Personalised Aprons are integral to the history of Sparks and Daughters. When Nanna Sparks began the business back in 2007, she never could have imagined how her decision to quit her office job and pursue her creative passion would start something so special. From the earliest personalised gifts to the complete collection of personalised items on offer to celebrate every family moment and milestone today, she has seen it grow and change into something amazing. Best of all she's had the opportunity to see that just like a family, the collection itself has its own moments and milestones along the way and with specific designs that have been pivotal in the success of the business. In this week's blog, Deborah shares her stories behind some of her favourite Aprons in the Sparks and Daughters collection.

When I began creating the very first gifts from my kitchen table, I knew that designing something that I myself would be delighted to receive was the most important thing. When you're giving a gift to a loved one with personal meaning, it's actually an act of love, so the more personal the message, the more special the moment is. The 'You're the Best' apron is a celebration of someone's most special recipes. The ones that have all the family coming back to the table time and time again. It's the ultimate compliment on someone's signature dishes, no matter their age, gender or background. When the design was created, right at the beginning of the business, it quickly became a customer favourite and was shortlisted for a Not on the High Street MAKE Award in 2012. This was a testament to its message of love and gratitude.

Following the success of that first design, more followed and our collection of Aprons became a big part of the identity of our brand. When we renamed the company from Sparks Clothing to Sparks and Daughters in 2018, the full name of Sparks and Daughters Apron and Clothing Company was chosen to reflect this. The re-brand provided us with the opportunity to introduce some new designs and one of our favourites, the Mumma and Me Cotton Apron Set made its first appearance. If someone has a passion for cooking or baking, then it's only natural for them to want to pass on that skill to the next generation and moments spent in the kitchen with a parent or grandparent make for precious memories. With many of our customers beginning to purchase more consciously, we took this as a signal to begin incorporating more sustainable materials into some of our designs and as such, this apron set is created in fairtrade organic cotton.

One of our most recent designs has become one of my favourites of all. The Wheat Sheaf Crossback Linen Apron is truly a passion project of mine. For a number of years, I had wanted to create a new personalised apron design that stood out from the rest. Something that fit wonderfully on any body shape, looked beautiful and yet was still practical. I wanted it to be loved by both the artisan and the home baker alike. I took my time with the design, carefully creating the pattern, trying it on various friend and family members until I had the perfect fit. It wouldn't have been complete without pockets and I took the time to create and position the deep patch pockets so that they were as wonderful to rest your hands inside as they were practical. This apron feels so lovely to wear. It's so comfortable and the linen fabric makes it feel truly special. The feedback we have received from many different customers since it was introduced to our personalised aprons collection has been wonderful.

I'm so proud of the story that our personalised aprons have created. They are an enormous part of the Sparks and Daughters history and I'm sure their chapter hasn't ended quite yet.

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