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Monday, July 18, 2011

Designing on Hiatus, Can Be Difficult & Dicey

Just in case you've been wondering..."What the hell happened to her!?"
My Very 1st Blogger Background!lol!
Well this post may answer just that, No I didn't give up on the one thing that makes my heart sing. I just simply found my craft being forced into hiatus. "Well what is a hiatus?" You ask - why sure, I'll be happy to give you mental picture.

Main Entry: hiatus
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: pause, interruption
Synonyms: aperture, blank, breach, break, chasm, discontinuity, gap, interim, interval, lacuna, lapse, opening, rift, space
(Definition Courtesy of http://thesaurus.com)

After my last post here on The Sewful Life, dated October 2010. I started keeping status of my smaller, low-pay & no-pay dealings on my Facebook page. Starting the sewing and production work of clothing line samples for other designer's trying to break into the business. Encouraging them to focus first on the sewing and craftsmen-ship of their work and not so much on fame and popularity. That seems to cause many of us to derail from the craft. However,sewing for folks in this capacity helped me as a designer realize two things:

  1. People don't know what they want, so I will always have to tell them.
  2. Practicing my skill set in any capacity, paid, low-pay or unpaid is good for learning opportunity but not good for business.
Like one of my Facebook friends said and I quote:
 If you are not getting paid, it is not a job or a business. It's a hobby. Nothing wrong with hobbies--some DO turn into jobs/businesses. But until that time, quit lying to urself & others because the ppl who REALLY know are laughing & they are ultimately the support U need. No one really wants to go out of their way to help/support "posers".

(Profound Quote Courtesy of Nikstar)
Now something I didn't realize and actually took for granted. Was the fact that I opted not to put a portion of my income sewing for others, alterations and teaching private lessons back into the most important aspect of my business, Which was REPAIR and MAINTENANCE and my did I pay a heavy price.

So when trying to return back to my own projects, such as the POA Early Spring | Summer 2011 collections that I was able to create and photograph but didn't even get to really market due to my computer crashing as well! So not one but all of my equipment goes into disrepair in addition.
  • 2 Home Sewing Machines
  • 1 Heavy Duty Home Sewer
  • 1 Serger
Making it impossible to me to deliver a beautifully finished product. Being in this predicament was difficult, I found myself lost and frustrated tapping all of my resources even creating some new ones.
Quite possibly not my best work :\
  • I tried to just focus on my sketching and artwork for new ideas. That only lasted about a month. 
  • Then I evolved to other crafts like rock painting, crocheting and hand embroidery that I thought may hold my interest until I found the right repair shop to fix my old faithfuls. 
  • I also spent lots of time researching and reading about "Sewing Machine Repair for the Home Sewer". As well as consumer reviews on the best commercial grade sewing machine.
And after months of meditation, diligence and a little work, the universe decided to answer my call! I finally located the perfect repairmen, not through a Google search but good ole' fashioned word-of-mouth! Now, my fave sewing machine is BACK!

My home-sewing work horse!

I simply love this piece of nuts and bolts that has fed my hunger to create and fed me, helping me create the goodness that is Pieces of Anarnia!(sigh) During my search for the best repair shop, I kept finding losers trying to hustle me out of $200 or more just to repair my machine! 
   
Well you guys, Kirby's Repair in Mabelton, Atlanta is the place to go to get your sewing & vacuum repair done by trusted pros. Walter Kirby and his family have been practicing repairmen-ship for more than 50 years. This dying art is their passion and you get a since of it as soon as you enter the shop. These guys greet you with an attitude of professionalism and respect each customer like the sewing professionals they are. Even if your only a home-based sewer!

Walter telling me the in's & out's of commercial sewers.
Walter was able to help me determine the best decision for me to take with upgrading to a commercial sewing machine. He also to the time to explain the differences between home sewing machines vs. commerical sewers. Or maybe because I'm just such a babe that he even offered to put my purchase on a special payment option! Either way, the customer service was phenomenal and worth the time and the service was first-class.

Even though it has been difficult to be a on hiatus, only now that this cloud of uncertainty is starting to drift away, can I see the light and really appreciate what I've always had and what will never leave me...
My Vision Board which sits in my workroom
   The DETERMINATION and PATIENCE to keep believing in my work! 

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the update. I'm glad things are moving forward. I can't wait to hear more and by the way - I'm envious of your sewing room :-)

    ReplyDelete

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