Sew Much More

Laura Kelly is the  Founder and President of The Handwork Studio, a kids’ needle arts, machine sewing and fashion studio and camps.  THS helps kids build confidence and express themselves creatively through practical arts such as knitting, embroidery, machine sewing, fashion and crafts.  Founded in 2001, today The Handwork Studio is in 10 States and 40 summer locations.  Recognized as the leading educator of kids needle arts and machine sewing, THS is currently working on its first nationally licensed at home learning tool for kids that will launch in Spring 2018.   Laura has always been passionate about kids.  Whether she was babysitting at 10, a resident assistant in college, or running The Handwork Studio, kids have been the center of her life.  She sits on the Leadership Team of Garrett Williamson Foundation, a non-profit organization that delivers quality educational and recreational programs for children in Newtown Square Pennsylvania.  Laura also served as a co-chair, along with her husband John, of

It's a solo podcast today!  I want to let my listeners know about a few changes to the podcast and to ask you to be even more engaged with me and other listeners and with my guests. Please check out The Sew Much More Podcast Page and let me know what you're thinking, what questions you have for my guests, and what you like about the podcast!

This is a special podcast being brought to you by Home Dec Gal with a special announcement from Susan and Rodger!     Susan Woodcock and Rodger Walker own Home Dec Gal and are producers of Custom Workroom Conference and Custom Workroom Weekend events.  Susan is a respected educator and workroom professional with over twenty five years of experience.  In 2016 she published her first book Singer® Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades and Top Treatments.  Rodger is retired from City of Richmond, VA Fire Department and has many years of event management experience for both private and non-profit events. Susan and Rodger will open Custom Workroom Technical Center in 2017.  Located in Tryon, NC, Workroom Tech will offer weekly, hands-on classes for sewing custom window treatments and soft furnishings.    

Today's podcast is a traveling podcast!  I drove with a few of my WCAA friends to the NJ WCAA Chapter's Windows To Success and while I had a captive group, I took the opportunity to ask them some questions. Jen DeRosa is the President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of WCAA and owner of Beyond Windows, LLC. Annette Brandt is a past treasurer of the SEPA Chapter and owner of Annetti's Custom Window Treatments. Marie Weaverling is the owner of Marie Weaverling Design. My thanks to all three of them for answering my questions and sharing their answers with my listeners!

Penny Bruce is the creative force behind Denton Drapes, a couture soft furnishing business established in the UK making bespoke window treatments for the luxury residential market and providing a trade service to high-end Interior Designers. Denton Drapes’ client list includes top celebrities from the sport, film and music world along with iconic design brands like Liberty of London. Penny has been a member of The Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft furnishers (AMUSF) since 2004 and joined their Board of Directors in October 2012. She is also a member of the Window Covering Association of America (WCAA). Penny has presented training courses, written articles, and spoken at seminars on soft furnishings in the UK and USA. In 2016 Penny was made a Fellow of the AMUSF and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Upholders in recognition of her contribution to the craft. She also received the Freedom of the City of London and in March 2017 she was named as Self Employed Businesswoman of the Year for the Co

Kate the Socialite runs a marketing firm that helps interior designers and window covering specialists become professional and profitable.  Kate is also the founder of Socialite | Subscribe, a place where home pros can get premade newsletters that look as pretty as Elle Décor magazine. These newsletters are completely customizable and the no-nonsense solution for home pros who don’t have the time or ability to create their own email newsletters. Go to www.socialitesubscribe.com and select your industry to learn more.    

Kevin Kise owns a workroom and is a designer for Kise Interiors. Coming from humble beginnings in Rural Franklin County, Ohio, his passion for fabrics began when at 8 his Grandmother showed him how to sew, and cook. Her beliefs were that every man should know how to fix a hole in his jeans and cook for himself. Kevin took both of those tasks to heart by going to culinary school out of high school. His dossier includes working in a Michelin 3 star restaurant, managing a fabric store and working in a commercial drapery workroom. He credits his talents to a myriad of mentors including an elderly Japanese woman who taught him the art of Japanese tailoring and fabric draping and the much loved Cheryl Strickland for whom his questions would have never been answered without the direction of her amazing forum and workroom conferences. Kevin is married to his husband, Josh, they have a chocolate lab named Teagan and live in Columbus, OH.    

