Jennifer Serr is Owner and Lead Instructor at The Sewing Room, an Alameda mom with over 20 years in the fashion industry & also Owner and Lead Designer at Bonjour Teaspoon Patterns - A sewing pattern company specializing in "Classic Style for the Modern Girl & Her Doll". She is the AUTHOR of the Book Sewing Camp Power.

After an apparel industry career with Gap Inc. specializing in pattern making, garment construction & fitting, Jennifer spent 15+ years designing and creating Couture Wedding gowns for personal clients as well as teaching fashion, sewing and pattern making to students school age through college level.

"I started teaching students and about fashion and sewing over two decades ago. I knew what it was like to have a burning passion to create well fitting, beautiful clothing, and want to share my skills and expertise with like minded people. Because I started sewing and designing when I was 7 years old, I know that there are very few boundaries for what drives a person to pursue a calling. Sewing and Fashion are my favorite things and I'm excited to share my expertise and passion with you on your sewing adventure!"

Julie Ann Brown has been teaching Fashion Illustration and Design at The Sewing Room in Alameda since 2019.

Since earning her BFA in Fashion Design at Otis, she worked in Southern California for two decades designing swimwear for labels such as Girlstar, bebe, Lucky Brand, Betsey Johnson, ále by Alessandra Ambrosio, Soluna and Isabella Rose. Her designs have been featured in Vogue, GQ, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Sports Illustrated. 

She has been a freelance artist and illustrator since 1994. See more of her work on: juliebrowncreative.com 

Christine Knobel Christine works as a freelance designer, seamstress, and instructor in the Northern California Bay Area. She teaches fashion and textile courses at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Design. Christine has also worked as an instructor at Arizona State University in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. She led courses in pattern drafting and draping, fashion collection development, and fashion capstone projects. While at UC Davis for her M.F.A., her thesis focused on fashion sustainability. She studied dyeing methods, textile life cycle assessments, and ultimately dove into biotextile design. Her work there led her to Make: where she's been sharing her research on kombucha textiles and cosplay. As a fashion designer she's worked professionally in pattern drafting, loungewear design, textile print design, and with private clients for cosplay design and construction. Her cosplay work has been featured by Marvel Comics, and seen on such sites as Vanity Fair, LA Weekly, and the Daily Mail UK. Christine has a passion for fashion, from fiber, yarns, textiles, to the rich history of the garments we wear. 

Mary Sue Wantorek is a longtime fashion professional, a passionate sewer and pattern maker.  She has worked for numerous apparel companies leading teams and mentoring others around garment fit and construction. One of her favorite things is talking to others (geeking out :) !) about their sewing projects. Mary Sue feels a mild desperation to keep the art of sewing alive!! She has found that creating things with your own hands can be so rewarding and fulfilling!

Stacie Chun sewed her own prairie ruffles, satin rainbows, and corduroy gauchos as a kid in the 1980's. Now she delights in Internet age home sewing with pdf indie patterns, podcasts, how-to videos, and hashtags. Her three kids keep her informed about streetwear and other matters of coolness, and she loves helping new sewers stitch their ideas into reality.

Stacie will be teaching our Machine Basics Classes on Saturdays and will be filling in as needed. We are excited to have her as part of our team.

Aaron Williams is a sewing specialist based in Alameda. He began teaching sewing as a student technician at College of Alameda’s “Fablab” Makerspace in 2019, leading workshops and sewing classes for people of (almost) all ages.

After earning an AA in Apparel Design and Merchandising, he worked in NYC for Lululemon, Stoney Clover Lane, and Tom’s Sons International Pleating Company on various specialized industrial machines. Outside of work, Aaron collects vintage and designer clothing and works on his own designs. His passion lies in helping people, whether it’s getting the job done or helping them learn how to do it.

Camille Leibler was first taught the knit stitch by her grandmother when she was 8 years old. Though she would sporadically pick up her knitting needles throughout high school and college, it wasn't until 2019 that she graduated from knitting the occasional scarf to becoming an avid Knitter with a capital "K". Since then, Camille has knit dozens of garments, ranging from color work sweaters and cabled cardigans to lace tees and silk tank tops, as well as a variety of socks, mitts, hats, and shawls. She credits knitting with keeping her relatively sane during her astrophysics PhD as well as introducing her to an incredible community and some of her best friends. Camille's teaching experience, besides teaching her friends to knit, includes being a teaching assistant in the UC Santa Cruz Astrophysics department, teaching algebra to inmates at the Santa Cruz county jail, and tutoring high school and college-level math and physics. 

Ann Connolly - A product manager for a software company by day, Ann fills pretty much every other hour of her time with crafting – mostly knitting and sewing, but also the occasional beading or embroidery project.  Ann was encouraged from an early age -- family gatherings inevitably included (and still do) yarn, thread, needles, fabric, craft books, and very busy hands.  She was further inspired by a humanities-focused education (majors in Philosophy and German and a Master’s in General Studies in Humanities), where she developed a deeper appreciation for the art in craft – not just the aesthetics and skill but also the context in which the works exist. Her current projects include a vintage ballgown and a Victorian cycling costume, but she mostly keeps her hands busy with small scrappy projects – coasters, bookmarks, bowls, needle books, knitted socks, etc.  Fascinated by the confluence of line, shape, color, texture, and contrast, Ann enjoys the process of watching a new work take shape in unexpected ways.

Lothar (of the Hill People) Knobel is our occasional shop Dog. Lothar is a very large puppy with a sometimes large bark (he’s still learning) but he is really a gentle giant and very good with children. Please let us know if you are allergic to/or afraid of dogs and we will make sure he stays at home.