Business Spotlight: Dolls By Mary

S. Denise Hoyle | July 29, 2010

Mary Ciske of Dolls by Mary creates these wonderful classic Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, as well as traditional styles and custom orders.  Her handcrafted dolls are available in two sizes – 15″ and 20″, and they are very reasonably priced at between $15 and $30.  They’re available with different embroidered faces, skin and hair [...]

Business Spotlight: Originals by Lauren

S. Denise Hoyle | July 15, 2010

Lauren Darby of Originals by Lauren makes and sells all sorts of gorgeous handmade items in her Etsy shop like these neat Amy Butler Lacework potholders.  You’ll also find matching aprons, quilts, reusable lunch bags, table runners, wall hangers and lots more. Lauren has been sewing since her mother taught her how in the sixth [...]

Business Spotlight: Sewing With Badia

S. Denise Hoyle | July 1, 2010

Badia Bentley is a seamstress and sewing instructor from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.  She started her business, Sewing With Badia, in October 2007 but she says her passion for sewing began in the 6th grade when she learned how to sew, darn and do needlework from her mother and grandmother.  After high school Badia’s first job was [...]

Mother and Daughter Business Fills a Void

S. Denise Hoyle | January 8, 2010

Tina Schatzberg had left her career as an advertising sales executive to be a stay-at-home mom, however she still had a passion for marketing and wanted a more flexible means of pursuing that passion.  When Schatzberg’s mother lost her job as a sewer for an automotive supplier in Detroit, the two decided to go into [...]

Interview with Hannah Stevenson of While They Sleep Designs

S. Denise Hoyle | December 3, 2009

Hi I’m Hannah Stevenson from While They Sleep Designs. I am wife to a great guy named Jeff (the handsome man in the green). And I am “Momma” to three little girls all under the age of two: Twin girls Laurel (green skirt) and Maisy (blue skirt, scowl on face) and our newest little one, [...]

Interview with Lillian Weber of JSAW Mastectomy Designs

S. Denise Hoyle | November 5, 2009

Lillian Weber says she took a year of sewing in 4H when she was 17 years old, but she forgot all about sewing as she pursued other interests and goals.  After her three children were born, Lillian says “the creative side of me was itching to get out and do something.”  Since money was tight, [...]

Interview With Erica Leigh of Sweets & Hearts

S. Denise Hoyle | October 20, 2009

Erica Leigh of Sweets & Hearts is up to her ears in ears!  Erica sells hair accessories such as headbands with kitty or mouse ears, as well as costumes and clothing designs, and she recently sold her 100th pair of ears. Erica is a college student studying fashion marketing who lives at home with her [...]

Interview With Fay Brittingham of FaysFabrics.com

S. Denise Hoyle | January 13, 2009

Fay Brittingham says she’s been sewing for 53 years.  She learned the basics in a home economincs class in her freshman year, and has kept learning ever since.Brittingham’s love of sewing led her to start her own mail order and internet based business selling fabric, known as Fay’s Fabrics.  She fills a niche that most fabric [...]

Business is Booming For Collegiate Pants Maker

S. Denise Hoyle | January 9, 2009

Mel Pennington and Tygh Bailes stumbled on a new clothing market when Pennington had some khaki pants embroidered with University of Virginia insignias for Bailes.  “People just went nuts over it,” Pennington remarked. “We immediately thought about the collegiate market.”Since then, the business partners have created their own line of collegiate inspired pants, in a [...]

Clothing Company Creates Civil War Era Garments

S. Denise Hoyle | November 28, 2008

Gerald Durbin is an avid Civil War re-enactor and former truck driver.  During a downturn in his trucking business in 1990, Durbin’s life changed forever when he decided to make a replica shirt for himself because his wife was too busy to sew it for him.  He found the pattern he wanted in a book, [...]