Sew Much More

Deborah M. Williamson, owner of Treatments For Your Panes, a Shop at Home retail business servicing the Greater Rochester Area and beyond. She has been sewing for 50 yrs. beginning her career in the Dressmaking/Alterations segment. Deborah's journey began to change when they moved to Rochester from Buffalo, NY due to her husband's job transfer. As one of the pioneers of a Planned Community of new homes east of Rochester, what better opportunity to learn how to make window treatments and accessories with 120 homes built each year. An added retail fabric outlet was close by allowing many of her customers and Deborah to buy very reasonable decorator fabrics! Pursuing a college degree was always on her mind so 17 yrs. after high school she watched her son get on the bus for kindergarten and began her educational journey culminating in an Associate's Degree in Interior Design and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. Deborah offers custom/couture soft window coverings, light upholstery/cushions, slipcovers, accessories as well as an Alliance/Priority Dealer with Hunter Douglas. She has taught at the WCAA Inspire 2010 & 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. She has been one of the founding members of our local Workroom/WCAA Chapter of Western New York.

Deb is on Facebook

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

Judy Soccio is a storyteller. But instead of using words, she weaves her tales with fabric and trim.

I listen to clues from my clients – and from their homes – to create inspired window treatment designs that honor the home's history while acknowledging the 21st-century lifestyles of the current homeowner.

Her theatre training and fascination with history give her broad latitude to find the right details for each project. Her pursuit of continuing professional education and certification ensures her ability to bring these details to life in her clients' homes.

Judy has an affinity for vintage houses. Their quirky bay window configurations, their over-the-top window moldings, even their occasionally intrusive hot water radiators in front of those tall windows – vintage homes are characters!

Judy wants to know -what story does your house want to tell?

Judy Soccio Designs

Judy's Facebook Page

Judy mentioned Scot Robbin's Parkhill System

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

In this episode, Jeanelle Dech coaches Ceil as she takes a hard look at the time, effort, and costs associated with producing a weekly podcast. Ceil started the podcast because of her passion for the industry and her desire to give back, and now must face the reality of the podcast's sustainability. With Jeanelle's help, Ceil is able to identify opportunities for improved efficiency in producing the podcast to lessen the impact on her profitable business activities. Jeanelle and Ceil also define a path forward to generate additional revenue for the podcast through the support of listeners, and together they introduce the new Sew Much More Podcast Website.

Resources:

Kitty Stein's book - Price Your Work With Confidence

Neil Sattin's podcast - Relationship Alive

The OPPORTUNITY THINKING Series is sponsored by

The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library.

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

Kelly Wilson, a lifelong autodidact, has always had a passion for living "outside the box". A combination of varied job experiences from NYC to LA and an eclectic higher education has created the rich foundation for Kelly's life. As a result of the economic downturn, in 2005 after 17 years of exploring the world "unschooling" her two daughters, Kelly found herself in the job market. Without a professional career to resume, she found a minimum wage, $5-an-hour job, at a local fabric store. Noticing the numerous requests for sewing referrals she identified the need to start a sewing business. Weave Gotcha Covered! was born in the basement with a sewing machine, a friend, and the commission of a "While You Were Out" make-over. Kelly's hard work and dedication to "doing right" by the customer, by the employee, and by society, provided the blueprint for WGC's mission-driven social enterprise business model. With a mission to employ underserved women of the urban core, Kelly tweaks standard business practices by questioning the status quo. A change maker and a bright light in the world, Kelly passionately asks, "why can't we?!" when faced with perceived barriers. In 2015 she answered the question by moving her company to the urban core to be accessible to employees without transportation. In 2016, the answer was to open a vocational training center to teach sewing skills to women marginalized by poverty, addiction and incarceration. In 2017, the answer was to buy a building in a HUB zone, to expand employment opportunities in the neighborhood. In 2018… Stay tuned!

Lonnie Vanderslice is the co-founder and co-owner of Weave Gotcha Covered!. a social enterprise focused on providing training and mentoring for women marginalized by poverty, addiction, and incarceration. Weave Gotcha Covered! manufactures high-end custom fabric products for the home - window treatments, cushions, bedding and pillows. Lonnie is responsible for fiscal management, information technology support, employee engagement, and a plethora of administrative responsibilities.

Lonnie is the community engagement liaison, working with various jobs programs focused on the employment of women from the urban core with barriers to employment Recognizing the need for vocational training in sewing skills and the interest shown by this population, Lonnie has recently co-founded The Sewing Labs, a non-profit learning center established to teach, promote and sustain legacy skills in fiber, textile, and sewing arts in the Kansas City urban core with the ultimate goal of fostering economic self-sufficiency. As Executive Director of The Sewing Labs, Lonnie is partnering with local business, non-profits, and government entities to form a pipeline of job-ready individuals – from post-incarceration and drug treatment to successful engagement in business and entrepreneurial communities. The Sewing Labs provides on-site vocational training classes five days a week and manages the new fiber arts makers space at Operation Breakthrough.

