About Us
What is Crookilley?
I am often asked “Why did you open a shop/what does Crookilley mean? / What’s your background?”
I hope you enjoy reading the following which will explain what Crookilley is and how we got to where we are now.
Crookilley is Maggie, along with husband Phil, daughter Olivia (Liv) and son Sean (remotely).
How did Crookilley evolve?
After over 20 years as Marketing Officer/Manager for public and private sector businesses, notably my first job after college lasted 15 years Marketing a self-financing post graduate International Development department at the University of Manchester.
In 2010 I was working for a social care business as Marketing Manager, but due to bad practices by the HR and governance of the company I became another staff member who had a significant breakdown. This became a significant life changing experience affecting the whole family.
As part of my recovery, I took up knitting again, something I had done on and off since I was little. I found knitting very therapeutic, something I could take with me anywhere, which was essential as I spent a lot of time being “mum’s taxi”, taking the children, then aged 14 and 9 , to their extra curricula activities - sat at the poolside whilst Liv was swimming training or in the car whilst she was at dancing, or Sean and his guitar lessons/pick up from his friends.
After everybody had been provided with jumpers, cardigans and other woollies I began to make knitted toys, bags, hats, mitts and headbands, but no idea what I was going to do with them.
Over Easter 2012 we adopted our 3rd dog, a daft shihtzu Gizmo from a dog rescue. The lady we collected him from became a significant part of my life and set me on the path that we are now on. She encouraged me to do craft stalls, which was a huge challenge to overcome as I’d been very isolated and cut off. I couldn’t justify doing a stall without it benefitting the dog charity, to which we’d become fosterers too, and at the time had a house of 4 dogs, 3 of our own and 1 foster. So I decided I’d try to do a stall and give a % of sales to the rescue, but also use it as a marketing/PR opportunity to recruit other fosterers and help spread the message of adopt rescue dogs.
Before I could do the stall I realised I needed a brand name. For anyone who knows me, they know how quirky I am. People quickly realise that with my green spikey ruffled hair, band t-shirts and hoodies and converse shoes or boots, I haven’t moved on from the 80s. Plus with a range of interests that are predominantly green or wildlife related, I know that I am seen as being weird/quirky/alternative.
I wanted a name that was ‘me’. I wasn’t twee/vintage/stereotypically ‘crafty’. One afternoon I was in our garden, listening to the birds, hoping that the peregrine would fly over. My home and garden had been my sanctuary. The house and garden back onto an area of ancient woodland called Crookilley Woods. That was it – Crookilley! It sounded quirky, but the impact of working in my garden had helped in my recovery. So Crookilley Crafts was created in July 2012. I then was able to book my first stall on a craft fair taking place on Stockport Market in August 2012.
The whole family helped, we even brought a few of the dogs, who got used to accompanying me to stalls. I had collected from my friend the Rescue’s literature and stall banners on the Thursday. Little did we know that this was the last time I’d see her.
We had a successful first stall, which I was keen to share with my friend. Despite multiple calls and texts I hadn’t managed to speak with her. Very strange as we were regularly in touch.
Later that week, whilst on a day trip with Liv and a friend and her daughter to Liverpool, I got a call from one of the other ladies involved with the dog rescue in another region. She gave me the shocking news that our friend had passed away on the Sunday from Sepsis. Very sudden, but likely due to a weakened immune system due to her recovery from breast cancer.
Following the shock, it spurred me on to do more for the charity, taking on more foster dogs, but booking onto more stalls. I wanted to continue the work my friend had started.
Crookilley puts down Roots
After spending 2 years doing stalls, mainly local, but some further afield, becoming friends with many fellow crafters, a random comment from Liv over Christmas 2013/2014 showed that she could read my mind (and vice versa), and we shared it with Phil and Sean – to open our own shop, to stop having to spend time constantly loading and unloading the car and travelling to events most weekend. We had already had to stop fostering, but this coincided with changes at the charity which had relocated out of our region.
January 2014 commenced and I was delighted to be invited to open a retail outlet locally, as part of developments taking place. However I didn’t believe the location was correct for handmade products, but it confirmed the decision to open a unit. So, we began looking at other options.
