About

Hi, I'm Brenda and I own Handa Crafts and Curtains, based in Casino, northern NSW - and we're known as the beef capital of the world! You must visit us sometime!

The shop is on the main street, and I've had customers shopping with me for 4+  years, and they work on projects from sewing dresses to quilting to running their own businesses where great fabric and supplies are needed.

The store started as solely custom-made curtains, hence the name - Handa Crafts and Curtains. Quickly I realised that offering more, in terms of haberdashery, craft, quilting & dressmaking fabrics, patterns, sewing accessories and fasteners, was going to be the best way I could serve my customers, and the shop has grown ever since! Haberdashery shops are on the decline in Australia, yet what set us apart from the big stores is our vast knowledge, expertise and customer service. 

My customers are what really make my day. So many of them are regulars, they come and talk about their latest patchwork project, Christmas-themed sewing ideas, and bag-making DIY projects. I still enjoy making made-to-measure curtains and getting out for the measuring, quoting, making, creating and installation, but I also really love the diversity of people I meet on a daily basis.

Back in 2017 when I started the store I didn't realise how much I would grow to LOVE it. It feels like home, and customers can grow to feel like family. In early 2020 when Covid-19 hit our country, I realised it was time to venture into a new frontier - that of DIGITAL. It was time to take Handa Crafts and Curtains online - and it has been an exciting adventure. I've embraced digital webinars, zoom sessions, online workshops, branding and social media courses, and set about creating this website, which has been a labour of love. Covid made me embrace technology and while it's been a steep learning curve, the pivot has been a great way to delve into the nuts and bolts of getting my business online, so now I can offer MORE to my customers. 

A little about me:

Born and raised in Casino, I attended the local Infant’s primary school and High School (Casino Public School & Casino High School) and my parents ran a dairy farm just out of town. I enjoyed the country life as a child and pictured myself as a farmers wife, doing what my mother had done all her life. BUT that was not to be, and my interest in sewing (which started when I attended sewing classes at Primary School and I had a wonderful and inspiring teacher) ensured I follow my dream and have spent the past decades doing what I love best - creating and sewing curtains, clothes, craft projects and so much more. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my grandmother (whom I never knew) was a keen handicraft person so I feel proud that I inherited some of her genes. On leaving school I got a job at Sandra Leigh Uniform Manufacturing as a machinist which gave me the skills of the production work (which some of those skills I continue to use today). 

When Sandra Leigh closed, I started the curtain sewing for a Department Shop here in Casino - Chamblers - soft furnishings, furniture & floor coverings (1985) which then further expanded my skills and experience. 

Following that I did the curtains as a mobile service and after a number of people asked where they could look at the samples I thought of moving into a shop in front and the retail store come about, opening on 28 March 2017. Almost to the day, four years later, the online store was launched. 

I'm proud that I offer an old-fashioned haberdashery, craft & fabric store with a modern twist.  Being allowed to browse and find what you might want or something you didn’t think you needed (which can also be done on the net), use your hands, pick up an time-honoured skill, ask me questions, it's all part of the service. This online store is no different - I welcome you to pick up the phone and ring the store, we're here to help! You can find all the details on the CONTACT page. Get in touch!

Thanks for being here, thanks for supporting Australian small business, thanks for shopping with Handa Crafts and Curtains - an old-fashioned haberdashery store with a modern twist.