Believe it or not, becoming a Twitch streamer wasn’t part of my grand plan. My indie business journey began way back in 2009, dabbling in everything from embroidery to illustrated jewellery  to importing spooky Halloween treasures, but by the time lockdown hit, my ventures had faded into the background.

Then, in 2021, an old friend, freshly joined to Facebook (after saying he would NEVER join), invited me to come along to one of his Twitch streams.

At first, I wasn’t sure about Twitch, thinking it was all loud gaming streamers and not really my vibe. Yet, the thought of reconnecting with a friend led me to give it a try, and I never looked back.

What began as a simple way to pass time soon turned into something much more meaningful. The Twitch communities I found became a true lifeline during a lonely time, and I quickly discovered a treasure trove of spaces for artists, creators, and musicians. After becoming a moderator for a few talented streamers, the call to stream myself grew louder, despite my lack of technical wizardry and my non-gamer status.

In January 2022, I discovered the magical art of needle felting, and fell in love with it. I'd always been reluctant to try it as I had been told that it could only be done with animal fibres and as a vegan I wanted to see what else I could use. Turns out, it works with non-animal fibres too!

Encouraged by the amazing communities on Twitch, I went live for the first time a month later. Though my first stream was plagued by buffering and slow Wi-Fi, I was hooked. And just like that, The Cosy Coven was born - a place where we could recharge, support each other, and be our wonderfully weird selves.

By 2024, through spending so much time within neurodiverse communities on Twitch (and a ton of relatable memes), I went through an assessment and was diagnosed with ADHD (specifically the Inattentive space cadet daydreamer type), which unlocked a deeper understanding of how I experience the world. With this newfound self-awareness, I’ve learned to be kinder to myself and create a space where both the community and I can flourish.

Then, in October 2024, life took an unexpected turn. A fall left me with a broken wrist which required surgery, swiftly followed by redundancy from my job of 10 years, all within the space of one month. But The Cosy Coven was there for me at every step of the way, encouraging me to keep going. Determined to keep going, I filled my streams with decorating my cast, diamond painting, marble run building and anything the community could think of.

With time and funding to heal and recover, I made a bold decision - to turn my creative joy into a full-time business. The next few weeks were a whirlwind of nerves and excitement, but I returned to felting on stream as soon as my wrist was healed, and I’m thrilled to announce that new felted creations will be released every new moon, with the Cosy Curios shop first opening its doors on January 29th, 2025.

I have so many plans for the future, and hope you'll join me on this journey and see where we go next.