My passion: Craft was always going to be a major part of my life

Mission: Carolyn Van Outer-sterp has founded a new woodland retreat, North Star Club.

I’ve been designing, crafting and making things since I was a little girl, aged two and a half to be exact – my earliest memories are trying to make things and not being allowed scissors.

I drove my mum mad because I’d end up crying in frustration that I wasn’t allowed to make and do the things I wanted. In my head the vision I had was masterpiece, in reality though it took years to develop the skills to make what was in my head look as good as I imagined it to be.

I always knew crafting would be a big part of my life, I spent my childhood drawing, painting, sewing, and creating something out of nothing. I redesigned my bedroom at the age of 11, taught myself to sew and studied art and design at university with a degree in fashion.

My parents thought they’d given birth to a cuckoo, as there was no one creative in my immediate family so they were all very surprised to see how my creative mind worked.

I now have four kids though and they are all incredibly creative, it just pours out of them and seeing them create their visions into something tangible fills me with pride.

As I grew up in a traditional family (everybody was academic and good at science) I had no one around to inspire me, but inspiration came from the glamour of old films and the things I found around me – nature has always been a huge inspiration.

I love the process of making dreams and ideas into reality. I never tire of the buzz that comes from solving the problems thrown up along the way and getting as close to my original vision as possible.

I get an enormous amount of joy from creating beautiful things, initially there is huge excitement, then often fear and frustration, but eventually the lovely glow of satisfaction and contentment that the creative process brings…then I get bored and start all over again with another project! My whole life is a process of visualising and creating from making a fancy dress outfit for the children, to designing a new glamping site.

As long as I’m breathing I will be engaged in the creative process – even as we’re putting the finishing touches to the North Star Club my mind is whizzing off on to new ideas and future developments.

My passion is a weekly column featuring a guest contributor, from the business community, talking about their passion away from business. If you’d like to be featured email Ismail Mulla - [email protected].