Sew Much More

Dean Fountain is the owner of a wholesale workroom providing draperies, bedding, slipcovers, upholstery, and installation in and around Jacksonville, FL. Dean opened his workroom in 2001, and he added Workroom Racks to his business in 2018. Dean Fountain tells us about the design and manufacturing of his new Workroom Rack.  It was introduced at the Custom Workroom Conference in 2018. You can contact Dean by calling him at (904) 334-3694.    

Rita Boland and her daughter Auret deGasperi are the owners of Island Drapes and Upholstery on St. Simon Island in Georgia.  It was truly my pleasure to get to know them better during the interview. You can find them on Facebook.   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   Resources; The Workroom Channel Kitty Stein's Book 

I'm talking with Donna Skufis of Dondar Designs. Donna shares the story of her business, how education is important to her - both learning herself and sharing her knowledge and why she made some of her choices.   Donna is on Facebook.  Resources; You can watch some of Donna's videos on The Workroom Channel's YouTube Channel   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA

Heather Taylor owns and is the sole operator of Custom Textiles, a workroom located by her farmhouse in the Northwest Hills of Connecticut. She has been producing residential and business window dressings since 2003. Heather is on Facebook. Speaking with Heather was truly an honor.  I admire her strength and resilience as well as her creativity.  Resources; The Custom Workroom Conference Kim's Upholstery A Monster to Love Dean Fountain's Workroom Racks or call Dean at (904) 334-3694  

 Michele Williams and I talk about how we like to finish up our year and what we do to start the new year.  I love my conversations with Michele!  With our personalities being so different, I really enjoy talking with her about how we do things. Resources;  Gretchen Rubin's 4 Tendencies Quiz Brene Brown's Dare To Lead   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA

Donna Skufis’s passion for creating beautiful and unique window treatments and soft home furnishing has propelled her talents into a thriving 33-year-old business. At the start she was retail; selling, fabricating and installing; but is now strictly a wholesale fabricator.   Her love of challenges has encouraged her to take on more difficult even almost impossible projects. These projects showcase her engineering abilities.   Teaching others how to fabricate window treatments and soft home furnishing is a large part of her business. She started teaching in 2000 with Cheryl Strickland, then with CHF Academy, in her own studio and with The Workroom Channel. To continue her educational offerings she now has a collection of full color, step-by-step instruction binders covering soft and hard cornices, using Tableaux and building arched and shape top valances. You can find these binders along with her favorite double face tapes and other valuable workroom supplies on her website www.donnaskufis.com Watch Donna's Me

While many workrooms and designers started out in our homes and because we had a skill, Sarah O'Neil started her business,  Storibook Designs out of a need to make a life change and to find joy every day.  She no longer wanted a job, she wanted to feed her soul! Sarah talks openly and honestly about the challenges of anxiety and the tools she uses to get through the difficult times.   Thank you to my sponsors who make it possible for me to continue to bring the podcast to my listeners. Scarlet Thread Consulting The Window Covering Association of America The Workroom Channel   If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at ceilwdi@gmail.com.  

Deborah M. Williamson, owner of Treatments For Your Panes, a Shop at Home retail business servicing the Greater Rochester Area and beyond. She has been sewing for 50 yrs. beginning her career in the Dressmaking/Alterations segment. Deborah’s journey began to change when they moved to Rochester from Buffalo, NY due to her husband’s job transfer. As one of the pioneers of a Planned Community of new homes east of Rochester, what better opportunity to learn how to make window treatments and accessories with 120 homes built each year. An added retail fabric outlet was close by allowing many of her customers and Deborah to buy very reasonable decorator fabrics! Pursuing a college degree was always on her mind so 17 yrs. after high school she watched her son get on the bus for kindergarten and began her educational journey culminating in an Associate’s Degree in Interior Design and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. Deborah offers custom/couture soft window coverings, light upholstery/cushions, slipcovers,

