A Day in the Life of a Handmade Accessories Maker in Marbella

People ask me what my day looks like. I think they expect something glamorous. A studio with perfect lighting, a playlist in the background, everything arranged like a magazine shoot. The reality is messier and, honestly, better.

7:00 - The quiet hour

I wake up before the house is noisy. Coffee first. Then I check orders from the night before. If there is a bag to make, I pull out the yarn I need and set it on my table. This is the part where I decide colours. I hold the yarn by the window in natural light. If the colour does not sing, I pick something else.

9:00 - Hands on yarn

This is my best working time. The light is good, my hands are fresh, and I can focus on stitch quality. A shoulder bag takes about six hours of active crochet. I work in ninety-minute blocks with short breaks. My hands need the rest.

12:00 - Scrunchie batch

After lunch, I switch to scrunchies. These are faster - thirty minutes each - but the petal folding is precise work. I lay out ten at a time and fold each ruffle by hand. No two are identical. That is intentional.

15:00 - Quality check

I go through everything I made that morning. I check stitches, test the elastic, look for loose threads. If something is not right, I undo it and start again. It hurts to undo three hours of work. But I would rather redo it than send out something I am not proud of.

17:00 - Packing and shipping

Finished orders get wrapped in tissue paper, placed in boxes, and labelled. I include a small card with care instructions. Every package leaves my hands personally. I cannot outsource that feeling of putting something you made into a box and sending it to someone who chose it.

19:00 - Light fades

I stop working with yarn when the light goes. Bad lighting means missed stitches and colour mistakes. Instead, I check emails, plan tomorrow, and sometimes sketch new designs. The best ideas come when I am not trying to have them.

FAQ

How many hours a day do you work?

Six to eight hours of active making, plus admin and packing. Longer on busy weeks.

Do you ever take days off?

Sometimes. But making things is not really work to me. It is what I do instead of scrolling my phone.

What is the hardest part of your day?

Undoing work that is not good enough. Three hours of crochet, gone. But it has to be right.