You can find Weave Gotch Covered! on Facebook and Instagram

Traction - Getting A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

Hallie Meschter is the owner of Sew Hallie, LLC, a custom window treatment workroom serving interior designers in the Washington DC metro area. What started as a passionate, self-taught hobby two decades ago when her children were young, turned into a side hustle when Sew Hallie was launched in 2007. To help offset college costs for those children, Hallie felt she had to "get serious" and return to full-time work in other fields, thinking there wouldn't be enough profit in making custom window treatments. But after five years with a local design center, a trip to CWC, and drawing from the support of this community, she finally found the resources and the confidence to go full-time with Sew Hallie.

Hallie is on Facebook and Instagram

We mentioned the following podcasts;

Michele Williams - Profit Is A Choice

LuAnn Nigara - A Well Designed Business

Kate Gruenke - The Kate Show

Natalie Eckdahl - The Biz Chix Podcast

Guy Raz - How I Built This

Denise Hooper's Podcast

Minda Fernish's Podcast

Great Women of Business

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

Denise Hooper began her career in 2002 working in a home-based workroom. In 2007 she founded Dream It Window Coverings working out of her home. She started as retail workroom but slowly grew to a wholesale business. In 2015 she limited her operation to a " To The Trade" commercial workroom. "Out of the Box" thinking and solving challenging problems are her specialty when working with designers for their clients.

Here is the link to Christopher's Cookie Recipe!

We talked about these podcasts;

Profit Is A Choice

A Well Designed Business

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA

Staci Faulkner is the owner and operator of Staci Faulkner Designs in Ruston, LA, and has been involved in the interior design business for 23 years. Staci's mother taught her to sew by hand not long after she learned to walk, and began to sew on machines at the age of 5. Creating clothing and other project with fabric became a way to earn money in junior high and high school, and lead to her studies of Fashion at Louisiana Tech University. After graduating and creating custom clothing and wedding gowns, Staci turned her interest to sewing for the home, sparking a passion for interiors.

Staci went to work in a small interior design business and learned how the art of dressing people could be translated into dressing a home, and most importantly, the windows. From that experience, Staci realized that she could turn her love of fabrics into a business focused on dressing windows. After moving to Houston, Staci started her own design business from home, focusing on retail clients. As the business grew, the fabrics began to spread into every room in her home. Staci sought an outside workroom to help accommodate the production, and within a short time that workroom was purchased, along with partners Trish McCall and Johnna Schmitz, and became Alexandra's Custom Draperies in 2009.

Alexandra's started with 4 employees in a very small space, and today ACD has 14 employees and has expanded into a creative, open workroom that creates award-winning window treatments for wholesale clients.

In July of 2016 Staci and her husband, Gary, decided to relocate back home to Ruston, Louisiana. Staci sold her shares of Alexandra's to her business partners, and made the move. Since returning to Louisiana, Staci has opened a wholesale workroom, along with her daughter-in-law, Megan Faulkner. As if a workroom was not enough to keep them occupied, Staci & Megan opened Garden Baby – a retail children's boutique featuring organic and sustainable clothing for your children, and they also produced their own line of clothing using organic and sustainable fabrics.

Staci also served as the National Workroom Director for WFCP from 2016-2018. She was responsible for the redevelopment of the Workroom Certification Program and has taught for Vision and CWC.

Staci Faulkner is on Facebook.

Her photographer is Ashley Gurley and she is on Facebook.

This Episode of the Podcast is sponsored by;

The Curtains And Soft Furnishings Resource Library

Emily Pettit is the owner of Emily Jane Creations located in the Spartanburg, South Carolina area. Emily worked as a nurse for 30 years prior to her current career as a soft furnishings fabricator specializing in slipcovers.

She has been married to Eric Pettit for 40 years, has two grown children and two grandchildren.

She took classes under Jeanelle Dech at the Custom Home Furnishings School in 2005 and opened her workroom later that year.

She started teaching at Workroom Tech this year and looks forward to passing on her love for fabricating beautiful slipcovers to others looking to do the same.

Kathy Healey is a sewist who lives with her family in Rochester, New York. In her home-based business, called, Healey Wear, Kathy creates custom window treatments, garments and home dec items. She also alters garments to provide her clients with a perfect fit for their ready-to-wear clothing.

Kathy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer and Family Studies from Buffalo State College and a Master of Science degree in Health Education from SUNY Brockport.

You can find Kathy on Facebook.

Ceil DiGuglielmo is the owner of Sew Much More Custom Sewing. As a to the trade window treatment and soft furnishings workroom, Ceil loves collaborating with designers to bring their vision to completion for their clients. Passionate about education and technology in her industry, Ceil regularly attends conferences, seminars, and classes to keep up with industry standards and hone her skills. She is a Window Fashion Certified Professional Workroom.

As a member of the WCAA, she has served as President of her local Pennsylvania chapter and currently serves as Secretary on the National Board.

Ceil produces and hosts The Sew Much More Podcast, an interview style podcast with members of the window treatment and soft home furnishings industry.

Ceil is a Certified Evernote Consultant, teaching workrooms and designers how to effectively use Evernote to organize and access all of the information necessary to run their businesses.