Friday 1 July 2011

Up, up and away!


A few weeks ago I wrote this post about how things had changed with regards to my plans for The Small Things. I had originally planned to relaunch the shop with a new collection of my usual wares, bags, accessories etc. However my mind continued to wander until eventually I had to admit that I was being pulled in all sorts of different directions creatively, but not actually getting anything productive done. So I took some time out to think more about it and that's where I left it in my last post.

I was a little afraid to post my ideas here to begin with which is why I held out. I knew a lot of them were too ambitious, (quitting my job to open a small boutique) or just plain fanciful, (over night world domination using nothing more than sparkly nail varnish and a smile). However there was one idea in particular that kept popping up again and again. I found myself thinking about it at work, in the car, while I was making dinner and well, if you're thinking about something that much then it's got to be important to you. I really liked the idea of designing my own clothing line, but if I'm being honest, all my sewing skills are self taught. I'm something of a short arse (there's only 5ft of me) so I've been altering and playing around with my own clothes for years, but even so. It still takes me a long time to do certain tasks because I don't know how to do them properly. Which is fine if you're the only one wearing the clothes, not so great if you want to sell them.
So after a bit of too'ing and fro'ing I took up a dressmaking course and although it's still very early days, I've already learned a lot. Any hesitations I had over the time and money have gone. If anything I just wish I'd done this a long time ago.

The next stage of the plan after this is a little hazy, not because I haven't thought about it, (I find it hard to focus on anything else at the moment) but because I'm trying to factor in the habit ideas have of evolving. I know I'd like to create a line of clothing and I know I'd like it to be as ethical and 'green' as possible without sacrificing the fashion element too much. It's how best to achieve this that I'm currently working on - in between practising my zips and button holes of course.

So that's my little update. It's a small step forward, but an important one and I feel as though I'm now headed in the right direction which makes me no end of happy.

5 comments:

  1. That's fantastic! Can't wait to see where you go next. :)

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  2. This was such an interesting post :) I feel like the first time I launched my Etsy shop I rushed to make things without really paying attention to what I was happy making. So now I'm slowing down a bit and making things I really like, and hopefully my skills will improve with my effort!

    I think it's really cool that you're taking a dressmaking course! I would love to see your projects! You can do it! :)

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  3. Really loved reading this post because i've found myself going down a similar path to you, and it took me a little while to get there.

    I'm self taught with sewing too, but have been reading heaps and heaps of books on techniques whenever i can - it's like an addiction! I was never this dedicated to anything else, so I know this is what I want to do.

    I still have a lot to learn though, and have been toying with doing a dressmaking course as well. Do you go to one in Bath? There's quite a few in Bristol but I need to do a bit more research on them first.

    I'm very excited for you and I hope everything goes well for you. It's really great when things start to get a bit more clear and you have a focus. I look forward to seeing some of your projects!

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  4. Thanks Bianca! The dressmaking course isn't actually in Bath. Which is actually really frustrating because I think I would've preferred face to face tuition.

    I couldn't really find anything hough so I settled for a distance learning course instead. The upside of this is that I can fit it around work which is no end of help.

    I have to admit, I had a wee nosey around your blog and I think your sewing already looks utterly fab! It would take me ages and hours with my seam unpicker to get the same results! ;)

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