This shop is currently empty. Please check back when we've restocked.

Buying from me

I am delighted to say I am a daughter of God. I can remember my mum singing me to sleep as a baby with a song that affirmed the joy we can find in our identity in Christ. I have happy memories of my Grandma, she died when I was five, yet as one of her ‘treasures’, she passed on her love, devotion and dependence in Jesus.

In my early teens I was given what is called a prophetic word, this is an encouragement or calling to a particular direction in life. The word I was given was to be like Dorcas. Dorcas is a Bible character, she was a follower of Jesus and discipled others’, she supported the poor and she was a dressmaker. I can imagine her sitting in the market square with a needle and thread; a group of people around her, seeking out the skills and tools to support themselves. I can imagine as Dorcas sewed and mended someone's clothes that she prayed for whatever they needed mending in their heart. I aspire to be like Dorcas.

I love sewing and making clothes, a skill that has been passed on to me by my mother and to her from her mother. I studied fashion and clothing at college, and Dorcas inspired me to consider the needs of disadvantaged children for my final collection. I married young, people would describe Richard and I as childhood sweethearts. We now have two gorgeous teenage children (I'm their mother so allowed to be biased!)

I spent my early twenties working in the trade: on the factory floor, as a fabric cutter and as a grader and pattern cutter during a season when manufacturing was gradually moving away from Britain. I finally moved into education: I spent most of my teaching career as a course leader of a Fashion course at a local college here in Oxford. I appreciated the opportunities I was given to pass on my knowledge, encouraging students to value the voiceless in our fashion supply chain.

In 2011 I felt God shifting my perspective and I started to re-evaluate who Dorcas was. I had the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy from teaching. I took some time to do a theology course, this gave me the opportunity to dig into my God given purpose further.

In March 2016 I started the The Dorcas Dress Project out of a response to one of my theology assignments. I wanted to develop a product and a charitable business model where people from all over the world could be practically, economically and spiritually involved in the making and selling of dresses that honour, respect and embody God and His Kingdom. I wanted the dress to reflect Dorcas.

For more information about the project please visit my site:
http://mariaskoyles.co.uk/sewing_oxford/Dorcas_Dress_Project.html

Returns Policy

You have 14 days, from receipt, to notify the seller if you wish to cancel your order or exchange an item.

Please note: Unless faulty, the following types of items are non-refundable: items that are personalised, bespoke or made-to-order to your specific requirements; personal items sold with a hygiene seal (cosmetics, underwear) in instances where the seal is broken.

Read the Folksy Returns Policy.