Welcome! I am so glad you’ve landed here.
I’m Caitlin, the maker behind the sewing machine. I grew up in the flatlands of Ohio, but have called the mountains and deserts of the west home since discovering the magic of topography in my early twenties. I’ve lived many lives between then and now herding goats, building houses, crisis counseling, leading wilderness expeditions, and promoting local, sustainable food systems to name a few, until stumbling upon the path of becoming an artist.
I wish I could tell you Little Arms Creative was born from a place of joy, lightheartedness and finding my creative calling, but that would be far from the truth. It began as a lifeboat, a soft place to land after leaving a job that was no longer serving me and losing my little sister, Lauren, to suicide in quick succession.
On the surface sewing has been a creative outlet that has given me the opportunity to make beautiful things and share them with others. Underneath that facade it has been a means of survival in every sense of the word, offering a much needed distraction and space for healing as I navigate the depths of loss and grief.
It has also been a deep expression of resistance and rebellion - choosing to slowly make things with my hands using repurposed materials in a world constantly urging us to do more, be more and buy more. In a time when it is easy to feel powerless to influence the trajectory of the world, it has empowered me to play a small, yet vital role In reshaping a world dominated by unsustainable over-consumption.
My work is inspired by wild places - the places I feel most at peace, most at home and most compelled to protect. When I am not sewing or thrifting upcycled materials, you’ll find me trying to make food grow in the garden, lost in a good book or wandering the wilderness.
Thank you for being here!
<3 Caitlin