How it began...
It was spring of 2007, and I had just found out my part-time job was ending. For the past year I had been selling sewing machines, and teaching sewing lessons at a sewing machine dealer inside of a fabric store. This location was closing so my new until-the-end job was to sell as many sewing machines as I could and pack up the rest to go to other locations.
I was a broke college student studying fine art, and because of my fondness for eating, and paying my bills I needed a new job fast. I put out applications across town, including to be a sales consultant at David's Bridal. I received a call back from David's almost immediately. They were willing to interview me to be a sales consultant, but because of my resume indicating sewing history, they were more interested in bringing me on as part of their in-house alterations team. At the time, the alterations team starting hourly pay was $4 higher than the sales consultants, so I said okay. The interview included an impromptu sewing test. The alterations manager quickly introduced me to one of the industrial machines and asked me to remove a zipper from a bridesmaids dress and then replace it. The manager and two other alterations seamstresses watched over my shoulder, and they timed me. Honestly, it was sloppy work. Industrial machines are fast and can easily get away from you, but I completed the task, and the team saw my potential so they offered me the job.
The alterations manager, Sandy was an inspiration. She had been sewing on formal dresses for at least 30 years. She worked 50+ hours a week at David's and ran an alterations business out of her home on her days off. In my eyes she knew everything, could solve any issue, and sew anything, and she did her best to teach me all of it. She taught me everything about fitting, and how to resolve weird fit issues. She taught me how to talk to stressed out brides, and put them at ease. She taught me all the ins and outs of bustles. I quickly became the go-to employee for fittings. I was much more comfortable talking with brides, and putting pins in dresses than I was sitting at the industrial sewing machines, or cleaning gowns with toxic chemicals. Truthfully, I was just too slow at the sewing part.
I worked at David's Bridal for just shy of 3 years. At that point I had graduated with my BFA, and had taken another part-time job as a graphic designer. The graphic design job bloomed into a full-time gig with better pay, so I left David's, but I continued to hem and alter dresses for friends, and friends of friends.
In 2010 I returned to school to study web design, and that same year I took on another part-time job with a small bridal store in town. I worked Sundays in the shop for free, and in exchange I got to use their space for alterations fittings, and I could promote myself to their brides. It was a great side gig and helped me pay my way through my new degree. My sewing got better because it had to. I was still slow, but I was getting faster.
In 2011 I graduated with my AAS degree and took a new full-time job as a web designer. I said goodbye to my graphic design job and my Sunday bridal shop job, and committed myself to my new 8-5. I commuted to Cheyenne, and worked in a dark cubicle. The daily routine was a drag, the office drama was intense, and my creative soul was being crushed, but I was “an adult” with a 401K.
In 2014 I married my husband. He knew how unhappy I was at work, and he encouraged me to quit my job. I took a year off to volunteer, and paint, and figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was still doing the occasional dress on the side, and that was bringing me a lot of joy. I also accidentally landed a marketing and design job at the local art museum.
In 2016 our first child was born, and after just 7 months of trying to balance the museum work and wanting to be a stay at home mom, my husband again encouraged me to quit my job. I love that I had that option, and I really thought I could cut it as a stay at home mom, but no, it is lonely stuff. It was at this point that I wrote up a business plan, filed to become an LLC, and took my biggest leap of faith. Could I make a decent salary working out of my home? Could I set my hours around my kids schedules and still be present for them? I was determined to try. I took our guest bedroom in the basement and turned it into a dedicated bridal sewing room.
For the first 5 years, it was hard. I was doing all of my sewing during nap times, an hour or maybe two, every day, and late night hours. There were many, many nights that I was up until 2am sewing. We didn’t have childcare, and I couldn’t do it when the kids were awake. I was only seeing clients on weekends, and the occasional late weeknight, because that was when my husband could watch the toddlers. It wasn’t very fair to him, but somehow we made it work.
When both kids went to school full time things shifted. I made weekends off-limits for clients. Family time was my new priority. I set dedicated daytime hours, and only saw clients when the kids were at school. I set new pricing, and I started paying myself more than minimum wage. It has still been a balancing game between work and family, but I think all moms feel that. However, I discovered that yes, I can make a decent amount of money working out of my home, and I can be there every single day when my kids get off of the school bus to drive them to their afterschool activities. I have the perfect balance of visiting with clients (and probably talking too much,) while also having many hours alone in my sewing room listening to audio books and patiently re-beading an entire bodice panel, or hemming 20 layers of bridal net. I read a lot of self-help books, and almost all of them will tell you that when you find what you’re supposed to be doing, it will feel easy and it will fall into place. I’ve found it. It is easy, and it is my joy. I didn’t expect a part-time college job to turn into a career, but I am grateful every single day that it did.