Later that month I found a shop/unit inside a local mill where there were other independent businesses. The landlord informed us of his plans to redevelop the floor we were on which were very encouraging. So in February 2014 Crookilley Crafts Emporium was established – Crookilley Crafts products, along with fellow local crafters products, thus Emporium. The crafters joined on a ‘rent a shelf’ basis.
Relocation and Change
A friend with her own business in the mill and I soon realised that we had been misinformed about the development plans, thus decided to unite and look for another retail outlet. She became aware of the units in Bramhall, so after a couple of visits, we moved into Bramhall Village Square in July 2014.
Nothing ever stays the same, and after a year, my friend’s circumstances changed meaning she couldn’t remain in Bramhall. I needed to find a revenue to bridge the gap. As customers had presumed that I sold craft materials, we realised that there was a gap in the area for a wool and haberdashery shop. So we sourced wholesalers that I personally liked, so in July 2015 we started to stock haberdashery and wool alongside our other products. As crafters stopped crafting (there is always natural turnover as people craft as their hobby, with very few as their primary occupation), it allowed us to expand on other products sold, which enabled us to start stocking fabrics, in particular the licensed designs and other designer brands.
We also started stocking toys which was husband Phil’s interest. We were regularly updating our stock we were able to sell.
Crookilley Expands
In 2018 we were approached to take over another unit in the square. We then spent a month getting the other unit revamped from the café it was to become the Crafts Shop, with the existing shop to be entirely Toys and Gifts. In December 2018 Crookilley Toys Emporium was created in the original shop with the new unit become a larger space for Crookilley Crafts Emporium.
Our daughter had recently left college and hadn’t decided what she wished to do. So it was natural that she became the front/manager of the toy shop, working with her dad, my husband Phil. Sean was also involved from a distance in Cardiff utilising his graphic skills by creating the branding for Crookilley Toys. A true family run business. At the beginning of 2022, after 35 years working in the corporate world, took a huge leap, and became full time Toy Shop Owner, especially as Liv had decided to move on, relocating to Yorkshire with boyfriend Lewis.
Destined to be a shop owner
It was of little surprise to those who know my family that I would turn to crafting as a career and becoming a shop owner.
My maternal Grandma was not only a dressmaker, but she owned a haberdashery/wool shop in New Moston, Manchester. She made most of the clothes for my younger sister Clare and I. We would have our current clothes taken off, to our vest and knickers and we instinctively put our arms up, for Grandma to begin putting something over our heads, with us asking “are there any pins?” to be told no, but they were!!!
Grandma whizzed up dress after dress, she liked us to be ‘pretty’ girls. One year for Christmas we got full ballet outfit with fitted tutus. Clare and I were more like the sugar plum fairies, not natural dancers, especially as we have a problem knowing our lefts from our rights. We didn’t last long at the dancing lessons. I had also discovered music by then and was a little disappointed that I didn’t get a Bay City Rollers outfit. Even the socks printed with the Osmonds didn’t make up for no tartan in my pillowcase. I no longer wanted to be wearing pretty matching dresses. I was showing my alternative rebellious streak way back then.
During the weekends and school holidays, we would visit Grandma at her shop which was an exciting place. She would let us help her sort the buttons and other easy tasks. Mum however had spent most of her life involved with the shop, Grandma previously had owned a shop for many years in Royton, Oldham where they lived, until they moved to New Moston to retire. However, 6 months into retirement, mum’s dad passed away suddenly. By this time mum was as at Teacher Training College in Salford. But she returned each weekend to work in the shop. After his death, Grandma happened to discover the local haberdashery shop in New Moston was up for sale, so she bought it and started again.
Mum had inherited her mother’s creativeness, but she wanted to become an infant teacher, rather than working in the shop. However she had an outlet for her creativeness as she always had amazing classroom displays. Mum’s mission was to ensure that no child left her class unable to read.
What we didn’t know until fairly recently was that Creativeness has existed in the maternal family line. We knew that Grandma was an orphan aged 2, not knowing much about her parents. It was a mystery about her past and why she and her older brother had relocated from Wigan to Royton. Grandma refused to talk about her past, but was proud to demonstrate that with hard work, you can come from nothing to achieve anything, how she had come from being an orphan to a respected business woman and key member within the community.
