Meet Maaike van Besien, the owner of MaaiDesign, who turned her love of sewing and European prints into a thriving online fabric business run from her picturesque Australian town. She talks about the joy of building communities and the realities of running a labour intensive business.
What prompted you to start a business?
I got addicted to sewing while we were spending time back in my home country, Belgium. We’d moved there for about a year for my husband’s job, and I suddenly had more time. I had always wanted to start my own business. When we came back to Australia, I thought it would be a good time to do so.
I couldn’t find the fabrics I loved here, especially those European prints and designs, so I thought, why not import them and start an online store? I also wanted the flexibility to live wherever I wanted, not necessarily in Sydney or Melbourne.
I live in a small tourist town of about three thousand people. It’s beautiful. It’s perfect for outdoor sports, great for our family and kids. And with an online store, I get to live where I want to live.
I also had this naïve idea that if I sold fabric, I would be able to sew all day long. I don’t know why I thought that! I still sew a lot and I make all my own clothes. But I go through phases. Sometimes I’m super motivated to sew, I’ll sew every day for three weeks straight, and then I’ll go for a few weeks where I don’t sew at all.
Where does the name MaaiDesign come from?
It’s a play on words from my name, Maaike. When I first started sewing, I wanted cool labels to put in my handmade garments. A friend and I were joking one day, and we said, “You should call them Maai Design,” as in my design. I thought, that’s pretty clever!
So I used it for my business name too. The idea is that if you sew your own clothes, it’s your design or my design.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of running a business?
My favorite part is that there’s always something new. We get to play with fabric all day, and our customers are such lovely people. Sewists tend to be very nice. We also have very loyal customers and we receive so many sweet emails. We very rarely get anything negative. Even on social media where people are not always nice, we don’t have to deal with horrible people. Everyone is so kind.
The worst part? Bookkeeping. I hate it! I recently hired a bookkeeper, and it’s been a game changer. It used to drive me to tears.
What are some of your favorite sewing patterns or designers?
Oh, don’t make me pick! There are a few I come back to often. The Lander Pants by True Bias is one. I’ve made those many times. Also the Wardrobe Builder T-Shirt by Wardrobe by Me, and the Maison Fauve patterns — I’m wearing their Ressac jumper right now. I also love the Heidi Pants by Masin. They’re my “Victoria Beckham jeans” — same look, without the price tag!
And then, of course, Closet Core, Megan Nielsen, True Bias. They’re all top-quality designers with detailed instructions. Oh, and Liesl + Co! I’ve made their classic shirt a few times. I’m forgetting lots of other designers worth mentioning!
Are there any other stores you admire?
Tessuti: they’ve done an amazing job with their patterns and built such an established business. And The Fabric Store. I love them too.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about opening a fabric store?
Don’t be as naïve as I was! It takes a long time to become profitable. Fabrics are a low-margin product because they are very labor-intensive. You have to photograph new stock, create product listings, then when orders come in, cut, fold, and pack each piece.
A lot of people start fabric stores because they love sewing, but they don’t realize how much hard work it is for not much money. It took us years before I could pay myself. You have to reach a certain size and become established before you can be profitable.
That’s why many shops in Australia have closed recently. It can be a challenging industry. The high euro against the Australian dollar hurts too. Plus, it’s always a guessing game: will customers love this print or not? Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t. I still love it, but it’s definitely hard work.
What are you most looking forward to?
Definitely summer! We’re heading into it here in Australia, and I’m revamping my summer wardrobe. I’ve been working with a stylist from Style Liberation who’s helped me understand my colors, style personality, and body architecture. It’s really improving my sewing success rate, so to speak. I’m getting better at making the right clothes for me.
I’m also looking forward to family time over the holidays and to building our online sewing community, Modern Makers. I started it in February, and it’s growing beautifully. People are even meeting up in person and making new sewing friends, which is so heartwarming. Especially considering social media is becoming more and more fake. The flood of AI-generated content is frightening. Social media used to feel really addictive, but now I just don’t want to spend time there anymore. If I could, I’d delete Facebook and Instagram. But as a business owner, I can’t do it… yet.
That’s why the Modern Makers community is so exciting to me. It’s real. It’s human. It’s something I look forward to growing.
Replic: the blog 