Tuesday, August 24, 2010

How it all started

Our wedding

When I got married 13 years ago I inherited an ugly couch, and as a new wife I was determined to make my little dated apartment "cute". I went out and bought fabric and a pattern for a slipcover. To my dissapointment the fit was horrible and the tuck-in and ties were awful, so I bought more fabric and made the cushions as separate pieces that sat on top of the main body slipcover. I still hated it.


Our house being built



A year later we built our first house, so I headed to the local thrift store and picked up a chair, that I was determined to make a better slipcover for. I had looked at a few pamphlets and books at the fabric store, and thought I had figured out how to make a "custom slipcover".



Ugly chair that I picked up at the local thrift store. Soon I learned this chair didn't have really good lines. I now would never choose the fluffy back thing.


My first custom slipcover. My recommendation..don't choose a stripe or plaid for your first slipcover.




My friends and family loved it and started asking me to slipcover their furniture. In the mean time we got pregnant with our first child, and I told my husband when we had babies I would stay home and make slipcovers...he laughed. I had my first "real" client when my baby was 3 months old. I think he forgot how determined and focused I can be when I want something. He has become wiser over the past 13 years.

I still ended up having to go back to work part time as an assistant manager at Bath and Body Works when my baby was 7 weeks old to pay the bills. I did about one to two slipcovers a month during this period for clients. By the time my baby turned a year old, my business had grown enough for me to stay home and sew. So I took a leap of faith and quit my job.
I had a display chair in a few shops (Joanns and Addie Landons) and cards up at the fabric store, and the rest of my business came from word of mouth. All my clients are now from word of mouth, I haven't had a chair in a store for about 6 years.


My family picture from Christmas last year....my sister is a photographer. You can check out her blog at http://photosbyangie.blogspot.com/



I now have two ladies that help me sew to keep up with my growing business. I try to keep my work schedule to 2-3 days a week, because I now have 3 children. So I have my "mom" days and my "work" days. My husband is a fireman and has 4 days off in a row, so he watches the kids on my "work" days.

I have lots of designer clients, and regular repeat clients. With having the extra income I was determined to put it to good use and get out of debt. So slowly over the past 10 years I've paid off the basement, the cars, and the house...yep the house!!! Now I am working on paying off the cabin we just bought. Remember how focused I said I was? My friends think I am crazy. I might be a little bit, but I like to call it "determined" not crazy.

So if you want to learn to make slipcovers to redecorate on a budget or you want to make some extra money...learning the art of slipcovering is an invaluable tool and skill. If you love fabric and decorating and have some sewing skills you will become obsessed with the possibilites of what you can do with an ugly piece of furniture. You will become a regular at the local thrift store and craigslist.

My "How to Slipcover Video" walks you through the basics of slipcovering and will give you the skills to slipcover just about anything. I teach you to make a slipcover by pinning it on inside out. I was self taught and learned through trial and error over the past 11 years... with the DVD you can learn without going through the heartache and wasted time that I went through. I am now fast at what I do, and with practice you can be too.

5 comments:

  1. I would really love to learn how to do this, however, I don't think that $45 for a DVD is reasonable. Can you tell me why this DVD is so special that it is worth $45? I can buy 100 blank DVDs at Best buy for about $30 ???

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  2. DVD is valued at $45 for the following reasons

    - I share tips and tricks of the trade (12 years of slipcovering professionally)- I promise the way I show you is 10 times easier and faster than any of the slipcover books I've seen.
    -I hired a professional videographer to film and edit this DVD.
    -I paid for copies to be professionally replicated with labels and cover...not just copied
    -If you took a class it would cost at least this much.
    -I provide you with a list of wholesale sources for linen, zippers, piping, foam batting (many of them can't be found online..they are mom and pop type shops with great pricing)


    I have received many emails from other customers...claiming that it was worth every penny.

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  3. I can't believe anyone would be bold enough question the $45.00 charge.
    -Rochester, NY

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  4. Hi there - do you have a recommendation for the type of machine that would be best suited for slipcovering?

    ReplyDelete