Sew Much More

Carol Dykhouse, owner of Creations by Carol, has been in business for 40 years. She started out doing custom sewing and alterations and bridal gowns.  When weddings were slow, she would do window treatments for friends. Her excellent work soon garnered other customers. After 5 years she exclusively did consulting and fabrication of window treatments and home decor. As her business grew, she became...

  MaryBeth Davis is the owner of MBDSews, a one-person retail workroom in the Richmond Virginia area.  A self-taught sewist, MaryBeth has been fabricating home furnishings for over 30 years, but embraced sewing as more than a hobby in 2017.  From her home workroom, MaryBeth designs and fabricates window styles, pillows and cushions, bedding, and light upholstery. When not busy in her home sewing w...

Carla Pyle has been an active promoter of healthy upholstery since she led a team to develop a line of organic furniture in 2009. An upholstery teacher since 2011, she is currently a virtual instructor for The Funky Little Chair's FLC Upholstery 200: Fundamentals program. She offers consulting services to designers and upholstery professionals looking to incorporate sustainable principles and heal...

    The tables are turned today as I get interviewed by LuAnn Nigara !  Yes, I was a little nervous, but LuAnn does a great job with all of her guests, and I really enjoyed talking with her!     The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing,...

It was a pleasure to talk with Susan Woodcock and Rodger Walker about the upcoming Custom Workroom Conference .  You can find out more about it and register here .

Edith Williamson is a first-generation Hungarian emigrant from Transylvania. She is the owner of Drapery Montage in Houston, Texas. Also known as Houston's Drapery Store. She describes it as a one-of-a-kind, all under one roof, everything you need for your windows company also known as Houston's Drapery Store. They are custom fitting inspiration and design - one stitch at a time, since 1984. For t...

Tracy Abraham is the owner of Abraham Design Workroom located in Massachusetts. A lifelong sewist, she opened her (mainly) to the trade business in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. When not in the workroom, she loves to travel with her family and spends as many summer days on her favorite beach in Wells, Maine as she can with her husband and their four children. Links and Resources; (some of the...

Antoinette was born and raised in Cape Town South Africa. She studied at the University of Stellenbosch where she obtained an Honours Degree in Drama and Theatre Arts as well as a Teaching Diploma. Her 20+ year career in the Film and Television Industry gave her the opportunity to live and work in Africa, Europe, China, the USA and finally Canada where she settled with her family in 2000.  Sewing...

Today's podcast is a solo podcast about staying in your lane.  Do you?  Or do you like to push yourself?  If you do, how do you do it?  I would love to hear what you think about staying in your lane! The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distribut...

Jen Holaday is the owner of  Brave Maggie Designs, a custom drapery workroom in Franklin, TN. She fabricates pillows, bedding, cushions, and shades but nothing makes her heart skip a beat more so than beautiful custom drapery. From the fabrics and hardware to the pleating and draping, custom drapery will elevate an entire space. It's the difference between a pretty room and a simply stunning one....

Grace grew up in Philadelphia - one of nine children - she recently celebrated 40 years of marriage to her wonderful husband Bob who is now retired and is now her personal Chef - they are blessed to have 4 grown children and 3 grandchildren - Her favorite place to be is with Family.  Grace and her husband now live in Huntingdon Valley just outside of Philadelphia.   In April of 1999, Grace Irene W...

  Marie Mouradian has celebrated over 38 years of owning her own business. What began as a childhood sewing hobby has become a lifelong passion for creating comfortable, functional, and beautiful environments. Window Designs Etc. by Marie Mouradian has evolved over the years to include custom window treatments, Hunter Douglas blinds & shades, soft home furnishings, and interior decorating consulti...

Cathy Cohane started her business "Curtain Cathy" in 2003 as she was transitioning from a career in garment manufacturing.  A lifelong sewist with a degree in Clothing and Textiles, owning and running her own business has been both a passion of hers and has brought her much success and joy.  As a sole proprietor, Cathy specializes in roman shades, drapery panels, and soft furnishings, as well as b...

