I recently had the honour of being featured in the Sew Hayley Jane March 2021 subscription box. Hayley's boxes are so fun and must be such a joy to receive on a monthly basis! If you haven't heard of the themed boxes you can read all about them here.
Hayley has written a blog about this months box ‘Pattern Party’, the contents are gorgeous! As part of the subscription all Sew Hayley Jane subscribers received a pack of Love Yourself Revolution labels and I was featured in the magazine. Hayley interviewed me for the article and I thought I would share it with you on here. I'd like to thank Hayley for the opportunity to be part of the box as it has allowed me to develop my business, has given me a lot of confidence to keep going and create new product.
Here goes...
You launched your sewing label business at the end of 2020, what made you want to set it up?
I have been dreaming of setting up my own business for as long as I can remember, as my parents ran their own business when I was growing up. When COVID-19 hit and I couldn’t work (as a part time sewing tutor) that gave me the push to do it. I have two young children and noticed a gap in the market for labels that I could sew into the clothes I made for them. I also felt that sewing labels on the market were mostly solid colours and I was always drawn to patterned fabric, I thought why couldn’t the labels have graphics and print?! I started doodling!
What inspired your designs?
So many things have inspired the designs! The ‘children’s’ collection was inspired by my own children, in the lead up to their return to school after having been at home for nearly five months. We started doing affirmations to give them confidence and build them up ready for the big day. Home schooling took its toll on them and sometimes my son would say I can’t do this, I am stupid. So, we would take a minute in the day to say I am smart, I am kind, I am brave, I am me. I am not stupid, I am learning! I wanted to sew something into their uniform to remind them that they can do it and to believe in themselves.
Initially I was only going to do children’s labels but I teach lots of amazing women in my sewing classes and you know sometimes they need to believe in their own abilities too. Some of the women I’ve tutored have gone from being scared of a tape measure to working on pattern adjustments for their fabulous bodies. Making clothes and crafting definitely gives you a superhero like confidence!
I would also say that I’m not really a ‘good vibes only’ person and sometimes I do have two in dig deep to stay positive. I wanted the labels to lift people up and empower them, replicating that feeling you have when you wear something you’ve made for the first time!
We’d love to know more about the process involved in designing and creating these gorgeous labels
I have 8 new designs coming in March and the process of getting them to the label stage is great fun! I always have way too many ideas and options to choose from. I save loads of images on Instagram and Pinterest that inspire me, this can be anything from people to fabrics and illustrations. I have a notice board in my sewing room/office and if I think of a phrase, or have an idea that I think would be good for a label I pin it up there. I want the labels to change through the seasons too just like our fabrics do, so recently I have been playing with updated colours for some of the original designs. Once the designs are finalised and the PDFs are ready, they are sent to the manufacturer. I was really happy to be able to move production to the UK at the start of this year.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Things have been so different recently as my day has been mostly about home schooling. Usually, I teach four sewing classes per week and two weekends in the month. So, I work on Little Rosy Cheeks in the evening or when I can. Once the kids go back to school, I’m looking forward to growing the business and hopefully getting into a routine where I can sew more for myself in the evening and work on the business in daylight hours! I have so many sewing projects in my head!
hello this is me!
Do you have any new projects coming up in 2021?
Well apart from the new designs coming in March, I have been working on some leather labels with a local laser cutting and engraving designer. The snow and local restrictions have slowed us down a bit but they should be available in March or April. They are looking really great and can’t wait to share them.
I invested in around 40,000 vintage buttons from Paris last year that I have been sorting and photographing. So, I’m determined to get some of these on to the website too.
The dream is to release some sewing patterns. Pattern cutting was my favourite subject when I studied fashion at university, but this might be a 2022 project – we’ll see!
Thanks for reading!
Victoria x
Sew Hayley Jane - Classic and Mini Box
