Sew Much More

Sue Sifakis started SUESEWN in 1995. She attended Cheryl Stricklands's week-long class on how to run a drapery business in 1994.  She also attended CHF classes and was on an advisory committee for the CHF magazine a few years. She was part of the Alumni showcase in 2010. She has also attended Slipcover Networking Workshops as well as numerous conferences to learn more. Sue has been a member of the...

After earning her BFA in Costume Design, Nancy Bramwell opened Bramwell Designs , a special event décor business. Using fabric as her primary material, she created fantastical environments that wowed guests and lead a typical client to exclaim: "It's one of the pleasures of my job to have an idea, turn it over to someone as talented and creative as you are, and get such a spectacular return produc...

On a sofa in the basement apartment of Cheryl Strickland's home, and a few days later on a flight to Tampa, FL, for the 2005 International Window Coverings Expo, Jeanelle and Anita Boetsma chatted about their work in the custom home furnishings industry.  Anita shared her idea of having a printed work table grid to replace the difficult process of hand-marking table canvas with indelible markers....

Thanks to my Corporate Sponsors; The Window Covering Association of America Scarlet Thread Consulting The Workroom Channel   Callie is the owner of Draped and Tailored, a new fabrication studio in Little Rock, AR. Working mostly with the Trade, she creates everything from draperies and pillows, to bedding and Roman shades. By the age of 30, she had several upscale projects in her portfolio, includ...

Jessie Lee Miller owns a custom workroom in Winston-Salem, North Carolina aptly named " Winston's Workroom ." The one-person workroom was established in 2017 and serves both trade and retail clients. The workroom operates as a part-time business so that she can care for her three small children.   Jessie Lee has lived in Winston-Salem since 2001 when she moved to attend college at Wake Forest Univ...

There is a new group in town!  The National Upholstery Association is looking to gather the professionals in the Upholstery Industry and support and encourage them. Rachel Fletcher and Audrey Lonsway are the new President and Vice President of the NUA. Rachel Fletcher owns Knox Upholstery in Knoxville, Tennessee. With a bachelor's degree in communications from Millikin University, her career befor...

An interior designer's best friend! Julie began her career as an Art Educator. An avid interest in interior design led her to enroll in the Interior Design program at New Hampshire Institute of Art. While at NHIA, her love of fabric and sewing translated perfectly into a career creating window treatments. Since she launched her business in 2006, she has specified her services largely to the interi...

 Linda started sewing Home Decor because there wasn't anyone else in her community doing it. Shortly after starting to sew home decor, she took the New York Institute of Art and Design course and was then able to offer design, construction and installation services which she continues to offer today. In the last few years, she has added color specialist to her portfolio.  She also writes a home-de...

Joining me today on the Podcast today are Renee Williamson, Executive Director of the Window Covering Association of America and Susie Tanner, Marketing and Membership Director. Whether you are a member of WCAA or not, I loved learning more about how our association is run.   Renee Williamson is a native of Augusta, Georgia and now lives in beautiful Wilmington, NC.  With over 20 years of leadersh...

Christine McLean, Owner, The Red Pincushion- An interior Design workroom, Christine never imagined, in a million years, that she would own a workroom. A graduate of Michigan State University, with a degree in Biology, she spent 14 years between Pharmaceutical Sales and Medical Software, even starting her own electronic claims processing company. A native of Detroit, she has lived in Los Angeles, H...

Will Lynch - President and Owner of Safe T Shade , and Jacquelyn Weber - Vice President of Sales and Marketing visit us on this OPPORTUNITY THINKING Series to talk about the products that Safe T Shade provide for our industry. We talk about the steps necessary to get a product to market, what do they do with prototypes and how long does all of this take??   Meet Jacquelyn and Will at The Custom Wo...

  Camile Moore's first love was fine art and oil painting. She looks at a client's home through the eye of an artist, as a work of art .. and window treatments are an artistic element. Camile attended Harris School Of Art and Watkins Art Institute as a young adult. In 1989, she took Advanced Custom Curtain, Drapery & Roman Shade Fabrication classes at Watkins Art Institute in Nashville TN, and bus...

