Featured Maker – Fair Fit Studio
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am the designer, educator, and founder of Fair Fit Studio in Baton Rouge. Fair Fit is an individually run boutique fashion design studio with classes to teach you how to sew, design, and customize your own clothing. Our sewing classes are tailored for beginner sewists, and our private lessons specialize in fashion design, pattern-making, clothing and wardrobe construction. My passion is to bring unique garments to the world, her signature collection Fair Fit is defined by hand-dyed garments sewn into complex constructions. I also love cooking, gardening, and my cats.
2. What are you presenting at the BRMMF?
My husband and I will set up our sewing machine and introduce people to the process of learning how to sew and make your own clothing. I have taught my husband principles of pattern-making and garment construction, and now he designs and makes his own custom clothing. We want to show people the steps and process of how clothing is made, and that you don’t have to be intimidated by a sewing machine.
3. Why is making important to you?
It’s just what I have always done. I know that we are here on this earth to be creative, and that all forms of expression from making clothing, making friends, to making a business, all follow a process of investment, learning, and interaction. Even people who say they aren’t makers and aren’t creative really still are makers. Think of everything that goes into setting up an apartment, or the process that you go through at your job each day. At the end of the day, if something is different than it was before, or something new appeared, it means something was made. I just think that the creative and visual arts makes this process very apparent and that’s important to me. To see an idea that you had in your mind be actualized in form is extremely satisfying.
4. What was the first thing you remember making?
I made a lot of paper dolls as a child. I would have my mom help me trace pictures from books and I would draw clothing for them or color the clothes differently than the original picture. I think I must have been really little, like 4 at the time, because I had to have my mom’s help to do the tracing and I was art directing her, LOL.
5. What have you made that you are most proud of?
I am usually very proud of the most recent thing I completed, so right now I am very proud that I just designed and actualized our first online Fair Fit class, Beginner’s Sewing. It required my husband and I to film the lessons, edit the lessons, and create a great graphic presence for each lesson. Then I had to build my own online curriculum by working with a platform that it could be uploaded to. It made us learn all new skills that we were not familiar with, and processes, and I’m just so excited that now anyone with a computer and a good internet connection can take the class!
6. Given an unlimited budget, what would you make?
I think I would go back to creating a clothing line. I stopped because I realized I needed capital, manufacturing, and collaboration with other experts to really make it into a profitable business. If I had an unlimited budget, I would spend time traveling and creating relationships with people in the fashion industry who could help me manufacture and merchandise a collection. I would also spend some money making runway shows again too because shows are really expensive to produce but are a such an exciting form of expression because so many people add their expertise and direction to make a complete experience for the audience.
Check out the Fair Fit Studio website!