Celebrating 20 Years of Creativity!

Wow, it’s been 20 years since I started commercially. Time has whizzed by! Below is the newspaper clipping of the first fashion show that started it all. It began with me designing clothing for women with many of those designs incorporating surface embellishments. Once word got out that I could draft patterns, inquiries started rolling in for designing unique medical scrubs. Then somehow, I was listed on a national directory of contract manufacturers. This started an 11-year period of working on an incredible variety of sewn products from around the country. These projects ranged from hospital gowns, wedding gowns, children’s water activity jackets for an east coast museum, bivouac bag, military prototypes, EMT summer jackets, new type of ice hockey pants, outdoor wear, and a variety of clothing for all kinds of other companies.

The aspect that I enjoyed the most was the problem solving for form and function. I loved to delve into what the function was that the item needed to serve and then figuring out the most economical design to meet that function. Luckily, I still get to do this even if it’s on a smaller scale.

2008 is when I added the retail side to the business. I started creating more of my own designs even as we were heavily into contract manufacturing. Then in 2017 I moved to a new location, cut back on the contract manufacturing (the pool of local sewers had shrunk) and was able to devote more of myself to creating my designs. The label Lines of Designs is my clothing line and I am able to tweak the fit if you are between sizes. I still work on a few pattern and prototype contracts but it is my designs and the custom work that makes up the majority.

So, what’s next? Aside from retail, I have started sewing classes which I look forward to developing and evolving. I have also built up a sewing reference library, which is quite robust right now and available to anyone to use in the shop. Additionally, we have a tea shop corner, Travelers Tea Nook, which provides a bit of calm and quiet throughout the hectic day. As these ideas come together I also plan to bring back more of my designs (I have quite the pattern library now), and provide more choices for you.

Of course, I could not have done any of this without you, the community. So I sincerely mean it when I say thank you. You are the reason we made it so far and through so much.