Isabella Bailey dreams of walking into a store one day and seeing her brand hanging up next to all the other big names.
Bailey, 13, is the face behind My Little Fly Co. Her tagline — “Hand-tied flies made in the Cariboo” — makes it clear about where her talents lie. She creates a variety of hand-tied flies for fishing, and turns some of them into magnets or glass ball Christmas decorations.
“I’m 100 per cent self-taught,” she says. “I’ve been doing this for years, and it is a big passion of mine.”
She was around seven or eight years old when she went to a trade show and learned about tying flies. “Ever since then I just love it so much that I continue to do it.”
Bailey buys all her own supplies. Her maribous and chenilles are all pre-dyed, and she works with them to come up with a design she likes.
When creating the appearance of the flies she will sometimes look in a magazine to get a feel for what colours work well together.
“I try to go with the more natural colours because the fish tend to like it more and it looks more appealing,” she said.
Bailey came up with the idea of the glass ornaments one day when she wanted to try something different.
People loved it, and she continued making them. This year she thought she would try the magnets and see how they were received.
She said she tries to find new ideas every day, but so far the ornaments and magnets are “her thing.”
Putting the glass ornaments together can be challenging, she admitted. “It definitely takes a lot of patience and perseverance to get them sitting in there nicely and how I want them to look,” she says with a laugh.
Bailey’s talents do not end with her fly-tying.
Her second business, Izzy’s Homesteading Goods, consists of homemade crafts, jewelry, and homesteading items.
Her hand-beaded jewelry gets its inspiration from all the girls she sees wearing western jewelry, a look she enjoys. She tries to re-create it by coming up with her own patterns.
Starting this week, Bailey’s Christmas ornaments will be available for sale at Lone Butte Sporting Goods. You can also check out her Facebook page @MyLittleFlyCo to learn more, or email mylittleflyco@gmail.com.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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