Meet the Team
Maker of things - Beth
Hi! I’m Beth. I design and make eveything here at Little Grassbird.
I grew up in Castlemaine, Central Victoria which is on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. I loved creating with everything and anything around me. Unsurprisingly one of my favourite TV shows growing up was Art Attack and I’d use what I had to try to recreate projects from the show. I was lucky to grow up in an environment that encouraged my creativity.
In 2009 I moved to Melbourne for study. I stayed there until 2014 when I moved back to Castlemaine which is where I live with my partner, our two cats, and our two dogs to this day.
In 2013 I completed the Advanced Diploma in Engineering Technology (Jewellery) at NMIT making me a qualified jeweller. It was actually during my jewellery studies that I started Little Grassbird! I’ve also studied costume design, ceramics, and illustration. I’m hoping to study Auslan soon too.
For a while Little Grassbird included costumes. I had the opportunity to work with Arena Theatre Company on Robot Song. It’s such a beautiful show, and I’m not the only person who thinks so. It won a Helpmann Award! I’ve also had the opportunity to work with the Old Castlemaine Gaol, Geelong Gaol Museum, Christine Sayer Photographics, and many local community productions.
These days I speicalise in needle felting and spun cotton, but I love to try all sorts of different arts and crafts just like when I was younger. I still love sewing (especially hand sewing), and recently I’ve been dabbling more and more with spinning, knitting, and crochet.
I’ve been a Craft Accredited Member since 2013.
I’m a regular stallholder at Buda Traditional Arts Fair in November each year. Up until I lost my voice in 2023 I was a regular stallholder at Castlemaine Artists Market. I also ran regular workshops at Castlemaine Community House. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find a way to present workshops and attend more regular markets again soon. You can find upcoming events here. If you’d like to find out more about what happened to my voice, head over to the FAQ page.
When I’m not working on Little Grassbird I like to spend time with my loved ones (that includes the animals), watching crafty YouTube, playing video games, or making things.
Supurrvisors and supawvisors
Rogue
Rogue is a food loving ball of cuddles and chaos. We have to make sure to keep food locked up so he doesn’t get to it. He particularly loves oat milk and bread.
Rogue’s pupils face outwards, but it doesn’t seem to affect his eyesight. He is able to do his job as a supurrvisor by sitting on me and my work to check it’s sturdy enough.
Tiny
Tiny (aka Ziggy) is my sweet little shy boy. He’ll usually hide if there are visitors about, but can be very smoochy with me. He has a little heart shaped patch on his chest which is very cute.
Tiny is in a similar supurrvisor role to Rogue. He especially likes to pop in when I’m sewing or taking photos to make sure I’m doing a good job.
El
El accepted the role as supawvisor when she moved in at the same time as Robbie. She wasn’t so sure about the cats at first, but they get along fine now (they ignore each other most of the time).
El’s role includes laying on the floor behind you quietly so you nearly trip over her (to make sure you’re paying attention), and chewing holes in her toys (making sure to keep my mending skills sharp).
Topaz
Topaz is the newest member of the team and is a supawvisor in training at the moment. She was born in December 2024 so she’s still young, but she’s already doing great!
Topaz’s role includes being a silly goose, a carrier of sticks, and she’ll soon be in training to be an assistance dog. She’ll be with me a lot going forward.