01/09/2026
A little bit of our story / history with The Human Collective . We have been fans of theirs for a long time, they share the stories of the people within our town. It was an honor to be invited to take part.
"My name is Kirsty and I'm the owner of Print it Stitch it on Kirkcaldy high street.
I've been going since 2013, I was initially over the road in the indoor market, that's how I knew your mum from the cafe. The market was good for getting businesses started, all your electricity and that was included but I was tucked away at the back so my footfall wasn't great, even after shuffling around, I could only work 9-5 and at night I'd have to put my machinery in my car and they were about 40kg each. I came over here in 2017 and this is shop layout number 7 because the business just seems to grow till its bursting at the seams and I'm always moving things around!
I fell into this job, I used to make sock monkeys and sold them for my social enterprise. I bought all my printing gear from the chap next to me and decided to see what I could do with it. Fife Flyers soon reached out and asked me to embroider logos on their kit and one night I went to a game at Braehead, I had found out that the operational manager was a wh**ky man so I etched a wh**ky glass with the Braehead logo on it and managed to get it to him with purple ribbons tied to it and he loved it so much that he called the next day, we met and he put a massive order in after our meeting, I had to embroidery their kits and scarves! It grew the business massively. I was suddenly supplying two ice hockey teams and at that point I couldn't work at night in the market so I had to move and I did"
My brother used to race Supermoto up in Crail and I would video and photograph him racing, when I was younger my health wasn't great but I loved being a part of it. I'm now on the committee, but this all come about after my own successes on the track. I won my first championship when I was 18. I was too fast so I moved up to 250cc on a KTM and I just loved it.
I began racing again in 2021, I had reliable staff so I was able to step away and get back on the pit bike, I missed half of that first season and still finished 5th. The following year I was 1st and 2nd in most of my races and won the championship. But behind it all, I was so ill that year. I continually pushed myself and knew I shouldn't have, it was taking it's toll on my body. I have Ulcerative Colitis and it was just too much for me. I ended up in a wheelchair in 2023. I was doped up on heavy painkillers, I was in and out of hospital trying to find out what was wrong with my hips, it was just an awful time for me and my partner. In 2024 I started biological medication, that's taken 3 different kinds to find the right one but on top of that I had to teach myself to walk again, a wheelchair couldn't fit in here but Healthy Working Lives came out and did an occupational health assessment and they got me this fancy chair that surgeons all over the world use and it's been a game changer for me.
I've been on this high street when its was busy, in its heyday. I've also seen the efforts of people who want the best for it, the people who are still fighting and speaking up against this business hub. People's spending habits have changed, the streets surviving on services like barbers and nail bars. The retail side is dying and there's not much we can do, Glenrothes seems to have found its way with independents and the newest managers in the Kingdom Centre want to see it thrive. Kirkcaldy is a friendly town and my customers are repeat customers like Kirkcaldy Cabs, the drivers come in and I just size them up. I like to give new businesses a bit of help and advice, I never had that help so it's good to pass on that wisdom to them. This is a great town, it really is, a business hub won't make a difference though.
I just hope whatever money is left, it can bring Kirkcaldy back"
By supporting local businesses like Print It Stitch It, you're responsible for them remaining on the high street, you can also share Kirstys story too.
The page is now supported by East Fife Garage Services, with there help I can keep telling these stories.
