Enterprise Nation

Jennifer Pirtle is on to a winner. After a life spent writing for, and editing, magazines, she moved from New York to London (to follow her heart) and, when here, spotted a gap in the market. A gap to offer craft courses to people who wanted to engage their creativity. The result is The Make Lounge and it's fast gaining custom and popularity.

At the dawn of the new Millennium, magazine editor Jennifer Pirtle, moved from New York City to marry and settle in London. She started out by doing what she knew; writing for magazines, but the deadlines were intense and Jennifer was spending full days at her computer and ending the day thinking that a side of her life was missing. She felt the creative side of her brain was just not being used. In search of something to fill the creative void and to have an excuse to use her hands for a purpose other than tapping away at the computer, Jennifer looked for a craft course. She soon found that the only courses available were 6-8 weeks long, a bit too traditional and a bit too much of a financial commitment.

At the time she was working in a shared workspace called The Hub; a space that had a top floor which was perfect to test the market. Jennifer organised courses for 6 months to see if they would prove popular. They did. So popular that Jennifer needed to look for a bigger space to call her own. She has now moved The Make Lounge into a Georgian town house in Islington that offers a homely backdrop for workshops on everything from survival sewing to Japanese style stitch journals. In 2009 The Make Lounge will venture into 'boys crafts' but for the time being, they have their hands full with customers and popular hen events. Jennifer calls on the skills of 30 teachers and finds a number of them on craft sites such as etsy.com. She feels the time is right for The Make Lounge as she hears from so many students who want to make their own clothes, make gifts for others, or possibly turn a craft skill into a business.

So what does the future hold for this crafty entrepreneur? Ideally, Jennifer wants to perfect the model at her Islington base before expanding.

I left the call in no doubt that this American lady in London who has gone from writing headlines to being the subject of them, may take it one stitch at a time but will create quite a skilled and crafted masterpiece.

Jennifer Pirtle talks to Emma Jones

• The Make Lounge