How did I end up here?!

Hi, if you're visiting my new store for the first time, welcome!.....and please bare with me, I started off far from retail, my background is in healthcare. So how did I go from a hectic life as an Operating Department Practitioner working in many different hospitals, to a more chilled vibe, running a little Airbnb and now working on a quirky, unique online shop?

I qualified as an Operating Department Practitioner in 2007 after studying for 3 years at Edge Hill University, although the larger proportion of my training was in the operating theatre working as a student ODP, getting hands on experience. The role involves providing skilled assistance in the peri-operative environment as either a scrub (surgical), anaesthetic, or recovery practitioner, as well as emergency care in A&E, skilled assistance in the delivery suite, radiology, coronary care and many other departments. Sounds serious doesn't it! It was an honour to be there for so many thousands of patients, an absolute joy and privilege, even if I did moan and swear quite a bit!

In 2014 I left my permanent position in an NHS Foundation Trust to work as a full time locum ODP. I have had an amazing career spanning 20 years and 40 hospitals, and I have worked with some of the best surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, ODPs HCAs, porters, radiographers and midwives our country has. (and a few not so good ones too!) 

In February 2024 I was diagnosed with a tumour in my pelvis. It was thought to be cancer, and I needed major surgery to remove it, and any tissue it may have spread to. I was in hospital for 11 days, and recovery was slow and steady once home. I soon realised there had been some damage to my bladder, and at a hospital appointment I was told not only would I need bladder reconstruction, but there were some tumour nodules remaining in 2 locations, so I would have to have major surgery again. I also had half of my thyroid removed, and a filter fitted in my vena cava to catch the blood clots that were around my tumour. All in all I had 8 surgeries over a 12 month period. The good news is that is wasn't cancer!

I'm not as fit as I was, and I'm still waiting for one more surgery (hopefully the last). I had a lot of time off work with no income, and wasn't fit enough to return to healthcare. My wife and I had been renovating a cottage in our spare time, and this was completed just as I came out of hospital, ready to be let as a holiday cottage (Trinket Cottage, Sewerby, East Yorkshire, you can find us on Facebook!!) and has been a lifesaver, but I needed to fill the time, and salary gaps with something not only doable, but enjoyable. I'd been doing all sorts of crafts to fill my days while I was recovering, and had an idea to make it into something a bit more than a hobby.

I'm also a gemmologist, and have an extensive rock and crystal collection, and thought, "lets just make this about all the things I love" 

My wife Zoe had watched me crocheting, creating macrame items, making jewellery, making all sorts of things, trying to keep busy, and named my shop Idle Hands. The only problem was that I'm a Gen X, and a complete technophobe, so how the hell was I going to build a website? I could input medical information on a dedicated hospital system, or write an essay on Word, that was it. Luckily Shopify has some fairly easy templates to work with, so I muddled through.

So here we are, I'm still finishing off the website, and hoping it works the way its meant to, by magic or divine intervention or something. I'm experimenting with materials and creating all sorts of things, and at the moment I'm having fun making baskets out of t-shirt yarn. 

Today I've been listing a selection of Moroccan mineral specimens. Tomorrow I might make candles, who knows! I don't do rules, so this is going to be an eclectic collection of lovely things. Join me for the ride, you might find something you like for yourself or a loved one. Maybe you'll just feel inspired to try something new or challenge yourself. Maybe you're going through something life changing yourself and this helps you to realise that not only will everything be OK, but it might be the start of a beautiful new journey.

Thank you for stopping by, have a wonderful day.

Many blessings,

Claire