Rise in Portland Sewing Studios Answers Growing Interest in Art and Business of Making Clothes

Portland is the kind of city that embraces movements—big and little shifts that enrich our lives and connect us to new skills, to the past or future, and most of all, to each other. The newest such movement seems to be sewing—people of all walks of life coming together with machines and threads and really sharp scissors. They come for different reasons—to be more self-sufficient, to express their creativity, or to embark on a new career—but more and more Portlanders are seeking out a place where they can explore the art and business of making clothes. And sewing studios are popping up around town to answer their call.

PDX Seamsters

Emily Horton has been a custom clothing and costume designer for years, but now also runs a very successful sewing studio called PDX Seamsters. About a year ago, she started on a ready-to-wear line of clothing and also added sewing lessons to her repertoire. She soon found far more people interested in learning to sew than in buying clothes, so she shelved the clothing line project and began looking for a bigger space to teach.

PDX Seamsters in Buckman

Classes run from beginning sewing classes, to master classes in technique and pattern making, and can be taken in groups or as private lessons. There are open studio hours as well, when people who already have skills, but lack the space and equipment, can come in and work. They also host many community events, like sewing and knitting circles.

“We have students from 12-years-old to way over 70,” Jim Hulhearn, instructor and Horton’s self-professed right hand man, explains. “From novices, to people returning to sewing after a long absence, to people interested in taking our master classes.” He says there are so many people interested, that they are moving again, to yet an even larger facility.

“It’s three times as big as our current space,” he says.

Jim says people get excited about learning this very functional skill—something past generations saw as a necessity for life. He tells me in an alteration class, one excited participant marveled at how she was “making clothes the old fashioned way.” Jim reminded her that clothes continue to be made in that same way; that buying clothes has just disconnected people from their origins.

“People have largely lost touch with [the process of making clothes],” Jim says. “But they’re finding again how satisfying it is.”

Modern Domestic

Modern Domestic is a brand new sewing studio located in the recently renovated Arthur Cole Candy Co. building on Northeast Alberta Street. The space is airy and sunlit, exactly what co-owners Lupine Swanson, Michelle Healy, and Gina Cadenasso were looking for.

Modern Domestic in King

Cadenasso is owner of the popular Bolt Neighborhood Fabric Boutique, just a few blocks away from the new studio. Both Healy and Swanson met Cadenasso while working as sales reps for sewing and craft supply distributors, but the three became fast friends. They all saw that there was a need for a designated sewing studio in Portland; the space that Bolt had for classes really wasn’t nearly big enough for the amount of interest they received. They started fleshing out how to expand their love and knowledge of sewing into a business collaboration.

“Sewing is an expensive hobby,” explains Swanson. “Even a good quality used machine will cost somewhere around $300. Then you have to figure in the tools, notions, fabrics. A lot of places that offer lessons leave people out, because you have to bring your own machine.”

The idea behind a sewing studio is to offer a low-commitment option to people who want to try out sewing without spending a lot of money first. At Modern Domestic, they teach everything—from a machines class that introduces the mechanics and vocabulary of a sewing machine, all the way up to advanced classes. They sell a select number of Bernina and Janome machines that they allow students to demo in classes—to see if the machine is right for them before buying it.

The large, two-level space offers them plenty of room for classes. Swanson says that they wanted a modern, clean look, but one that was also warm and inviting.

“[Foot traffic on] Alberta attracts people who normally wouldn’t seek out a sewing studio,” Swanson says. “They look in and say, ‘hey, I’ve always wanted to learn to sew.’” She says their clientele runs the gamut—from new moms in their 20s, to 50-something gentlemen just interested in learning a new skill.

Portland Sewing

Sharon Blair might be considered the pioneer in the sewing studio movement in Portland. After establishing her career as a clothing designer and seamstress, she opened Portland Sewing in 2002. She stuck to the basics in sewing and pattern making in the beginning, but found that her students were asking, “what next?”  She said that the expansion of her offerings has grown organically out of the needs and requests of her students. She says the goals of her students usually fall under one of three categories.

“They are usually people who want to start up their own line or apparel business, people who want good quality clothes that actually fit them, or people who want to express their individuality, but also want clothes that are well made.” She doesn’t see the interest in sewing so much as part of the “DIY” movement in Portland, but more as a sign that Portland is becoming a burgeoning apparel center. That has led her to expanding her offerings this year to include two certificate programs on how to start your own apparel business. She has put together classes teaching students how to start a business, deal with city and state regulations, how to source fabrics, how to create patterns both by hand and on a computer and more.

Portland Sewing in Grant Park

“I teach the skills to make successful apparel people,” Blair says. “My job is to get them to a place where they don’t need me anymore.” She says that her greatest professional success has been found in helping others to succeed.

Portland Sewing has classes for everyone, not just those looking to make a career in apparel. Kid classes, fashion illustration, draping and pattern making, as well as sewing classes from basic to advanced, they also have a “Speed Dating with a Sewing Machine” class. In it, people can check out 10 different machines in a three hour period to find the machine that is right for them before buying one. Housed in an old credit union building, Portland Sewing also features a notion drive-thru.

“If it’s 9 p.m. and you’re in your PJs finishing a project and run out of thread,” Blair explains, “You can just drive up and buy it without getting out of your car!”

View the slideshow for more images of Portland's Sewing Studios or visit our Flickr gallery:

Photos © 2010 Kenneth Aaron, Neighborhood Notes