Jen Anderson is the owner and designer of two businesses based outside Philadelphia, PA.. Once Upon a Time Creation transforms your sentimental clothing into beautiful, lasting keepsakes. For the past nine years, Once Upon a Time Creation has focused on personal service and modern design to create heirloom gifts that celebrate love and family. GiGY™ has brought this love of personal design to the music industry, offering fun, customizable cases for guitars and ukuleles. Through a patent-pending system, every musician can travel in style with their personally designed GiGY™ Bag.  These businesses were founded by three generations of women working together to bring creative energy to the communities they serve.    

Tammi LeNair of L'Intérieur LeNair has been fabricating couture window fashions for the past 26 years.  Both a workroom to the trade as well as a retail business, her emphasis is on couture and hand detailing.  In addition to being ont he Advisory Board for WFCP, she speaks to area WCAA Chapters and will be teaching an upcoming webinar for the Virtual Chapter of the WCAA.  Her work has been published in various trade journals.  While her business is based in Lancaster County, PA, she travels all over the country.  When not in the workroom, she can usually be found eating delicious cuisine and enjoying a glass or two of wine on her backyard patio with her cats!

Teresa Paul, Executive Director of WCAA, studied communications at George Mason University and began her career working in restaurant publicity, first with a Fortune 100 company, and then as an account executive with one of the top restaurant PR firms in the DC area. With encouragement from friends and colleagues, Teresa launched her own public relations agency in 1998 and became the go-to firm for both profit and non-profit companies specializing in the interiors industry. Her firm represented several interior designers, as well as the NSO Decorators’ Show House, C2 Paints and Mastercraft Interiors. Teresa moved with her family to Raleigh, NC in 2006 and was a stay at home mom and active volunteer until she came out of retirement in 2014 to be the Executive Director of WCAA. Teresa is an avid country music fan, has an admitted addiction to all things pumpkin spice and loves spending time at the beach. She has been married to her husband, Michael, for almost 18 years and is mom to their son Justin, who is 13

Teal Major is the owner of Slips, an interior sewing/design studio in Berkeley, California. After spending years as a pattern maker in the garment industry, she transitioned to home furnishings. Using her knowledge of patterns, fabric and design, Teal fabricates custom slipcovers, curtains, shades, cushions/pillows and bedding. With a focus on customer service and high-quality work, she helps people create a living space they want to come home to.

Rachel Barrera has been in the custom soft furnishings industry, encompassing design fabrication and installation for more than 14 years. From 2000 to 2016 she owned Shorty’s Window, designing and fabricating window treatments primarily for retail clients.   Her passion for her craft and industry can be witnessed through the offices she serves: president of The Houston Area Custom Drapery Association (HACDA) since 2012 and President of the Houston Chapter of The Window Coverings Association of America since June of 2016.     Her talent can not only be viewed through her extensive client portfolio, but is also obvious with her ensuing the three-time winner (2014,2015 and 2016) of the Window Fashions Artisan Project (WFAP), a national annual design competition,  where she designed and fabricated an innovative themed treatment to be displayed  at the International Window Coverings Expo, Vision.

Rosemarie Garner started out in the theater, getting her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She spent 15 years after graduating working in theater and TV until she decided to put it all on hold to have a family. While raising kids was challenging and fun, she still needed to get her "creative jollies" out so she began using the sewing skills she learned as a young girl from her mother and grandparents. And, so, a business was born. R Garner Custom Designs, LLC is a a to the trade custom drapery workroom servicing Northern NJ and the NYC area. Rose offers custom window treatments, pillows, bedding, accessories, shades and blinds.

