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Good question. Well, I'll tell you.
I've been sewing professionally for over 15 years now (maybe 17, I've lost track...). My mother taught me to sew, because she, in her prehistoric and old world wisdom combined, thought that it was still essential for a girl to know in order to make her marriagable. So naturally, I cared little. But I did enjoy the creative aspects of it a great deal. I'd pick it up again on and off while growing up, but it wasn't until I was in college (as an older student, wife and mother) that I felt a real need to sew creatively for myself. So one year, for my birthday, I bought myself a very cheap sewing machine. And I will honestly tell you that I haven't been the same person since. I went crazy buying fabrics, patterns, notions; I explored books, sewing magazines, took workshops with the big celebrities in sewing (much like we do now for bellydance; yes, there ARE superstars of the sewing world...). I'd find myself sewing rather than studing (and I was a SERIOUS student!), sewing rather than writing papers, and sewing rather than studying for finals. It was good therapy; that's OK.
I got good fast; and it quickly became a part-time busines. I was doing lots of odd projects, which was interesting, good practice and fun. Before long, I found myself begining to do a lot more upscale work; evening gowns, wedding dresses and non-traditional wedding ensembles, and particularly historical reproduction clothing primarily from the American Revolutionary War era. I couldn't have been happier living between these two worlds: the high-class, cocktail/formal world, and the eighteenth-centural colonial one. It was during this time that I began also seriously studying bellydance (another life-altering event).
Life events occur, as they are wont to do, and I found myself again back in school; but this time when I emerged I began working as a biomedical researcher/scientist. Sewing took a back seat after that, but I still always continued to sew for myself and loved ones, and would take on some extrordinary commissioned project worth my precious little free time. More and more I found myself sewing almost nothing other than bellydance-related projects, however; costumes for myself, middle eastern-inspired garments for my mate/drummer, etc. What little I did purchase was invariably a disappointment (as it always is in the non-bellydance clothing world, as well). I kept thinking, "why are dancers throwing aways good money on that? or "I could make that 100 times better for 10 times less!" I have altered a very expensive imported costume for myself, before ever having worn it, and had things literally fall apart in my hands. I KNOW I can improve on the methods used in comercially available costumes - and have, drawing from my clothing construction background. And I KNOW there is no reason to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for ill-fitting, poorly constructed costumes that are nearly ephemeral (I've proved this many times over). And I KNOW I can teach ANY dancer to make her own beaurtiful, unique, original, perfectly-fitting works of art!
And so that's why I'm here... To serve all my beautiful sister-dancers out there; to help them look gorgeous so we can dance together!
Love, Katerina
I've been sewing professionally for over 15 years now (maybe 17, I've lost track...). My mother taught me to sew, because she, in her prehistoric and old world wisdom combined, thought that it was still essential for a girl to know in order to make her marriagable. So naturally, I cared little. But I did enjoy the creative aspects of it a great deal. I'd pick it up again on and off while growing up, but it wasn't until I was in college (as an older student, wife and mother) that I felt a real need to sew creatively for myself. So one year, for my birthday, I bought myself a very cheap sewing machine. And I will honestly tell you that I haven't been the same person since. I went crazy buying fabrics, patterns, notions; I explored books, sewing magazines, took workshops with the big celebrities in sewing (much like we do now for bellydance; yes, there ARE superstars of the sewing world...). I'd find myself sewing rather than studing (and I was a SERIOUS student!), sewing rather than writing papers, and sewing rather than studying for finals. It was good therapy; that's OK.
I got good fast; and it quickly became a part-time busines. I was doing lots of odd projects, which was interesting, good practice and fun. Before long, I found myself begining to do a lot more upscale work; evening gowns, wedding dresses and non-traditional wedding ensembles, and particularly historical reproduction clothing primarily from the American Revolutionary War era. I couldn't have been happier living between these two worlds: the high-class, cocktail/formal world, and the eighteenth-centural colonial one. It was during this time that I began also seriously studying bellydance (another life-altering event).
Life events occur, as they are wont to do, and I found myself again back in school; but this time when I emerged I began working as a biomedical researcher/scientist. Sewing took a back seat after that, but I still always continued to sew for myself and loved ones, and would take on some extrordinary commissioned project worth my precious little free time. More and more I found myself sewing almost nothing other than bellydance-related projects, however; costumes for myself, middle eastern-inspired garments for my mate/drummer, etc. What little I did purchase was invariably a disappointment (as it always is in the non-bellydance clothing world, as well). I kept thinking, "why are dancers throwing aways good money on that? or "I could make that 100 times better for 10 times less!" I have altered a very expensive imported costume for myself, before ever having worn it, and had things literally fall apart in my hands. I KNOW I can improve on the methods used in comercially available costumes - and have, drawing from my clothing construction background. And I KNOW there is no reason to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for ill-fitting, poorly constructed costumes that are nearly ephemeral (I've proved this many times over). And I KNOW I can teach ANY dancer to make her own beaurtiful, unique, original, perfectly-fitting works of art!
And so that's why I'm here... To serve all my beautiful sister-dancers out there; to help them look gorgeous so we can dance together!
Love, Katerina
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Connecticut
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