This month's student spotlight is on Ava S., who is currently in our ONLINE Fashion Studies Program. Her instructors speak very highly of her and she is producing very lovely work. Ava is 16 years old and a Sophomore at Skyline High School in Oakland, California.
Read moreIt's Never Too Late to Start Something new - Student Highlight - Rylee B.
This month's student spotlight is on Rylee B., who is currently in our ONLINE Fashion Studies Program. She's an amazing artist an what she has written is very inspiring. Below is a little bit more about Rylee in her own words -
Read moreI live in Alameda, California, with my husband, our roommate, and — most belovedly — our cat. We’ve been in California for roughly 3 years after moving here from Florida. I’m currently a nurse and I work night-shift, so hobbies are what keep me going since most of my awake time is while the world is sleeping.
Jobs in Fashion - 5 Different Kinds of Models - An Interview with Charleston Pierce
This Blog post and video are kicking off a series I’m starting where I’ll talk with industry professionals about Jobs in Fashion. There are so many different kinds of jobs in the fashion industry and I thought it would be really interesting to dig into a few of these and let you know what these jobs are really like and how they can differ from one company to another.
Read moreStudent Highlight - Lacie Schwend
We are excited to Introduce you to our Student of The month Lacie Schwend. She's been taking our Online Fashion Sewing and Beginning Pattern Making with Christine in our Online Fashion Studies program. Lacie lives in Wyoming and has a really interesting background. We love her Cruella Costume that she made, using techniques she learned in class with Christine.
Read more5 reasons why it's Important to Cultivate your Sewing Skills when studying Fashion Design
I've been sewing now for more than 40 years (yikes!) Starting at age seven and sewing ever since. All that practice informed the way I understand how clothing gets made. Spending years reading patterns, prepared me for design school and I was much more SEWING-ABLE than many of my peers. Here are 5 reasons why it's crucial to get this skill cultivated early:
Read moreThe Top Four Crucial Skills to Have When Designing a Fashion Collection
Designing your own fashion collection can be very exciting. Putting your big ideas out into the world is amazing. But what happens when it doesn’t go exactly as planned? Your pattern maker didn’t understand your sketch and your samples turned out wonky or the factory made decisions counter to your ideas. Being a designer is hard sometimes! But it doesn’t have to be hard, if you know a thing or two about how the manufacturing process works & how to communicate properly with your team even if it’s just your mom sewing up or helping to sew up your designs.
Read moreFun, Useful Skills to Learn During Self-Isolation
Are you spending more time at home than ever before? Sure, being cooped up comes with some downsides, but you don’t have to allow yourself to become stir-crazy. You can make the most of your self-isolation by picking up a few new skills.
Whether you’re aiming to turn your newly acquired skills into a career or simply want to fill your time with productive activities, learning something new can add joy and excitement to your routine. Here are some fun skills worth learning while self-isolating in 2021.
Read moreFashion Illustration - Student Highlight - Alisa Clements
This month I wanted to highlight one of our former adult illustration students who is putting out some amazing work. Here is a little bit more about Alisa in her own words:
Read moreIn 2019, I started an online search for sewing, fashion, art.
I found The Sewing Room! I would look through the classes and feel super excited thinking when I was going to take a class! Then one day while perusing Jennifer's website, I saw Fashion Illustrating with instructor Julie Ann. "WOW," I thought to myself, "gosh, that's so cool- fashion illustrating!" I cannot express how thrilled I was about this class offering. I felt so lucky to have found this opportunity at The Sewing Room.
Fashion Illustration - Interview with artist Velicia Gourdin
Recently, our very own Julie Ann Brown reached out to fashion illustrator artist Velicia Gourdin for an interview. She asked ten great questions. We hope you enjoy Velicia’s answers and her AMAZING illustrations below. She is such a talented artist and illustrator!
Read moreFashion Studies: Student Update - Kelly
8th grade Fashion Studies Student Kelly H. has been coming up with amazing designs over the Fall and Spring. In the fall, Kelly draped a bodice and skirt and then created flat patterns from the drape. She also learned out to use a block or sloper to create the dress she's wearing. The embroidery she's holding is based off an illustration she created for the the dress she's wearing.
Read moreFashion Careers: What is a Fashion Designer?
When I was growing up, all I wanted was, to become a FASHION DESIGNER. I wanted the glamorous life of being famous as well as the daily activity of making clothing that started out in my mind and then became a physical garment. I think that’s what most people think of when they think of a fashion designer. In reality, the glamorous life of a fashion designer is few and far between. That kind of designer is the one that many of us all look up to, but isn’t the actual job that most designers have.
Read moreFashion Careers: What is Pattern Making?
This is the start of a new blog series about Fashion Careers. I’m starting with Pattern Making or Pattern Maker, because that’s the job I’m most familiar with . I’ve been pattern making and pattern fixing for the last couple of decades and it’s something that gives me great personal satisfaction as well having been a skill I’ve used to earn a living.
Read moreStudent of the Month - April
This month we highlight Kelly H. who is one of our Fashion Studies Students. Only 12 years old with a fairly developed sense of style, she is learning the craft of clothes making and cultivating her design skills. She's even doing it with a cast on her RIGHT hand. Yikes! She will be an ambidextrous designer by the end of the school year! That shows a lot of commitment and determination, if you ask me!
Read moreStudent Of The Month - February
Uma started taking classes in Fall and has been sewing up a storm ever since. I love her style and creative enthusiasm. for instance, she wanted to make the Bonjour Teaspoon Lilli Sailor cap but thought it was too pointy, and then thought that the points looked like cat ears. So she was determined to add cat ears and she did it! I also love this amazing camp she designed made while visiting her dad's work, where they have a sample making room. So cool.
Read moreHow Our Clothing Gets Made
How Do our Clothes get made?
Lets's think about this for a minute (or maybe 10). Do you know how your clothing gets made? This is a subject we explore in Sewing Class as often as I can without being too preachy. It often occurs to students after they've sewn a few things for themselves, that the process is not really that easy and that it can take a long time. When the subject is broached about their own clothing, they tell me it's made in a factory and that machines make their clothes. They are often astonished that those very machines are operated by humans, just like themselves. WOW! that's an eye opener.
Read moreStudent Of The Month - January
Ezra has just started attending our FASHION STUDIES program, but he has already made an impact. I love his creativity and excitement around fashion. As you can see from the photos, he's got his own flair for style. Bravo to his parents Tom and Sarah who clearly see and nurture his creativity.
Read moreStudying Fashion & Getting into Fashion Programs
I see a lot of students interested in and auditioning for different Fashion Programs in the Area. Just last year, some of the the programs opened up to incoming middle school students as well as High School students. It's wonderful to have fashion programs in public schools for students passionate about FASHION and MAKING fashion. And, several of my best and brightest students (see above - from left - Nyah, Maya, Me, Lilli & Teyah) have recently graduated from High School and are going on to pursue their college dreams.
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