I had such a great time helping out in Houston for the Artisan Project Weekend, helping to fabricate the vignettes for IWCE. I did short interviews with the following talented people; Terri Booser  Sande Ober Dori of Doriginals Kevin Kise of Kise Interiors Rachel Barrera of Sugar & Spice Draperies and Shades Julie Wood of the Leading Edge Drapery Julia Tamer of Golden Valley Slipcovers Tish Harmon of EC Interiors

Cathy Tucker has more than  21 years experience as a custom workroom owner and manager. She has been a featured speaker at Detroit Workroom Association meetings, WCAA events, and has been the lead instructor for the Career Professional program at the CHF Academy for over eight years. Cathy is a master at fabricating draperies, upholstered cornices, soft cornices, and headboards. She offers private and group training through the Workroom Channel and travels the country offering her Professional Traveling Workroom Service, where she provides hourly expert labor to help other workrooms manage large jobs, and clear back logs. You can reach Cathy at 419-349-7983.

Interiors by Kelli is a full service interior design studio with a specialty in custom window treatments and soft furnishings for the home.   Kelli established Interiors by Kelli in 1995 as a custom window treatment design studio & workroom and expanded the business to include residential and small-scale commercial design services in 2012.   She is involved and active in several design, window treatment and workroom associations and her work and expertise has been featured in Design NJ magazine.   Kelli’s work has also been featured at “Inspire”, the WCAA national conference in 2011 and 2012. In both cases she worked collaboratively with other WCAA NJ Chapter members to design and fabricate window treatment vignettes. Kelli and Pam DeCuir’s vignette was selected for first place finish at Inspire 2012. Most recently Kelli collaborated with Evelyn LaLicata to design and fabricate the winning vignette entry at Windows to Success, VIII – the WCAA NJ Chapter regional conference.   Kelli is a member of the Inte

Linda Principe is the owner of Linda Principe Interiors in Monroe Township, NJ. Linda provides full service residential interior design services with a specialty in window treatments in the central New Jersey area.  Linda is active in the Window Coverings Association of America and is a past President of the National Board. She is also past President of the Central New Jersey Chapter and is currently an active member of the Central NJ chapter and the Virtual chapter.  Recently, Linda was an instructor for the “Window Treatments” class in the Interior Design program at Mercer County Community College for five years.  Linda’s work has been included in Window Fashions trade magazine and she is a past Editorial Board member and featured writer. She has also been published numerous times in Design New Jersey magazine as well as local NJ newspapers. This year is Linda’s 29th year in business.

Colleen Mook is the owner and CEO of Baby Be Hip, launched in 2002 after leaving her corporate career to start her family.  Baby Be Hip has been featured in national parenting magazines and on Good Morning America, and Colleen has appeared on various media, including The TODAY Show, for her accomplishments in building a successful brand while raising a family. She also won several small business awards, including Make Mine a Million Dollar Business award, Lifetime Moms Spark& Hustle award, and SCORE/Sam’s Club National Giving Award.  is She active in the Philadelphia business community; a few years ago completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, and and is a regular host of the American Express CEO Bootcamp.   Interestingly enough, these are not the most important thing to Colleen, she is a small business enthusiast and a passionate supporter of women entrepreneurs and young women in general, she loves speaking with large and small groups about a range of issues, from starting small busines

Leatherwood Design Co is a custom window treatment fabrication studio, located in Ossining, New York, in the breathtaking Hudson River Valley. We work to the trade and delight in fine fabrics and workmanship. It's an understatement to say we love what we do! Begun as a part-time pillow and cushion workroom in 1987, in 1999 we became a full-time workroom creating window treatments. Fabric and sewing has been my life-long obsession and I consider it a privilege to be able to make a living doing what I love. This journal is dedicated to documenting what we do every day: we enjoy showing off the gorgeous fabrics we work with, and the window treatments we make from them; discuss the design and fabrication process; and share information about some of our resources, colleagues, and inspiration.

For many of us, our first M'Fay Pattern was our introduction to professional drapery making.  It's amazing that such an extensive collection of instructional manuals and patterns all started because of one woman's thought that someone ought to be making them!   In this podcast, Marylan Borchardt and family talk about her initial interest in sewing, the early days working within her sister's business, the development of her first pattern (The Empire) and the growth of the M'Fay Pattern Company.  They are joined by Jeanelle Dech of Adaptive Textiles who recently acquired the patterns, and shares with us her vision of the future. I hope all of  you have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukah and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!  I look forward to hosting more podcasts in 2017! The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA The Workroom Channel