About annie & emily

Having been a keen crafter for many years, and being told many times to 'start selling' my creations, I've taken the exciting and nerve-racking plunge and created annie & emily! The brand name stems from my desire to show my profound appreciation to two of the people who helped me find my love for all things crafting.

Granny Annie was a fierce knitter and produced gorgeous knitted clothing quicker than you could think possible.  Growing up as one of 12 children on a farm in rural Donegal, Northern Ireland, Granny was taught to knit by her own mother, Great Granny Maggie.  They would create beautiful clothing out of the materials they had to hand - sheep wool from the farm!  Even into her 90's, when Granny would see me knitting or crocheting, she would recall the items that she had made for her own family, from school jumpers and socks for her children, to wonderful Aran knit jumpers for Grandad and her brothers. Everyone wanted to know where they got their clothes from, "Mrs Gallagher made it" - everything she did was perfection, from knitting to cooking. When I would show her my creations, her face would fill with joy. She saw a lot of herself in me and me in her. I miss her terribly.

Second is Emily. One of my very best friends, we met whilst she was training to be a Midwife and I was working on the postnatal ward. Warm-hearted, deeply caring and endlessly entertaining, Emily reintroduced me to knitting and crocheting whilst I was working as a Nurse in Accident & Emergency. We would share the stresses of our jobs - the funny, the absurd, the harrowing and the heartbreaking - Emily could see that I needed something to use as an outlet and as a way to de-stress after these shifts. Until this day, she allows me to call her when there is something that I can't work out or get my head around - even introducing me to her mum, Claire, and her crafting club, in order to try and help me out. She is a true babe.

I have always loved crafting and find that it has provided me with a sense of contentment and relaxation that is incomparable.  Working as a Palliative Care Nurse through the pandemic, I found myself crafting more than ever, creating new designs and patterns, and falling more in love with it than ever before.  My time spent working in Palliative Care will always be one of the most special times of my life, and I am filled with an overwhelming sense of honour and privilege at having been able to support and advocate for people, most of whom became friends, in a time where they were at their most anxious and vulnerable.  

If I am honest, my time working within the Hospice, especially during a pandemic, took its toll on me.  Having lost Granny a little over a month before the first lockdown, I found myself consumed by not only my own grief, but that of those for whom I supported and nursed.  

It was during my time at the Hospice that some patients suggested that I start to sell my creations.  In order to do this, I knew I had to create a brand that was meaningful, my own ‘babe-in-arms’, something that had purpose and allowed me to share my skills with people.  If I am honest, I knew that the pandemic had taken its toll on me as a nurse.

And so here we are, I have created annie & emily. A shop which I dedicate to its namesake and am dedicating all of my love, passion and commitment to.

After all, Mrs Gallagher wouldn't have it any other way...