Our Place in Ensuring the Art of Sewing

This morning when I came into our design room it was full of young voices and many sewing machines busy. Pattern paper on the floor, scraps of fabric everywhere, but most of all happy chatter from 10 year olds learning to sew on their summer break.

I was struck by how time works. Here, we are hosting a full summer of fashion/sewing classes to Gen Alpha. The tech generation, the generation that can literally order anything on Amazon, and yet they have chosen to spend their summer learning an art that many say is dying. They are so eager to learn. Instantly, it took me back to 2006 and our tiny little studio in Little Italy.

Our studio on Kettner with rent at $475.00 a month, one window and a communal bathroom in the hall. The building was a reliac of an earlier era and each studio was filled with artists of all different fields. Fiveloaves Twofish was in it's pregnancy (the brand had yet to really be born) , but we opened with sewing classes to cover the rent. Our first 4 students were high school Gen Z girls, all with very different reasons why they wanted to learn to sew and all shared the reality that their moms could not teach them.

Our sewing classes were very different than what could be found at local community centers or sewing shops. Kit, our head designer, educated at FIT in New York approached sewing as a means to design. Meaning that the girls would be making their own designs, learn to draft their own patterns and then sew them. And yet, if we had a student that just wanted to bring a Vogue Pattern from JoAnne's and learn to sew it we would teach them.

We met the students where they were.

So much has happened in those 20 years. The Gen Z girls we opened the doors with are all grown up, one a fashion editor and another one designing her own line. Today, I feel very nostaglic with the notion that we are returning to our roots and teaching the new generation an approach to sewing and design that will hopefully be a life long skill and love.

A Little about our Fashion/Sewing Camps:

• They are taught by Kit Kuriakose our head designer at fiveloaves twofish and assisted by Tembie a very experienced seamstress and head of education in our design room.

• We offer classes for 10 and up: they will begin on a beginner level and grow as their skills grow. All patterns are made in house and the students do take home finished garments. If they continue into intermediate and advanced levels they will be able to bring in their designs, and learn to sew them. They will learn techniques through creating, rather than just learning technique on a conceptual basis.

• We offer very basic classes to kids over 7 and introduce the art of sewing.

• We offer design and preparation for applying to competitive Fashion programs, and universities, such as FIT.

What a perfect way to spend the summer, away from tech, developing your own sense of style, confidence, and learning a skill that your mom probably does not have. Come join us and start the journey of being part of long legacy of designers, tailors, and seamstresses that have used the art of sewing to not only give themselves a voice, but others as well. Sewing is a tool and an Art. We are doing everything we can to educate younger generations to value what they buy and choose to put on their bodies. What we choose to wear on our bodies gives an insight into who we are; it should be made well, with love and never be disposable. Join us and lets change our relasionship to what we wear to preserve it; and cherish it. For details about how to enroll in classes email info@fiveloavestwofishclothing.com or call the design studio (619)675-0050