Sunday, December 30, 2018

Year end 2018 and Upcycling 501's with embellishments


It's almost the end of 2018, a great year.  

I'm still wildly enthusiastic about upcycle sewing.  Upcycling in general too!

I plan to continue my upcycle sewing business, Paganoonoo,  selling upcycle sewing instructions on Etsy and at shows, giving workshops, and creating video tips.

I have been reflecting on the business, and things accomplished this year:
  • Learned how to use Procreate and Canva to create ads and graphics
  • Increased sales (60% on Etsy!)
  • Made garments to sell (wildly successful)
  • Collaboration with another artist - Cathryn Cooper
  • Released 3 more patterns
  • Transformed one more room into the house to exclusive Paganoonoo space (thank you George)
  • released video tips
and more, of course, plus those things I said would happen but did not, the two top of mind include: 
  • Video classes - huge learning curve! 
  • Workspaces kept clean (intermittent)


Looking forward - what to do and not do in 2019? These things are clear:
  • Video classes are on hold, they are a huge time commitment I am not willing to make right now.  This was a tough call, but spending quite a bit of time this year and still not being ready to create classes influenced my decision to take a break.
  • Explore more surface design upcycling
  • Make more garments for sale.  I love to sew and would like to get back to more of what I love.  Look for garments in the Etsy shop and at events.
Yesterday I started in on the surface design exploration with this pair of old Levi 501's:

I did a bit of free motion stitching, added
 fabric pen circles, a hand sketched crow by Cathryn Cooper wrapped with nubby yarn, a few fabric bits, a black leather patch and some buttons:


 


To add the embellishments I opened up the non-felled leg seam.  When I was done I turned the pants inside out and resewed the seam together.
It has been a fun project! If you are interested, the measurements are: waist 35", front rise 11", inseam 28"
My daughter-in-law modeling
Too big for her but they still look pretty good!


My wish for you in 2019 is that your creativity flow and your muse be ever present. Happy New Year! Michelle
For more info on Paganoonoo and upcycle sewing visit www.paganoonoo.com
To shop Paganoonoo visit www.etsy.com/shop/paganoonoo
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