Meet the Makers: Naomi Young at Maydor Makes

An invitation to meet our sellers...

We have an amazing community of creatives and artists here at Cheerfully Given who love Jesus and are passionate about sharing Him through unique and excellent designs.

So we decided to take the time to introduce them and show off their inspiring products!

If fun and interactive Bible story resources are your cup of tea, stick around to meet Naomi Young of Maydor Makes!

Let's go back to the very basics... Who are you and what has your creative journey looked like?

Hi, I'm Naomi, and I was training to be a teacher 17 years ago when I became suddenly unwell and had to leave my teaching degree and lay that dream down. I still battle my health daily, but nine years ago, with the help of my lovely family, I set up my own not-for-profit children's community group, running weekly creative play experiences for local families.

I have always been very creative and used my creativity to create the children's sessions for hours upon hours. It was an actual labour of love, but I loved serving all those local children and their families.

I had always crafted, as I feel it was my escapism from being unwell and some time to relax and get lost in that moment.

When my husband lost his job in the first UK lockdown, we decided to make a small business of my passion from home, as he's practical too.

It has been a financial walk of faith for sure and still is, but God is good and always provides! He is so faithful... even when you are living by faith, and it can be scary not knowing how you will make ends meet, He is such a Good Father!

We make lots for children, but we have started a range of Bible story resources for children to bring the Bible to life, and it's my passion. I want people to look at them and immediately know what I am trying to achieve. i.e. bring the Bible to life and what story I am representing in my work.

All our products are wooden. I love wooden toys, always have as a mother, and when working with children. They are nicer for the environment but last so much longer.

I love handmade items that you can see love and time and that effort has gone into them. Something unique and well designed.

I work with acrylic paints and toy safe varnish.

All our products are handmade to order, made to safety standards, and finished in toy safe varnish. They all come in a themed handmade bag.

Although we are a husband and wife team in our small business, I make the Bible resources, and Hubby does the finishing off, so they are smooth, varnished and packaged well.

We live in a tiny space, so it's just me at my desk and hubby in our loft space as a bit of a production line!

It just proves you can achieve what you love, even with limitations!

I hope the time and effort I go into my work shows my love for Jesus and the gifts and passions He has put inside me.

I hope the way I deal with customers and the extra mile I always try to go to help others is reflected in all that I do.

I know all I have achieved and will achieve is nothing I could have done, it has to be All Him!

Probably my Noah's Ark Peg Doll Set. I love animals so much, they are a huge passion of mine, so it's lovely to paint lots of different ones to incorporate into the Bible story.

Oh, this is easy!

I have too much vision and ideas, I am told!!

I want to expand and believe God for a place to work out of so we can make large quantities of stock and have more space to work and store and parcel items etc.

I would love to grow so that we are more known in the children's ministry circles and organisations where our products are commonplace in churches, homes, schools, etc.

I would like this to compliment the children's Bible stories I am currently writing in rhyme and hope to get published so it can be sent as packages to churches.

I would love this to earn us a good living, so we don't have to walk daily by faith for income. We have done well on Facebook, but we want to reach more people so we can make a living for our wonderful son.

Also, as I wait and believe for my healing, I can achieve and still have a purpose while working for myself and getting the Word, and interest in the Word of God, into homes and churches, as children are the next generation of warriors for the Kingdom of God.