  Judy Soccio is a storyteller. But instead of using words, she weaves her tales with fabric and trim. I listen to clues from my clients – and from their homes – to create inspired window treatment designs that honor the home’s history while acknowledging the 21st-century lifestyles of the current homeowner. Her theatre training and fascination with history give her broad latitude to find the right details for each project. Her pursuit of continuing professional education and certification ensures her ability to bring these details to life in her clients’ homes. Judy has an affinity for vintage houses. Their quirky bay window configurations, their over-the-top window moldings, even their occasionally intrusive hot water radiators in front of those tall windows – vintage homes are characters!   Judy wants to know -what story does your house want to tell? Judy Soccio Designs Judy's Facebook Page Judy mentioned Scot Robbin's Parkhill System   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Sc

In this episode, Jeanelle Dech coaches Ceil as she takes a hard look at the time, effort, and costs associated with producing a weekly podcast. Ceil started the podcast because of her passion for the industry and her desire to give back, and now must face the reality of the podcast’s sustainability. With Jeanelle’s help, Ceil is able to identify opportunities for improved efficiency in producing the podcast to lessen the impact on her profitable business activities. Jeanelle and Ceil also define a path forward to generate additional revenue for the podcast through the support of listeners, and together they introduce the new Sew Much More Podcast Website.   Resources: Kitty Stein's book - Price Your Work With Confidence Neil Sattin's podcast - Relationship Alive   The OPPORTUNITY THINKING Series is sponsored by  The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library.  

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA Kelly Wilson, a lifelong autodidact, has always had a passion for living "outside the box". A combination of varied job experiences from NYC to LA and an eclectic higher education has created the rich foundation for Kelly’s life. As a result of the economic downturn, in 2005 after 17 years of exploring the world “unschooling” her two daughters, Kelly found herself in the job market. Without a professional career to resume, she found a minimum wage, $5-an-hour job, at a local fabric store. Noticing the numerous requests for sewing referrals she identified the need to start a sewing business. Weave Gotcha Covered! was born in the basement with a sewing machine, a friend, and the commission of a “While You Were Out” make-over. Kelly's hard work and dedication to "doing right" by the customer, by the employee, and by society, provided the blueprint for WGC’s mission-driven social enterprise business model. Wit

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   Hallie Meschter is the owner of Sew Hallie, LLC, a custom window treatment workroom serving interior designers in the Washington DC metro area.  What started as a passionate, self-taught hobby two decades ago when her children were young, turned into a side hustle when Sew Hallie was launched in 2007. To help offset college costs for those children, Hallie felt she had to “get serious” and return to full-time work in other fields, thinking there wouldn’t be enough profit in making custom window treatments. But after five years with a local design center, a trip to CWC, and drawing from the support of this community, she finally found the resources and the confidence to go full-time with Sew Hallie.    Hallie is on Facebook and Instagram   We mentioned the following podcasts; Michele Williams - Profit Is A Choice LuAnn Nigara - A Well Designed Business Kate Gruenke - The Kate Show Natalie Eckdahl - The Bi

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   Denise Hooper began her career in 2002 working in a home-based workroom.  In 2007 she founded Dream It Window Coverings working out of her home. She started as retail workroom but slowly grew to a wholesale business. In 2015 she limited her operation to a " To The Trade" commercial workroom. "Out of the Box" thinking and solving challenging problems are her specialty when working with designers for their clients.   Here is the link to Christopher's Cookie Recipe!   We talked about these podcasts; Profit Is A Choice A Well Designed Business  

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   Staci Faulkner is the owner and operator of Staci Faulkner Designs in Ruston, LA, and has been involved in the interior design business for 23 years. Staci’s mother taught her to sew by hand not long after she learned to walk, and began to sew on machines at the age of 5. Creating clothing and other project with fabric became a way to earn money in junior high and high school, and lead to her studies of Fashion at Louisiana Tech University. After graduating and creating custom clothing and wedding gowns, Staci turned her interest to sewing for the home, sparking a passion for interiors.   Staci went to work in a small interior design business and learned how the art of dressing people could be translated into dressing a home, and most importantly, the windows. From that experience, Staci realized that she could turn her love of fabrics into a business focused on dressing windows. After moving to Houston,

