Leitrim teacher turning recycled materials into handmade bags was 'inspired by granny'

A Leitrim home economics teacher has turned her lifelong passion for textiles and crochet into a handmade fashion brand, creating sustainable bags from recycled t-shirts.

Isabella McKeon is the young business woman behind ‘By Izzy the label’, a crochet brand she launched at the end of March after rediscovering her passion for the craft.

Originally from Kiltubrid, Isabella says her love for crochet and knitting began when she was young, while spending evenings with her granny.

“I was inspired by learning crochet and knitting with my granny,” she explained.

“When I was younger, in primary school, I'd come up to her in the evenings and we'd be knitting or something, and I would just be so fascinated by it, and how she was able just to create something out of nothing with a ball of yarn.”

That early fascination stayed with Isabella, who later rediscovered her love of crochet and began creating bags for herself.

It was the reaction from friends that gave her the idea to turn her hobby into a business.

“I loved being able to say, ‘my bag is made from recycled T-shirts, it's so sustainable, it's made from cotton, a natural fibre.’”Isabella said.

After receiving compliments whenever she wore her handmade bags, Isabella began making pieces for friends and quickly realised there could be something bigger behind her creations.

“I was just so passionate about it. I was like, maybe I could make this work, maybe I could make some bags for my friends, kind of get a feeler, see how it would go.”

After working as a home economics teacher in Dublin, she has recently moved home to Leitrim, giving her the ability to devote more time to her business.

She has used social media to grow the brand, particularly through her personal TikTok page, which she says has helped drive organic traffic towards the business.

The next step that’s currently in the works, is a ‘By Izzy the label’ website.

“I feel like having a website is just so much more accessible to much more people,” she said. “They don't have to have Instagram or they don't have to DM me if they don't want to. They can just order online.”

While the business is primarily online at present, customers have also had the opportunity to see Isabella’s creations in person through two pop up events, at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo.

The events were a major undertaking, with Isabella getting the help of family and friends to prepare everything from the handmade bags and labels to the display and social media content.

She says the response from customers was “amazing”, with large crowds attending both events.

For Isabella, getting people to see and feel the bags in person is particularly important because the recycled cotton yarn has a texture that many people are unfamiliar with.

“A lot of people, they're not familiar with the cotton yarn and even the texture and the feel of the bags,” she said.

“They kind of take a crochet and they think, oh, it's just like wool. And it's just not that texture at all. It's completely different.”

The yarn itself is sourced from a producer in Portugal, where old T-shirts are transformed into yarn for use in Isabella’s designs.

Despite each item being handmade, Isabella has managed to build up a steady stream of orders. Smaller bags take around an hour to an hour and a half to make, while larger designs can take two to two and a half hours, before the pieces are stitched together and finished with metal hardware and packaging.

To ensure she can keep up with growing demand, Isabella opens her order book at the beginning of each month and allocates a set number of slots.

“So I currently just have order slots assigned and I work as that way and every month I've been full, which is just so amazing,” she said.

Isabella is currently involved with the Kilkenny Design Makers Academy, which works alongside the Local Enterprise Offices to support Irish makers and businesses.

More than 200 applications were received for the programme, with just 25 makers and businesses selected.

Through the academy, Isabella has been learning about developing a business, social media strategies, working with buyers and growing in the e-commerce space.

She has also received support through the Local Enterprise Office and works with a crochet mentor.

For someone who had never studied business in secondary school, Isabella says learning from other business owners has been invaluable.

“I just had an idea in mind and I just kept building from it,” she said.

“And learning from other people has been probably the most valuable task. Just learning from their experiences and their advice.”

With her brand continuing to grow, Isabella hopes to expand into more pop ups and markets, giving customers the chance to experience her products first hand.

She also sees handmade and sustainable fashion becoming increasingly important as consumers become more aware of the environmental impact of fast fashion.

“I feel like choosing handmade and choosing slower consumption and thoughtful creation is definitely going to be the future,” she said.

‘By Izzy the Label’ combines several of Isabella’s biggest passions creativity, textiles, fashion and sustainability, while allowing her to create something entirely by hand.

To check out some of Izzy the label’s designs, you can click here.