Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emma Lazarus-Heyland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Emma thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Every new project I take on feels like the most meaningful project.

I was a Gen-X kid who could be hyper focused and yet was easily distractable, I would have been diagnosed with ADHD early on, had anyone been looking for it. So I have spent my life picking up hobbies, keeping my hands busy to keep my mind calm.

Over the last 20-plus years I’ve spent whatever time I could making pretty things that occupied my time or brought my family joy. I’ve explored a wide variety of crafts. I baked, I made pottery and jewellery, I knit and crocheted, I doodled, I painted faux stained glass, I read and I wrote, I sang and danced.

And then, in 2020, while in lockdown with extremely stressed kids, I ran out of steam for all things familiar. I simply didn’t want to do anything I had done before. At the same time, I don’t do well with idleness. So I began something new. It started with a sewing machine, which I learned how to thread by watching YouTube videos, and which resulted in an assortment of colourful napkins and placemats to cheer up my table. If I had to choose one most meaningful project, perhaps that would be it. And it exploded from there. I discovered that I could sew things for every corner of my house, for every room and surface.

I make functional art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, and feel privileged to wake up to mountain views and occasional blue sky’s. I live with my husband, who works as a scenic Carpenter in the film and television industry, two independent-minded teenage daughters, and a shy, beautiful rescue dog. When I am not creating, crafting or parenting, I can be found at my day job, working for the Vancouver Public Library or waking the Seawall with my pup.

Bramble Creations is my tiny and challenging one-woman operation: just me, working in our little townhouse. For the last three years, my “work room” has been a hallway, about three feet across and six feet long, and a table that my family used to call theirs.
I try to never let my tiny space restrict my big ideas.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Bramble Creations was born from the support of friends and strangers.

I think I began to pivot my interest in crafts from a hobby into a business when I needed an excuse to decorate someone else’s home, because mine didn’t have any space left. But there were other, individual projects that helped turn this into a business.

The first one happened in 2020, when I gifted a friend with cotton face scrubbies that I had been making for my teenagers: small, palm-sized facecloths which could be washed repeatedly, to take the place of disposable cotton pads. They were a hit with my friend, who commissioned me– and still commissions me to this day – to make more.

Then in 2021 I made myself a fancy tote bag to carry in the place of disposable plastic shopping bags, and was repeatedly stopped in stores and on the street by people asking where they could find one. And it’s gone on from there.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Everything I make is one-of-a-kind or in extremely small batches. I seldom repeat myself. Four lucky dogs were gifted complicated hand cable knit sweaters before I moved on to throwing Yarn Bowls on a potters wheel. There’s is always something new coming, I am always looking for the next challenge, interesting material, pretty fabric, etc. I want to continue to make things that bring me joy, which means that Bramble will always be evolving.

I am always looking for ways improve upon on idea. Even my most popular items get an upgrade from time to time. From new fabrics for my make-up removers to cosmetic bags, to giving my winter Gnomes a summery twist, there’s always something brewing in my tiny workshop. Don’t ever assume that you’ll see the same thing as last time!

My goal is simply to make functional art for people to enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @bramble_creations