My passion for sewing began at a young age, at the dining room table in my childhood home. My mom was making us handmade dresses for a Mother-Daughter Banquet at our church. The feeling of walking through the fabric store full of colorful fabrics and trims, my little hands brushing each bolt gave me this excited feeling inside. Watching and ‘assisting’ my mother in the creation of our fashionable dresses gave me a sense of deep reward, especially when I got to put on her handmade masterpiece. From then on, playing dress-up was never the same.
As I grew into a teenage girl, the desire to create did not cease. I continued to experiment on my mother's sewing machine, with her ‘assistance’. I dabbled in all sorts of fine arts in school, from pottery to drafting, trying to figure out what career field to take up. Debt just did not seem like something I wanted to get into at the time. So I joined the Army as a Clothing Repair Specialist, where they ‘taught’ me how to sew.
Over the years as a citizen soldier, I have held many creative jobs such as GM part seamstress, interior designer for Sherwin Williams, and a tailor for a few major menswear companies. I attended the Art Institute of Michigan for Fashion Merchandising and Management, only because they did not offer Fashion Design in Michigan.
I still desired a more creative outlet than these jobs could provide. A stroke of luck maybe, or fate? A Boss Babe seamstress named Jeanne helped me find that. I began working in a field I had never really tried, BRIDAL! It was scary! Try it she said, it will be fun she said. It was, most of the time. I put blood, sweat, and tears into countless bridal gowns over the last three years. I learned a lot, about myself, about business, and even more about sewing.
Everything up until this point has shaped me into the Boss Babe, seamstress, designer dressmaker, artist, creative, or in my niece Livy’s words, “maker” I am today. I took a leap of faith to start doing what I love more, to provide beautiful heartfelt handmade gifts that reflect the beautiful souls who receive them.
Lastly, I encourage women to uplift one another, support each other's business, side hustle, or whatever it is that you have. We need to push each other to be successful. Because it is not easy, staying positive, staying on track to success, staying sane; these are daily struggles. But if we come together, push each other to be the best version of ourselves, we can make things happen!