One of the VERY best parts of my ‘career’ in the sewing field has been the excitement of being even a small part of encouraging customers to make a business of their passion for creative sewing. I know at least 3 of my students from the Summer Sewing Camps during my retail storefront days went on to study fashion design… and Tina just shared with me her updated bridal sewing website. One thing I KNOW for sure – I surely loved having her expertise close by when I was stitching my daughters’ wedding dress about a year ago…. I asked Tina to share how it all came about for her and her training…read below what she has to say.
“Clients often ask how I got started in the custom bridal gown business. My neighbor, Londa Rohlfing, gets some of the credit for encouraging me to start my business. At the time, Londa owned an independent fabric store in Champaign, Illinois, called Londa’s Sewing Etc. She knew about my sewing abilities and love for fine fabrics because I spent a lot of time at her store buying fabrics and studying with the well-known sewing experts who came to the shop to teach classes. When Londa decided to add a bridal fabric department to her store, she suggested that I could use my skills to start a business and we could help each other out with referrals for fabrics and custom dressmaking services. It didn’t take me long to realize that I wanted to specialize in wedding dresses and other special occasion garments. My two boys don’t have much of a need for fancy dresses, and I have limited need for them myself. Making bridal gowns gives me a chance to work with beautiful fabrics and trims, and I get to meet all kinds of interesting people. Please visit my website at http://www.treasures-by-tina.com/ to see photos of some of the gowns I’ve created. Londa and I are still neighbors, and I was glad to be able to help her out last summer when she was making her daughter’s wedding gown (see her blog posts for more about this including pictures of the gown). ”
I hope her boys are smart enough to use their mom’s talent as a real ‘PLUS’ as they date!
For Londa’s books, patterns, and supplies as described in her sewing escapades, please see Londa’s Creative Threads – http://www.londas-sewing.com