About Us

Our Story

We are two sisters, Catherine and Charlene, living in Somerset West in the Western Cape.

We grew up with a mother who has been sewing most of her life, from dressmaking to embroidery and quilting. For many years we did not think we shared that same passion, but somehow we have found our way back to it now. Better late than never.

After Covid, Catherine had to close her small printing business so she could focus on supporting her husband’s business, which became their main source of income. Charlene was retrenched in 2018 while she had a newborn baby and struggled to find stable work afterwards. She worked with our mom for a few years, but the income was not enough to move forward comfortably as a single mom. In 2024 she relocated from Gauteng to Somerset West for a new job opportunity, but was retrenched again due to company downsizing.

That is when we decided to start a small side hustle to bring in extra income.

We began with the idea of making bags and slowly started adding more products from there. What started as something practical has grown into something we truly enjoy, creating handmade pieces that are useful, thoughtful and not mass produced.

We have done a few markets and loved meeting customers in person, but balancing market days while making stock has been challenging. Building our online shop allows us to focus on creating while still reaching more people.

Our hope is that Willow Bee Creations will grow into more than just our own products. We would love to one day incorporate other well made, quality handmade items from people who are proud of what they create.

If you have something you are proud to put your name to and would like to reach more people, please get in touch. We would love to connect.