The Delacombe woman opened the I Made It, Creative Café just before Christmas. 

Passers-by on Albert Street would have noticed the dressed-up Dalek that has welcomed people into the building. 

Mrs Love said she had started on her path towards running the café after some inspiration from a teacher. 

“I had a teacher that asked me ‘if you had all the money in the world, you’ve had your holiday, you’ve had your big spend-up, what would you do for the rest of your life?’, and for me, it was to get back to my arts and crafts, because I loved that when I was a child,” she said. 

The old pilates studio on Albert Street is split between the cafe area to the left, well attended late on Thursday afternoon when The Courier popped in, and a crafts area to the right. 

Mrs Love has been building to opening the venue for years, selling her goodies at markets around the region and getting back into her crafts to make sure she was ready when the time came. 

“When this came up for auction, we thought Sebastopol, this being our local area...would be a great place to start a business, especially a café,” she said.

The classes and activities on the crafts side range from painting time after school to earlier activities for pre-school aged kids. 

In the later afternoon every day there are craft groups for all-ages, with soap- and candle-making on offer as well as adult painting classes. 

Before the doors could open in December, there were a few challenges with council permits, including court disputes. 

These came despite the property already running as a business before Mrs Love bought it, with broader opening hours. 

She said she hopes to amend her planning permission this year to be able to be able to host local musicians. 

“I...wanted to support young musicians, teenagers who might be wanting to save up for something, to be able to come and play music on the front verandah for people who will enjoy it or appreciate it,” she said. 

“I want to turn it into more a creative arts hub, not just for arts and craft, and not (just) for children, but for all ages.” 

113 Albert Street Sebastopol. 5384 5071. Open 8am to 6pm Sat-Mon, 9-5 Sun.