Once upon a time, I started a series of interviews of creative individuals and bloggers I have had the pleasure to “meet” through the internet. Somehow, this little feature–that I so enjoy doing–got pushed by the wayside and forgotten. But I am delighted that I am “resurrecting” this occasional series with an interview with one of my longtime “internet sewing friends” and amazingly talented seamtresses: Anna Allen. If you read her blog, wildflowers::pretty, then you are probably familiar with her lovely photos capturing her own corner of the world, sewing projects and beautiful aesthetic sense. I have known Anna for years (I think we must have “met” on a sewing board when we were both teenagers!), and she has truly inspired me with her expertise in historic fashion (the 1860s are her particular forte) and her recent branching-out into modern fashion with her new line. Anna generously offered quite a bit of helpful advice and insight into her creative process in this interview, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did!
Give us a little introduction about yourself, for readers that may not be familiar with you and your work. How old are you, what’s your background, where did you grow up, etc.?
Hello! I’m so happy to be here and thank you for allowing me to share a bit about myself, although I can’t say it is all that interesting! I am twenty-six years old, I have five brothers, one sister and I have lived in Iowa my entire life. My mom taught me school at home through all the grades, which was a blast (most of the time)! Other than my humongous family and being schooled at home, I’m a pretty average girl. I always said I was happy I was home schooled so that kids wouldn’t make fun of me everyday for wanting to spend all of my free time sewing and cooking (believe it or not, some kids still managed to make fun of me for that). I feel like I was able to spend a lot of time making things with my hands and my family always encouraged that. We are all pretty creative sorts, my siblings and I, thanks to Mom and Dad!
Anna showing off a lovely bag she made earlier this year.
How long have you been sewing? Are you mostly self taught? I know you mentioned you were teaching yourself to draft patterns prior to starting your namesake line–that’s really impressive!
I have been sewing since I was about three years old, give or take. I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t have a needle and thread in my hand. My mom taught me the basics and continued to teach me to perfect my skills. I remember once I made myself a gathered skirt and I sewed the gathers into the waistband so they ended up slanting to one side. I was going to keep it that way, but my mom made me rip it out. I was so mad! But in the end, I was grateful that she made me use the seam ripper. It taught me to be more careful when I sew and not to cut corners. I never thought I was much of a perfectionist until I learned to sew.
I have since learned to teach myself new skills and I have spent countless hours on the internet studying diagrams and spending hours on forums asking questions to other knowledgeable sewers. One of the skills I’m most proud of is learning how to draft patterns, though I will admit it’s still something I need to perfect. I much prefer draping, because you don’t need to be so exact and mathematical! I am no math whiz! But it’s good to have at least a basic knowledge of drafting. I also learned to grade patterns (thanks to Jennie Chancey’s amazing online tutorial!), which I’ve found to be a lot easier than I thought. It’s one of those things I put off learning for years, but it’s great to have, especially if you sew your own clothing. There’s always that pattern out there that you really love, but isn’t your size.
We’ve known each other for a number of years, and you’ve made a great name for yourself in the Civil War reenactment community as a talented and knowledgeable seamstress. What influenced you to branch out into modern clothes as well?
It’s something I have thought about for a long time. I don’t remember what convinced me to start designing and making my own clothing; I think it was just the idea of doing something different than the same-old. I love historical clothing, don’t get me wrong, but I found myself longing to design modern clothing while I was sewing my historical garments. And then I would spend hours on blogs seeing everyones lovely creations. I wanted in on some of the fun! I think this is my way of having more of a creative outlet, since making historical clothing means you have limitations. I’m a freak when it comes to authenticity and so there isn’t much creative license when I make a reproduction. When I create my own garments, I can pretty much do whatever I want! For instance, it’s so weird now that I make garments with machine sewn button holes. When I sew a historical garment, every button hole has to be hand sewn, which takes quite a bit longer. I still try to stay away from zippers, but it is freeing knowing that if I wanted to add a zipper, I could.
