Imagining something different

Since my teens, when my sister and I took the bus to Paterson to take sewing lessons at the Singer store, I’ve enjoyed sewing and working with fabric. While my sister’s first projects were perfect (she even used the same fabric that was pictured on the pattern envelope), my results were somewhat “original”. I can still see my father shaking his head when he saw I hadn’t followed the pattern's directions. “Why can’t you just do it the way they tell you?” he would sigh. But that‘s how I’ve lived my life – always imagining there must be a better way of doing things – always thinking outside the box. It didn’t make me wealthy, but I have had a life rich in experiences and creativity.

Fiber art is in my genes.

I come from ancestors who supported their families working in the textile industry. As immigrants from Sicily, my great-grandfathers and uncles worked in the Paterson silk factories, working their way up to expert dyers. The piecework my grandmother brought home to sew late into the night helped her to pay the mortgage during the Great Depression. My father remembers helping her, sewing the straight seams on a rumbling industrial sewing machine.

Now I carry on the craft of my ancestors – creating custom-sewn items in my Concord, New Hampshire, sewing room. I apply the same quality tailoring techniques used to create high-end designer fashions to every item I make, almost always with a twist – finding some way that my product is an improvement over whatever else is out there.

TOASTY TOES

- these organic cotton fleece socks keep your feet warm around the house without binding, with treaded soles to prevent slipping.

COZY CAPS

- stretch cotton fleece caps that are comfortable and safe, even for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment and people with allergies.

HAPPY HANDS

- keep your hands warm while your fingers are free to text, type, pet your cat, and grip your steering wheel.

ARMREST ORGANIZERS

- to keep your phone, remotes, and glasses handy.

TABLE APRONS

- to keep your clothes from wearing your food, without calling it a bib!

CUSTOM BAGS

- BYOB - You participate in the design process to Build Your Own Bag for your tastes and lifestyle.

SEWING KITS

- with pre-cut fabric, detailed, step-by-step printed instructions, and everything you need to turn a free afternoon into a satisfying sewing lesson.