Meet the Maker: The Wire Box

This month’s Cosy Craft Club subscription box is a brilliant wire craft kit from The Wire Box! It has everything included to make a range of wire craft projects, from wire words to baubles. I chatted with one of the founders of The Wire Box, Alexa, to find out more about her and how she started her business.

Please can you introduce yourself!

Hi, I'm Alexa, one of the founders of the Wire Box, which I started with my partner James. We've been running the Wire Box alongside our full time jobs since April this year. 

How did you get into wire craft?

It's a great story actually - during lockdown at the beginning of this year, James and I were bored at home and so we decided, to keep ourselves entertained, that we would each organise an at-home activity alternate weekends through lockdown. One of those activities was wire crafting. James bought some crafting wire online and we created our first ever wire sculptures. I made a running woman trophy for my housemate who had just run a marathon for the first time, and James made a 3D wire sheep.

What do you enjoy about it?

There are few things we loved about it - firstly, it's a lot easier than you think. James and I aren't "pro" crafters or from creative backgrounds and we were amazed at how easy it was to create something that we were proud of and wanted to share with others. We also both spend our days largely in front of a screen and, when we're not working, on our phones so we loved that it took us away from technology and got us chatting and doing something creative with our hands - we both found it very therapeutic, almost like an active meditation.

What is your favourite thing that you have made?

Personally my favourite thing has to be the Christmas baubles. We included a 2D bauble how-to with the packs but I also made some 3D baubles which look so good and have put them on our Christmas tree at home. They can be quite messy and still look great, and I think the silver works really well with the Christmas tree. I know James loves any kind of 3D animal so he'd probably say the reindeer. 

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Pinterest is a big source of inspiration. Type in wire crafts and so many things come up - from 3D animals and fairies to things you'd use like keyrings, table placings or bookmarks, some of which we give guidance on in our wire craft kits. 

What are your top tips for someone who is new to wire craft?

My top tip would be don't be afraid to get stuck in and try making lots of different things. We provide plenty of wire in each kit, enough to make quite a few creations so your first one doesn't need to be perfect - it's all a learning process!

What other crafts do you love to do?

Both me and my partner both made concrete pots at a similar time we discovered wire crafting. We'd never worked with concrete before, and like many other people during COVID we bought loads of plants so it seemed like a great opportunity to make some plant pots. We bought our own concrete mix and made moulds out of cardboard and plastic containers found around the house, and now we have our plants sitting in them. 

Thanks so much Alexa! Doesn’t the wire craft box look great? And I love their story of how they got started too! Do check out The Wire Box on their website and Instagram. Don’t forget to say hello!

Until next time,

Rachel

Cosy Craft Club is a craft box subscription - receive a beautiful kit to try a different craft every month! All our kits are suitable for beginners and contain everything you need to sit down and get crafting. Our kits are also available to purchase individually (subject to availability).

All photos by The Wire Box