What Grandma didn’t know how true that was. Her own mother had lost her mother when she was a young child, but before marrying her mother and her grandmother were dressmakers, and other family members had also worked as Dressmakers and Cobblers, where mining or mill working in Lancashire in the late 1800s were the predominant occupations. The skill wasn’t passed on through being shown what to do, as they had died before their children reached 5 years. Thus creativeness is instinctive and natural ability.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Grandma was not the only one who had a shop. Mum’s paternal Grandmother was a shop owner, along with mum’s Aunt and Uncle, they owned a very popular sweet shop in Royton. Mum’s father helped his wife and his mother and siblings, but he was self-employed too. He had his own engineering business, repairing equipment for the local cotton mills. He’d previously been involved in building the Lancaster Bomber.
There is also creativeness on my paternal side. My Dad’s mother, my Grandma had been a dressmaker, after all she had had 9 children! But she would bake cakes, making impressive traditional wedding cakes from her miniscule kitchen in Billingham, near Stockton on Tees, Cleveland. My Grandad was very musical, he used to teach the piano after he’d finished his day job working for ICI. He continued to play right until his passing when he was aged 95. Even though he had quite severe arthritis in his fingers, he didn’t let it stop him from playing the piano each day. Sean aged 3 months was the last baby he held on his knee giving him his first piano lesson.
Once a Knitter, Forever a Knitter
Sister Clare and I didn’t need much encouragement to be creative. Mum would find our bedroom floor covered in what we’d made whilst waiting to go downstairs whilst they had a lie in. We were shown how to knit and sew. I took to knitting whereas Clare sewed, she would make amazing clothes for her Sindy dolls and peg dolls.
I used to curse Clare for her bribery skills. She would present our piano teacher, the strictest teacher around, with one of her peg dolls. This resulted in Clare being told well done even though she often hadn’t touched the piano inbetween the lessons. Whereas despite hours of practice that week, if I made a mistake, it was quickly pointed out what I’d done. But I wasn’t going to resort to bribery.
I enjoyed knitting. I knitted for my toys, and gradually able to make my own jumpers, hats etc. I loved going to a wool shop in Royton Precinct. It had shelving filled from its floor to ceiling with bags of wool. I would spend ages choosing a more complicated pattern each time. Then going to collect my next balls of wool they had put aside for me was a sense of achievement.
Music and Creativeness
My other interests, then and now is listening to music. Not only can I play the piano, but the family, my dad, sister and I played in brass bands. I was solo horn for Oldham Youth Brass Band. So, our house was not a quiet one. If we weren’t playing music, the radio was on. As I got older, I got my own music system and would listen to it in my bedroom. I had discovered John Peel and loved the music coming from the bands of the punk era, especially Adam and the Ants. I loved their sound but also the ethos of looking individual rather than following ‘fashion’. When peers moved on with the New Romantic era. I was stuck, remaining obsessed with punk, which meant I was subject to bullying as I didn’t conform to the ‘trendy’ style.
In 1985 I not only met Adam Ant for the first time whilst he performed in Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, but I met people who were just like me. We all loved Adam and the music of other bands, but these friends had had similar experiences. It has resulted in friendships that still remain. By now I had left school and attending college in Manchester. My social life revolved around seeing live music, or going to the many clubs in Manchester at a time that was getting exciting musically and socially for Manchester.
Meeting Mr Crookilley – Phil
Whilst at College I became interested in politics, which was of little surprise as mum and dad were politically active, mainly through their roles as Union Reps for the teacher’s union NASUWT. I was aware of local and national politics and had become involved with the local Green Party.
After I had my son Sean, I became involved with the local Greenpeace group. It was something to do for myself, as I had recently separated from Sean’s dad. Sean and I would spend some weekends going to a campaigning or fundraising events, at his young age he knew that conserving wildlife and environment was important.
Through the Greenpeace network I met Phil. We married a year after our first ‘date’, with daughter Olivia (meaning Peace! – she has been anything but), arriving later 7 months later.
Phil and I have been married 23 years this year. I would have never proposed all those years ago that we would end up spending each day and evening together. Running our own businesses. We are grateful to our loyal customers, many coming in each week, some multiple times. We can count many customers very good friends. The past few years due to Covid have been very difficult for retail, but we have also lost Maggie’s mum whom many of our customers met. I was overwhelmed by all those who passed on their regards. We are truly grateful to be part of this community.
Visit our shop, call us or fill in our enquiry form here to find out more about what we do.
