Sew Much More

Gabriela McCormick, owner of Great Oak Interiors . A full-service custom window treatment workroom, offering fabrication, installation, and design service to retail customers as well as to the trade. Located in Peru, NY in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY. Started very slowly while raising a 4-year-old and twins then one day everything started to fall into place very very quickly!   You can...

Carrie Duso is the owner of CMD Interiors , a one-person retail drapery, and design studio in Mason, Michigan. She began sewing window treatments in 1997 at the Window Design Studio in Ann Arbor MI where she worked before returning to the Lansing area to study interior design at MSU.  In 2000, she established her own part-time workroom, M.Atelier. Carrie is currently re-establishing her part-time...

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   National Upholstery Association

Riana LeJeune-Copeland is the owner and creative Mastermind of Repinned LLC . Riana was born in 1982 and was raised by an emergency medical pilot father and a historic restoration expert mother. Having grown up in historic homes, she had a deep appreciation for antiques and great craftsmanship.  Riana moved to Des Moines with her family in 1996, attending Callanan and then Graduating from Roosevel...

Shasta Breitkopf has been part of the Window coverings industry for quite some time and I was so happy to be able to hear more about her story! Shasta has worked for various companies and also as an independent representative of some of those companies.  Her company,  Unique Expressions  was developed to assist workrooms with products that help with productivity as well as fabrication. Links and R...

Heather McGrew is the owner of  Drapery Décor .  She started her business in 2010 after working and gaining knowledge/experience of this industry in a workroom in Chicago.  Heather is a workroom dedicated to providing custom window treatments.    Links and Resources;     Snapseed Whitagram Pinterest Fiver Tiktok Inshot   Books; (I do use some affiliate links here, so if you choose to use them, I a...

    (Some of the links I provide, specifically to Amazon and a few others, require me to let you know that if you use those links and make a purchase, I will make some money.  I won't make a million dollars, but I might be able to get a cup of coffee, so thank you!) Simon Sinek's Podcast - A Little Optimism - Unreasonable Hospitality with Will Guidara Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hildenbrand  

Lisa Brock is the owner of Brock Custom Interiors in the Birmingham AL area. Born and raised in the south, married her college sweetheart and best friend. They raised 5 children on a pastor's salary learning to make a dollar stretch. We were often gifted hand-me-down furniture that I would turn into usable goods in our home with a bucket of paint and a nematic staple gun.   Fast forward, kids are...

Kevin Kise owns a workroom and is a designer for  Kise Interiors . Coming from humble beginnings in Rural Franklin County, Ohio, his passion for fabrics began when at 8 his Grandmother showed him how to sew, and cook. Her beliefs were that every man should know how to fix a hole in his jeans and cook for himself. Kevin took both of those tasks to heart by going to culinary school out of high schoo...

Lisa O'Brien is the owner of  All Things Material . Raised in Northern Kentucky, as a child Lisa O'Brien was always creating something. No wonder she became an artist! Custom window treatments add an artistic element to every home. Creativity, education, and detail are necessary to provide customers with the right look to fit their home design goals. Hiring a professional is how this is done. In 2...

Where is the problem in your workflow?  I would love to hear from you about it.  Let me know on the Sew Much More Facebook page .     Links and Resources; (some of these are affiliate links and I will earn a few cents if you choose to purchase through the link.) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman The Ten Percent Happier Podcast with Oliver Burkeman

Adam Brand is the 4th generation co-owner of M&S Schmalberg. Their artificial flowers have complemented the apparel, wedding, accessory, millinery and home furnishing industries for over 100 years. M&S Schmalberg's custom fabric flowers are still hand-made in New York City. They have been featured in The NY Times, Women's Wear Daily, Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and on the runway all over the world...

Cathy Cuddington is the owner of Dogwood Designs , a wholesale workroom located in Apex, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Her earliest sewing memory is making clothes for her Barbie dolls. She moved on to sewing her clothes through high school, even learning some tailoring techniques. Cathy spent her first career in the IT industry, during its infancy (i.e. card punch machines). During those 2...

Michele Williams is a serial entrepreneur and speaker on a mission to close the financial literacy gap for small businesses.  Through her two companies, Scarlet Thread Consulting , a client-facing coaching program, and Metrique Solutions , a robust financial software platform, she supports entrepreneurs to understand their numbers confidently.  Michele is a champion for creative entrepreneurs, ser...

Born and raised in Marietta Ohio. Enjoyed making and creating as a kid and did a lot of cross stitch with her mom. Sewed a pair of shorts as a class project in 4th grade and didn't pick up sewing again until after college. As a social worker, in Cincinnati, creating became a great outlet so she took an upholstery class and learned the basics. Life had plans and her first daughter was born, a month...

Angie Wewel is the owner of  Grandview Drapery Studio , a wholesale workroom located in Arvada, Colorado, just northwest of Denver. From a young age, Angie has had the desire to start her own business in a creative industry. After attending the  Custom Workroom Conference  in 2018, she decided it was finally time to turn her life-long passion and pursuit of sewing into a career. Angie values ongoi...

Lisa LaChance started Something Sew Unique nearly 20 years ago in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. While there she had the opportunity to create unique window treatments and bedding in every style, texture, and fabric imaginable – from rustic country to shabby chic to sleek contemporary style. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. As a professional member of the Window Coverings Association...

Claudia Couto, owner and founder of Claudia Couture Homes LLC , has been in the design business for over 17 years. Born and raised in Brazil, Claudia's passion for unique luxury design began at a young age, when she learned to sew at just 8 years old. With great grandparents who were Italian designers, the industry has been in her family for decades. After studying Chemical Engineering in Brazil,...

Links and Resources; Chris Guillebeau

Peg Wagner owns and operates Above and Beyond Window Design out of her home, working with mostly designers. She fabricates window treatments, pillows, cushions, and roman shades, as well as sells hard treatments. Peg has a bachelor's degree in education with a major in Home Ec. (Back in the day when they called it that.) Sewing was in her background. In 2008, while working part-time in a design st...

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually...

Kristine Clarke owns and operates August Day Designs, a custom soft furnishings workroom. She fabricates window treatments, Roman shades, and pillows for interior designers. Kristine has been in business for 16 years and operates her business part-time from her home. She lives in Murfreesboro, TN, having recently moved from West Des Moines, IA. Kristine and her husband Scott have one son who is a...

Claire Herne is the owner of  Louie Custom Drapery , located in Darien Connecticut. Claire's background is in investment banking, but she has sewn throughout her life, just for fun! Moving from the UK to the US in 2009 meant decorating a big new house and she struggled to find a local workroom so she pulled out her sewing machine and started making drapes and pillows and found that she really love...

Rachel and Bryan Short own and operate  The Sewing Loft of Avon , a custom soft furnishings workroom located in Connecticut.  It is a full-service workroom serving both interior designers and homeowners.  Rachel has had a passion for sewing her entire life and made her first item in her sixth grade HomeEc class, a small football-shaped pillow.   She turned her passion into a business when she star...

Jennifer White has been part of the window treatment for quite a while and has shared her fabrication expertise and is now venturing into selling roman shade headrails and other Vako products to her colleagues. Hear how Jennifer has pivoted into a new business and the new skills she needed to learn. You can reach Jennifer at Jennifer@workroomsupply.com or message her on her Facebook account .    L...