You may be interested to know a bit about me, how I became interested in cross stitch and how I started designing, if so, please read on....

I was born in Denmark to a British mother and Danish father but after having spent my early childhood in Denmark and South Africa we moved to Britain and settled in Cornwall where I have lived for 35 years. I am married with two children.

My interest in needlecraft and cross stitch in particular can be traced back to the Danish side of my family when my grandmother started me off on cross stitch as a young girl. Cross stitch and other needlework have traditionally been extremely popular in Scandinavia. Over the years my hobby developed to include other mediums and techniques including needlepoint, bargello and tapestry as well as different kinds of embroidery. Then as I became more confident my creative talents extended to include designing projects for family and friends.

In 1980 I designed a cross stitch picture of Trerice Manor near Newquay on graph paper and once it was stitched conceived the idea of marketing this and other designs on a commercial basis. However, the arrival of first my son and then my daughter delayed these plans as I devoted my time to bringing them up. The idea to start a cross stitch design business resurfaced as the children grew older, went to school and became more independent. Also with the introduction of computer software to speed up designing I felt the time was right and so Sybilla Davis Designs was developed from a need to balance family demands with the desire to satisfy a creative urge.

In 1994 my business was born, I produced my first kits based on National Trust properties in Cornwall and the National Trust were my first customers. These designs formed the basis of the Cornish Collection which keeps on expanding as new designs are added, not just of places, but also subjects related to Cornwall such as the Cornwall Map Sampler, Coat of Arms and Eclipse designs.

Two years later in 1996 the Devon Collection was launched, then St John’s Church Wellington (in Somerset) and during the Spring of 2000 Polesdon Lacey (a National Trust property in Surrey). Also, other smaller kit designs are available which include an attractive range of Celtic and Place Name Bookmarks, a variety of samplers and “Yesterday’s People” depicting Edwardian household servants.

Since starting my business, I have been delighted by the friendly and enthusiastic response to my designs from stitchers in Cornwall and the world over, especially those with historic family links to Cornwall due to its mining heritage. Then the development of the Internet offered the opportunity for my designs to be more accessible world wide and so my web site was launched in December 1998. This has enabled easy communication with stitchers via e mail and I have been delighted to receive feedback and comment about designs. Following the positive reaction to my site I took the next logical step in December 1999 to develop it for on line shopping and I hope that this facility will be a useful addition.

The kits are available from retail outlets in Cornwall and Devon or direct from Sybilla Davis Designs at 7 Ashdown Close, Sticker, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 7EU. Tel: 01726 63394

All the best