My first blog was a disaster. It read more as a technical instruction list for competent sewing professionals. Well, since there are not that many of us around, who cares? Writing it wasn't any more fun that reading it, so after a single post... I quit.
Today I turn 42 years old. I have been sewing professionally for 3 years, sewing personally for 25. I sew swimwear with built-in cockrings for gay men in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the gayest neighborhood on the east coast. I also have a successful alterations business with a 99% gay male clientele. I see naked men every day, what could be better?
Well, I have bigger goals than just this. I love what I do, and I'm damn good at it. Though many would be satisfied with this existence, status quo and I have never been friends.
"You should be on Project Runway!" I hear.
"Really?" I say. "Are you going to pay my mortgage while I'm on the show?"
Yeah. I didn't think so. I live in the real world. Money is exchanged for services rendered. I don't harbor dreams of being a world famous designer. I honestly don't think my designs are all that great. What I am brilliant at is the production side of fashion. I'm a workhorse. I want to be THE guy designers go to to have patterns and samples made. I just want to sew.
So, with that in mind, I have decided to go back to school. I've made application to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for Fashion Design.
There was an essay required for the application. I couldn't bear to title it "Why I want to attend the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale." I could image the Admissions department picking up the application and groaning, "Jesus Christ, another 'Why I want...' Can't these fuckers think of another title?" My title was "My Journey to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale." Not brilliant, but at least not totally predictable. I have to admit that I was relatively pleased with it, so I'm going to share it with you. It goes as follows...
It was Pittsburgh 1987, I was shopping in one of my favorite thrift stores when my eyes focused on the object of my desire, a sewing machine. It was robin-egg blue and white, like an old Cadillac, a straight stitch machine with only forward and backward capability, a nameplate labeled “Cavalier” adorned her. “I'm going to be a designer,” I told the shop owner.
“I'm going to have my husband fix it for you,” she said turning over her shoulder, “Jeff, can you get this sewing machine fixed for this young gentleman? He's going to be a designer. He needs it right away.”
I paid the $10 price tag, and Jeff arrived that evening, sewing machine in hand.
I was living for the club life, waiting tables during the day, shopping for an outfit from a thrift store, then taking it home and altering it to make it “cool” before I went out later that evening. I had friends going to F.I.T. and Parson's in New York and envied them. I had no idea how I was going to get to New York, let alone how to enroll in either school. In my ignorance, I figured that all designers had to be able to sew really well, so I quit my job and got a new job working in a sweat shop. Well, I only lasted 2 weeks doing piecework for a company that produced blazers for prep schools, so back to the restaurants I went.
1997 St. Augustine, Florida. I was working as a line cook in a German restaurant and befriended a woman named Lynne Vincent, a single mother and sewing professional who supplemented her income by waiting tables at night. We became roommates, sharing a huge apartment two blocks from the ocean where she had space to run her business. Lynne was from Massachusetts where she and a girlfriend had a business making swimwear. A number of her clients in St. Augustine were strippers for whom she made bikini tops and bottoms. This was my introduction to making swimwear. She taught me to use the Juki, and since we didn't have a coverstitch, all the suits were finished with a zig-zag. I loved to spend time at the beach and wanted a new bikini for myself, so Lynne taught me how to create a pattern from an existing suit I had. Every day that I had off from work started the same way, pick out a fabric, make myself a suit, then head to the beach.
I spent countless hours with Lynne either talking about sewing (which I still do) or actually sewing and seam-ripping for her. I finally retired my Cavalier and replaced it with an Elna SU. I found a used Babylock serger and was thrilled to finally have my own marrow machine.
2003 Hollywood, Florida. I was executive chef for a small catering company and came to the conclusion that I could start my own business. I swore that I would never turn another hobby into a business (first hobby was cooking/culinary), but the overhead costs were manageable. I was also diagnosed HIV+, and out of fear and ignorance, I thought I needed a backup plan in the event that I was not able to work outside my home. I began buying up industrial machines, and set up my first sewing / design studio. My first clothing line, Partynplaywear, was born, and I dropped my last name from any marketing. Ignorance and lack of direction gave that line a six month life. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I participated in a fashion show at a guesthouse during one of their “T-dances.” The owner of the guesthouse was very well connected in the local fashion scene and introduced me to a number of people. That was probably the best benefit to the whole experience. Back to the restaurants I went.
2005 Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Sew What?” was born. My focus was primarily on draperies and home décor items, which I was under the impression were a good market choice. I also started taking in alterations. I found that I hated sewing draperies and preferred the alterations. I resigned my restaurant management position to wait tables so that I would have time to get my business off the ground. At one point, I sat down with an acquaintance/entrepreneur who asked me about my non-existent business plan, and after reviewing some financial projections, determined that I could never make enough money sewing. So I decided to go back to school for computer networking at ITT Tech.
2007 Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was still going to ITT Tech full-time and managing a restaurant, but the restaurant was in financial difficulties. I worked directly for the owner and told him that it would be cheaper to shut down than it would be to continue through the off-season, and that's what happened. I was trying to figure out what to do about employment. It was off-season, food and beverage options were very few. A friend sat in my sewing studio and looked at me, “Don't you think you should start this up again?” So I did. I started advertising on Craigslist, the local gay publications, and passed out business cards to anyone I knew. I also walked around to the local stores, offering my services. One of the stores on my list was Ball Sportwear, Inc. I handed my card to the man at the counter and asked for Giovanni Romano. He took my card which listed “custom swimwear” as a service offered and looked at me with a look I couldn't discern.
“You make swimwear?” he asked me, “We've been looking for you for 6 months.”
Two weeks later I had an order and had to learn how to start my own sweatshop.
In March of 2009 my business moved out of my home and into the backroom of Ball Sportwear, Inc. on Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, Florida.
Today – Here's where I'm going. Currently I have 3 websites, one to advertise the business, one to help network other sewing professionals and share tips and purveyors, and a third which I will be pulling together when I introduce my new line of clothing, which I have targeted for August 2010.
Sew What? is doing a great alterations business targeted to gay men whose needs are a unique skill set, i.e. designer jean hem, alteration, and repair, t-shirt modification, custom swimwear, etc. along with standard hems, suits, and home décor items.
The co-existence of Ball and Sew What? has been mutually beneficial. The owners, Giovanni Romano and Bob Walker, each has a business angle to teach me. Giovanni is a fashion guru and teaches me what is “hot” and what is “not.” Bob works in marketing and worked for Ralph Lauren. He's taught me huge lessons in what is marketable; just because it can be made, doesn't mean it will sell. This business relationship will only continue to grow and mature.
There are so many skills that I still have to master. For me to make this business more profitable, I need to have added skill sets, such as fashion drawing, technical drawing, patterning, and experience with women's wear. I wish to have these with the school certification so I can solicit business from companies who need patterns and samples made for their designers. This will be a dramatic increase in revenue. I've come to this conclusion after reviewing my financial records and realizing that as a single individual, I can only produce so much.
Hence, I am applying to the Fashion Design Program at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