Trimming an 1860s bonnet.
When I look at your clothes, I see your aesthetic that has been shaped by your love of previous eras, as well as your appreciation for simplicity. What are some of the influences that shape your designs? Any particular artist/designer, period in time, musicians, etc.?
There are so many things around me that inspire. So many designers, past and present! I am not very good at remembering names of designers or artists. I think my biggest inspiration are the simple people from other eras. The idea that people stitched their own clothing and wore them until they were shreds and then patched them up and wore them longer amazes me to no end. I want to wear my clothing so long that they need to be mended and patched. When I create my garments, I think that simple is better. At times I stray and I try to design a garment that would be fun and wild, but in the end I think it just does not “go.” And then I go back to creating a simple shirt without darts or a basic smock. I desire to create clothing that will last a long time, not just one season.
Take us quickly through your typical day. How do you keep yourself focused and motivated? What helps you get through the day (for me, it’s multiple cups of tea and a detailed list!)?
I go through so many different daily schedules. Man, it’s annoying. I am a bit of a procrastinator, so it is hard for me to get to work sometimes. I do try to get up fairly early, though. In the past I used to sleep in until 9 or 9:30 every morning, but now I wake up at 6 or 6:30 (hello coffee time!) and get to work around 8. It makes me feel much more productive and I feel like I can actually take time to do other things after work and on weekends. I use Google Calendar A LOT! I wrote myself a schedule and it is emailed to me every morning so that I can see what I’m supposed to be doing and when I’m supposed to do it. Sometimes that doesn’t help, so just lately I am trying a little experiment to make myself work when I’m supposed to. If I work a full day without getting distracted by the internet, I am allowed to put in $5 every day into a “clothing fund.” If I work over-time, I am allowed to put in $5 for every extra hour I work. It’s good to reward yourself for hard work when you can, especially if you are like me and have a big problem wasting my day away on the internet!
The dress that started her new line of modern clothes.
Where do you hope to take your Anna Allen line in the future? What is your dream?
For now I would like to just continue letting it grow, perhaps one day I will add others on to help out. Or even have my own little shop where people can come in and try on the clothing. But I am pretty happy working myself and it’s fun to mail things off to people all around the world. So I guess you might say I am living my dream! Honestly, I really am just happy sewing clothing and making enough to live on. That has always been my dream.
Any advice for others looking to chase their dream of a handmade business? What do you wish you knew back when you started Graceful Lady and now with Anna Allen Clothing?
I was fortunate to not really have to make a living off of my business right off, since my parents allowed me to continue living at home after I graduated. It really helped to have their support, not just living support! I do wish I knew more about the business aspect when I first started. You know, like that dreaded thing called taxes! But that is something you can learn as you go, so don’t feel too frustrated the first year. Even though I have a tax accountant to do my actual taxes, there’s still a lot you need to do yourself, like book keeping! Definitely save ALL receipts! Don’t throw anything away.
Also, it helps to have a solid plan and goals to work towards. I wish I would have had more of a solid plan when I first started. It’s easy to slack off when you’re your own boss, so you need to make commitments and stick with them. This is why I think it’s good to reward yourself for your hard work. Otherwise you get burnt out and it feels like all of your money is going back into the business and you don’t see any of it!
I hear about a lot of people wanting to quit their job and think of a way to make money on their own. That might work for some, but it’s much better if you can start out doing something you know you are good at and LOVE. Any job you do will become tedious and not so much fun and it’s even worse if you don’t have confidence in what you are doing. So don’t look at it as an easy way out. Nothing is easy! But I definitely wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from starting their own business if it is something they have longed to do and are willing to spend hours upon hours working at it. In the long run, I think I can safely say it’s totally worth it.
Anna is also a talented knitter!
Inspiring Interviews is an occasional feature in which I chat with creative individuals about their particular niche and what inspires them. Be sure to check out the others individuals featured in the past!
