Los Angeles is a crazy hub for garment production, so imagine my surprise to learn that a quality manufacturer was actually only 60 minutes from me! Kismit!
Ba Boom. Ba Boom. My heart beat with such volume I was sure everyone within range could hear it’s thunderous drumming. My sweet angel Arcy, her friend Lawren (a fab garment designer) and I were walking into meet with Ron, my (soon to be) manufacturer. My dream hadn’t just grown legs, it had wings! And I felt like I could fly away with excitement.
The unassuming storefront for sportswear didn’t prepare me for the cacophony of sound and color that greeted us as we entered the workshop. Bolts of fabric splashed color against the whir of machines sewing garments. Ron led us on a tour of the production floor, learning the names and operations of each piece of equipment and meeting the sewers who were sew (see what I did there?) carefully crafting dreams into reality. There was a music, a dance to the energy of the room and it swept me along with it!
Handing over my personally sewn sample to a professional was a little nervewracking... “Quality craftsmanship! Who made it?” Eeek! I almost asked Ron to say it again. I will never tire of having my dream affirmed.
Over tacos and margaritas, we discussed the possibility of Ron sewing my first professional sample. He was intrigued by my cork fabic...though he’d never seen or worked with it before. Thankfully he was up the challenge to work with it...and with me! I was giddy. And it definitely wasn’t from the tequila!
I left my sample Inizio with him so that he could construct a pattern and he left me with a to-do list. My craft cupboard was nearly bare from my previous forages, so I set off to purchase the needed items on my list. Though my hands were empty, my heart was full.