fabrics are repurposed – curtains or blankets reincarnated as bags or cushions!
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you get your fabrics?
I get my fabrics from lots of different places. Some are lucky finds from op-shops, some of them I source from online outlets such as TradeMe. I’ve been doing this for some time now, so sometimes people will gift me old fabrics that they think I could use. Although I will sometimes get “as-new” vintage fabrics, I never buy brand new from material stockists – everything is recycled, upcycled or old vintage stock that has never seen the light of day until now.
Why do I have to buy the cushions with inners, can’t I just by the covers?
A lot of time and effort goes into creating the cushion covers, and a beautiful cover should have an equally good inner! I use premium non-synthetic cushion inners, made from duck feather and cotton in the heart of Waikato. The duck feathers are encased in tightly woven 100% cotton down proof fabric to prevent feathers escaping, and are the height of cushion-comfort. These cushion inners will last a lifetime, and all my covers are made to fit them perfectly. I don’t make money on the inners – I just prefer to supply a complete premium quality product.
Can I wash your products?
Yes, they are all washable! While the range of materials is too vast to give a one-size-fits-all washing instruction, I recommend that you only use a gentle cold wash.
I can buy a tote bag in town for $5, why would I want to spend more?
My tote bags are all entirely unique one-off creations, they are not factory-produced from cheap synthetics. They will last for years even with daily use. All the bags are fully lined (my latest bags are interfaced as well) with strong handles capable of coping with plenty of weight. As the saying goes, you pay for what you get!