    Patti is the owner of Pillows & Pleats, LLC , a drapery design and fabrication business located in Loudoun County, Virginia. Patti's journey began when she studied Interior Design in college some 33 years ago graduating at the top of her class. Two weeks after receiving her bachelor's degree, she married her high school sweetheart and supported his career path which involved several moves acro...

        Diana Hershey, the owner of  DBH Designs , provides custom furnishings for the home, office, or business. The services offered to clients include draperies, valances, cornice boards, bedding, pillows, roman shades, blinds, slipcovers, and re-upholstery, just to name a few! Diana takes the time to thoroughly guide her clients through the process of uncovering their style and selecting the o...

Having a sewing business had been Doshie Witcher's dream since her mother taught her to hold a needle and thread. While in elementary school, she was sewing clothing for herself and others. In 1990 she opened Doshie's Custom Sewing and began specializing in alterations, custom work, and bridal designs. After making her first window valance, she decided that making window treatments were her passio...

Nicole Nomer is the owner of Fabrication Studio , a drapery workroom that has been servicing the interior design industry since 1985. She is a self-taught fabricator starting her sewing journey at the age of 7. She graduated from Dean College with a degree in Art Therapy. Although she never entered that field she feels that her degree has aided her in helping her clients navigate the sometimes dif...

Cleo Marthel owns and is the sole operator of Complimentary Designs , a custom soft furnishings workroom located in Murfreesboro, TN. She has been in business for 15 years working with both wholesale and retail clients. Cleo is a member of a local trade group, Professional Drapery Workrooms of Middle TN. She is also a national member of WCAA. For a period of time, she lived in Birmingham, AL and s...

Marge Jones is the owner of Marge's Custom Slipcovers .  Her mom taught her to sew at 5 and by high school, she was making tailored suits.  Marge taught herself to reupholster in the 70's and two years later to make slipcovers.  She has been in business for 44 years and at 74 doesn't seem to be slowing down much!! Marge is on Facebook  and Pinterest Resources; Kim's Upholstery   The Sew Much More...

Freddie Graves is the owner of The Recovery Room  in Vermont.  She started the business in 1989 in her basement and has moved into a barn on her rural property.  I love Freddie's sense of humor and her outlook.   Resources; Wild Chairy   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA

Continuing our series of products brought to the market in our industry, Ann k. Johnson and Susan Woodcock share the stories of how they wrote and published their books.   Ann K. Johnson owns Sew Easy Windows LLC , a wholesale workroom in Ohio, established in 1992. She is the author of The Professional Workroom Handbook of Swags I & II, and publisher for Kitty Stein's Price Your Work With Confiden...

      Louise Cornick is the owner of Upholstery Education which formally started in 2018 but was in the making for 2years prior to that . Louise started her upholstery journey when she first arrived in the US from her homeland of England 7 years ago. She took an Upholstery course through adult education as a way of making new friends and getting out of the house. Little did she know what a major i...

Mary Jo Huyard is the proud owner of Savannah House , a boutique window treatment shop and showroom in downtown Lancaster PA. Mary Jo works directly with clients in residential and commercial settings as well as working with designers, architect, and builders in a collaborative approach. She worked primarily out of her home until fall of 2017 when she rebranded and founded Savannah House and opene...

  Beautiful Spaces opened it's doors in 2006. Owned and operated by Cynthia LeBlanc. Beautiful Spaces is a full-service Interior Decorating Studio located in Vermilion Ohio. Which is often referred to as " Little New England" due to its lovely waterfront communities. At Beautiful Spaces our goal is to inspire, educate, problem solve, and finally to design spaces for our client that they will love,...

Amanda Smith and Rose Mary LeBlanc are the owners and developers of Seamless Workroom,  a system that helps you keep track of job specifications with fillable measuring forms, resource documents and fabrication workbooks that will calculate yardage as well as quote labor, hardware, and fabrics. Amanda is the owner of      Resources; Amanda mentioned Meetedgar and  Canva   The OPPORTUNITY THINKING...

Laura Hawley is a co-owner of AD Window Treatments , a Custom Window Treatment and Hunter Douglas Showroom in Blue Bell, PA. Ambiance is on Facebook , Pinterest  and Houzz .   Resources; Dave Ramsey's Every Dollar App Disto Measuring Device Profit First   The Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA