Copyright © 2009, 2010 The Tailored Nest. All rights reserved.
Over time I started gravitating to flea markets, vintage stores, garage sales and thrift shops, looking for good-quality fabrics and clothing that I could transform into unique items for the home. It is the knowledge that these fabrics are rare and no longer produced which infuse them with nostalgia and inspire an appreciation of the past. By taking them apart, creatively mixing them with contemporary fabrics and then sewing something new and useful, I acknowledge their value and unique beauty and history, consciously replacing "disposable” with “renewable”.
May beauty and peace live in your home!
The Tailored Nest is my studio and my passion.
I remember the first time I stopped and literally took a deep breath over fabric. I was 9 years old and leafing through my sister’s Vogue magazine when I came across a Missoni perfume ad. I had no interest in the fragrance -- instead I was stunned by the photograph of the most stunning, jaw-dropping, multi-hued fabric I had ever seen. I couldn’t stop looking at it.
To this day, I have not forgotten what that moment felt like. I carry that feeling with me, and it blooms every time I come across beautiful fabric.
As a child, I would sew alongside my mother making pillows, napkins, and doll clothes from her leftover fabrics. She had a collection of beautiful hand-stitched linens (most that she made herself, and others made by her mother). My mother often used them for casual family dinners, not just for special occasions. Her belief is that beautiful items should be enjoyed, treasured and used every day, and I follow that same philosophy.
Over the years I practiced sewing and various forms of embroidery. My mother would guide me and explain what constituted expert craftsmanship, encouraging me to be precise with my sewing. Through high school and college I worked in fabric stores and began quilting. I worked with experienced sewing professionals and expert home sewers and learned about different fabric types, fibers and weaves; how to prepare them for sewing and then care for the finished item; how to coordinate colors; and how to use a variety of sewing tools (hand and machine) for different projects.
I come from a family that loves to create. My mother is an excellent sewer who has made beautiful clothes and items for our homes over the years. My grandmother, who started sewing as a very young girl in Argentina, was also a highly-skilled seamstress. She sewed professionally and made custom clothing using couture techniques, cutting the fabric to fit the individual, and then stitching the pieces together by hand.
The sewing studio: Where the magic happens. Cats like it, too.
A sampling of my mother's embroidery. All the stitching, including the drawn threadwork, was done entirely by hand. Click on an image to enlarge.
A few of my favorite things: Vintage fabrics, warm summer days, and sock monkeys.
