Kayleigh Small never knew a time without crafting – her mother and grandmother introduced her to fiber arts at age 4, and embroidery was always a fun hobby.
As she grew older and sought out her specific niche in the apparel industry, things weren’t quite clicking until about 8 years ago. Pregnant with her first child and experiencing *that* level of fatigue (#iykyk), she stepped away from the sewing machine and started to add hand-embroidered pieces to her makers market booth.
“There would be just a handful of embroideries that I would have on my booth or market, and then people would beeline it and want to touch it and ask questions and talk about the flowers and talk about the different things,” she says with a smile.
NestingDoll Embroidery
♡ Hand-stitched embroidered accessories and art
♡ Made in South Buffalo, NY
♡ Founded in 2014
Kayleigh is proud to honor the generations of fiber artists who came before her.
“I feel like there’s a lot around sewing and fiber arts, embroidery, crochet – all those things that are ‘‘women’s work’ and viewed by some as a ‘lesser’ art form,” she says. “That’s not been my experience, and I’m so happy to uplift them. And what they did, too. There’s beauty and I think a lot of people treasure it."
Seeks inspiration in...
Her latest vintage material finds, seasonal flowers, the act of sketching on fabric folk art books – and color.
“I've been trying to do more to notice color combinations in the wild,” she says. “That can be when I’m grocery shopping, or it could be on a walk with the dog where I’m just like, ‘Man, that mustard shade of that door is just so good.’”
Kayleigh's happy place?
“I love talking to people at markets, talking about embroidery, talking to other artists about their experience. That makes me feel really charged and happy and energized to create. And then I love creating, and I feel like I can get in that flow state. I will put on an audiobook and just really dig in and make.”
A cool story ...
You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been – and Kayleigh has the receipts from when she was a youngster learning to hand-sew and work with her Peter Rabbit (!!!!!!!!) sewing machine.
“I still have a lot of my early stuffed animals and stuff that I made–like weird little things … You know, they’re like hearts, but they’re poorly sewn hearts.”
On her playlist:
“On the Radio” by Regina Spektor.
“It’s really upbeat and whimsical and a little bit silly,” Kayleigh says. “She’s a storyteller – and I guess what I mean by that is she’s also kind of a rambler and a little bit chatty, and I feel like that sums me up.”
Kayleigh recently compiled a “Top 10 Perfect, No-Skip Albums” list that also features Fiona Apple, The Decemberists, Paul Simon, Amy Winehouse, Joni Mitchell, the Avett Brothers and Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. (We'll be stealing this list idea, tyvm.)
Follow Kayleigh on Instagram: @nestingdollemboridery