Jackie Myers is the owner of Useful Stitches drapery workroom and Useful Stitches Etsy.   She has been sewing for 38 years.  After graduating with a BS in Math, she decided to pursue her interest in sewing and took sewing and decorating classes. After sewing for years as a hobby for herself and friends, she decided to officially open shop as Useful Stitches, LLC eleven years ago.  She sews mainly...

Bethany Brubaker works at Adaptive Textiles and posted a great answer to a question on the Forum in the Curtains & Soft Furnishings Resource Library     Links and Resources; Simon Sinek Finding Your Why, YouTube channel   Members of the Library have access to a SWOT analysis Circle Time webinar   Brene Brown Netflix   Pomodoro technique 25 minutes of work/5 minute break   Time Blocking Gretchen Ru...

Joy Willbur started her business, Sew Joy ,  in Lexington KY in 2006 with a desire to have a career that combined her passion for sewing with the flexibility she wanted as a mother. She loves to create gorgeous custom sewn décor. Joy works with designers, decorators, and homeowners as a partner to fabricate their designs. She loves to learn about new products and fabrication methods. Joy belongs t...

Almost 20 years ago Leigh Anne was looking for fabric to reupholster her sofa.  She found fabrics that were sophisticated, but not environmentally friendly; or "green" (mostly recycled polyester – actually a poor green choice), but not stylish.  Even the fabrics claiming to be "organic" were processed with chemicals that were harmful to people and the planet - and many of those chemicals remain in...

Michelle Minner is the owner of Blue Roof Cabin Upholstery , located in Washington state. She's a solopreneur, specializing in residential furniture reupholstery. Michelle fell into the upholstery trade by accident. As a DIY blogger looking for a project she decided to try her hand at reupholstering an old chair and fell in love with the transformation process. Self-taught, Michelle is passionate...

Karen Barnes is the former owner of The Elegant Window.  She owned her business for.  years.  She is now retired and is sharing her journey with us. The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   Trading Up Consulting, LLC   National Up...

Nancy Sargent is the owner of  Cobani Bleu . A creative upholstery business whose mission is The Art of Sitting Soft, a tagline inspired by her mom. The 'sit soft' philosophy is all about gathering with family and friends, to be enveloped in a warm, nurturing and comfortable environment. The goal of Cobani Bleu is to always create furniture that sits soft.   After spending way too much time in cor...

Donna Redmond is the owner of Undercover Sewing .  She has been a member of WCAA since 2016 and participates in ongoing professional education.  Donna loves to work with both to the trade interior designers and local homeowners.  Donna is always striving to provide high-quality window treatments, cushions, and/or pillows that transform a house into a special place for special people.  You are spec...

Whitney Kaufman is the owner of Whitney Kaufman Designs in Grand Rapids, MI.  Whitney is a busy wife and mother of four teenagers. As a teacher turned stay-at-home-mom she began sewing shortly after her oldest daughter was born, and for years she enjoyed sewing Halloween costumes for her brood. Over the years she tried her hand at making both Roman shades and quilts. At the suggestion of some frie...

  The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   Trading Up Consulting, LLC   National Upholstery Association Jonathan Bennet, owner of Unsprung Upholstery is originally from Martinsville, VA.  He caught the sewing bug from his great gr...

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by; The Workroom Channel Scarlet Thread Consulting The WCAA The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library Merril Y Landis, LTD Angel's Distributing, LLC Trading Up Consulting, LLC National Upholstery Association   I hope this year is off to a great start for you!  Happy 22! Links and Resources; Gretchen Rubin's 22 in 22 pdf

In what has become our annual tradition, Michele Williams and I spend some time together discussing this past year, our plans for next year, and what great books we have read. I hope you enjoy today's podcast.   Links and Resources Scarlet Thread Consulting   Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team  by Scott Jeffrey Miller, Todd Davis, Victoria Roos Olsson  ...