Host: Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of African American Literature and Culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, the fiction of Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black Lives Matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she became a founding member of Black Lives Matter Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the College Fellows Program to reshape the undergraduate general education curriculum.

Marcia Spencer

Marcia Spencer is a style & fashion lover, designer, entrepreneur, and stylist based in Raleigh, Carolina. Marcia loves to incorporate trends into the season and loves the 70s vibes. She has a background in fashion design and retailing and runs the Keechi B Style blog. She has designed and marketed a line of children’s clothing as well as luxury bags and is currently a blogger on the Mood Sewing Network.

Insights from this episode: 

• How to pursue your passion and follow non-traditional careers
• What it means to have a fashion-driven selling philosophy
• How to transition from one business to another and still maintain the passion that you started with
• Details on the inspiration behind the fashion pieces that Marcia creates
• Strategies for getting inspiration from others and tailoring it to fit your style

Quotes from the show:

• “I never thought about it [sewing] as something I could do, make it a career” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “Fashion has always been a part of me” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “I am driven by fashion; I make clothes that I want to wear. Why make something that you are not going to feel fabulous in?” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “Your selling is very fashion-forward and fashion-driven” - Lisa Woolfork, Episode #4
• “Fashion does push the envelope” - Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “Everybody has their own style, and sometimes people haven’t defined their style yet” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “You know how to sell; you can make it” - Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “The selling process is both a skill and an art, and you’ve been able to use your sewing machine to bring those together” - Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “I think the best way to go about it [fashion] is to look at it as inspiration, not as to copy it, but to be inspired by it” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “One of the great things I like about buying a pattern is that we can buy the same pattern and it's not going to turn out the same” - Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “What you wear speaks volumes” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “I am very passionate about wearing the inside on the outside” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “I like to be versatile when I go about my pieces… I like to get the most about my outfit ” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”
• “The biggest thing to get your stitch together is to look at inspiration from other Instagramers and other stitchers, and creators and get inspiration from them, but be yourself” - Marcia Spencer in “Stitch Please”

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Marcia Spencer

Website: Marcia Spencer

Instagram: Marcia Spencer

Blog: STYLE BLOG | Keechii B Style

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