 This Episode of the Podcast is sponsored by; The Curtains And Soft Furnishings Resource Library Emily Pettit is the owner of Emily Jane Creations located in the Spartanburg, South Carolina area. Emily worked as a nurse for 30 years prior to her current career as a soft furnishings fabricator specializing in slipcovers. She has been married to Eric Pettit for 40 years, has two grown children and two grandchildren. She took classes under Jeanelle Dech at the Custom Home Furnishings School in 2005 and opened her workroom later that year. She started teaching at Workroom Tech this year and looks forward to passing on her love for fabricating beautiful slipcovers to others looking to do the same.

Kathy Healey is a sewist who lives with her family in Rochester, New York. In her home-based business, called, Healey Wear, Kathy creates custom window treatments, garments and home dec items. She also alters garments to provide her clients with a perfect fit for their ready-to-wear clothing. Kathy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer and Family Studies from Buffalo State College and a Master of Science degree in Health Education from SUNY Brockport. You can find Kathy on Facebook.

Ceil DiGuglielmo is the owner of Sew Much More Custom Sewing.   As a to the trade window treatment and soft furnishings workroom, Ceil loves collaborating with designers to bring their vision to completion for their clients. Passionate about education and technology in her industry, Ceil regularly attends conferences, seminars, and classes to keep up with industry standards and hone her skills. She is a Window Fashion Certified Professional Workroom.   As a member of the WCAA, she has served as President of her local Pennsylvania chapter and currently serves as Secretary on the National Board.   Ceil produces and hosts The Sew Much More Podcast, an interview style podcast with members of the window treatment and soft home furnishings industry.   Ceil is a Certified Evernote Consultant, teaching workrooms and designers how to effectively use Evernote to organize and access all of the information necessary to run their businesses.

Kathy Hamilton Window Alternatives Business Profile   Kathy is the owner of WINDOW ALTERNATIVES LLC. Her entrepreneurial spirit drove her to open Window Alternatives 30 years ago specializing in window coverings and offering full interior design services.   Kathy graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with a degree in fashion design. She worked as an apparel designer after her graduation for six years, traveling to key fashion and manufacturing facilities in Asia, India, and Europe.   Kathy returned to school to gain additional education in drapery, fabrics and manufacturing. She became a WFCP (Window Fashion Certified Professional) drapery specialist. She has continued her education at every opportunity, consistently using new technology and trends in her business. Kathy has become a specialist in working with architects in developing window treatments for commercial applications, with a focus on Senior Living facilities.   Kathy has been published in Design New Jersey magazine, the A

This series is sponsored by The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library What does it mean to enter the family business and keep it going for 70 years???  We find out today with Sue and Steve Landis of Merril Y Landis, LTD.   Sue Landis has over thirty-five years of leadership experience serving as Christian Education Director, Sunday School teacher, Inductive Bible Study and Women’s Ministry leader. Her professional career has been diverse.  Sue was happy to be a stay-at-home mom filling her years with various volunteer roles at school and church.  Several years after returning to the workforce, she met the new challenge to join her husband full time in the family business.  She has continued her education in Lean Mfg., Human Performance Improvement, and earning her PHR in Human Resource Management.   After years of Life Coaching courses, she received her Personal & Executive Coach Certification (CPEC) in February 2015.  Presently, she serves the company as Human Resources Director, Sales, and Mark

  The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA In this Best Advice Episode, I've included; John and Kristen Vince Kathryn Dillon Doshie Witcher Penny Bruce Sharon Gizzi Robin Matthews Cynthia Blescachek Cathy Tucker Jana Platina Phipps Kate Greunke LuAnn Nigara Nancy Letts Susan Kostelecky Ravi Pankhania Jill Ragan Scully Elki Horn Deborah Cronin Caterina Meadows