Becky Sue's Bows & Sews

This week, I'd like to introduce Rebecca of Becky Sue's Bows & Sews.  She and her friend Susan sew boutique style children's clothing and accessories.

I asked Rebecca to tell me a little about herself and her family, and she said, "We just “celebrated” our 12th anniversary (if you count Chinese takeout and an early night as a celebration!?! We know how to party!!). My husband is from Florida, I’m from England and we get a lot of questions about how we met! To make a long story short, we were both working for British travel companies in Florida in the summer of 2002 and we met through a mutual friend while visiting the new Spiderman ride at Universal Islands of Adventure. Four months later we got married (long story) and four years after that we moved to Tennessee (another long story). We have two beautiful daughters and the cutest one-year old baby boy on the planet."

Rebecca says she learned to sew at school, but re-learned from" my friend and partner in crime" Susan a couple of years ago. Since then, she has been refining her technique thanks to YouTube and some amazing pattern designers who come out with darling patterns that force her to learn new techniques!  Her words - I'd love to get a peek at her pattern stash!

Becky was drawn to sewing because she wanted to sew for her own children.  She says she has two favorite things about her craft - "...coming up with ideas (I keep a little note book with me at all times, sometimes I dream about dresses!) and getting good feedback or seeing pictures of little ones wearing outfits I made – or even better seeing them in real life wearing a Becky Sue’s original."

She loves to work with beautiful fabrics, buttons, and ribbon.  Her favorite color is purple - especially purple with swirls.  Becky says she uses her sewing machine a lot, and, "some days it doesn’t love me back, but mostly we’re good friends."  And even though her little pink glue gun has burned her, she still couldn’t live without her.

When asked what type of things inspire her creations and spark her imagination, she replied, "Beautiful fabrics inspire me. Sometimes the fabrics in my “stash” end up being not at all what I had in mind when I bought them, but I take out my fabrics and stare at them and draw pictures in my notebook before deciding what to make. I also love when customers have an idea and we can work together on it."

Like many of us in the handmade field, Rebecca's hobby became a business when she realized she was spending a fortune paying other people to make what she could make herself.  Now, you can find her beautiful handmade items online and at local craft fairs.

Rebecca and Susan are planning to do two craft shows this year:   Christmas In The Country (Dickson, TN November 1st and 2nd) and Mistletoe Market (Franklin, TN November 8).  "We’re only dong two because between us we have 6 children under 10 so we can’t go too far away and these seemed the best fit for us (this will be our 3rd year at Christmas In The Country and our 1st year at Mistletoe Market). Our criteria right now for choosing a show: inside, good traffic and less than an hour away from home oh and did I mention inside? We did some outside shows early on and almost froze to death!!"

Though Rebecca loves her work, she says, "My full-time job is being a stay-at-home-mom, but sewing and marketing our business takes up most of my free time. I would love to make enough money to fund things like dance classes and vacations in the short-term and maybe help fund a move to a bigger house eventually. If it made financial sense to have a brick-and-mortar store at some point in the future, I’d definitely consider it."

In Rebecca's free time (what's that, you ask?) she says she might be interested in learning how to crochet or knit so she can make blankets, hats, and socks, which would have to come in handy with her crew!





I asked Rebecca if she had a favorite quote or phrase and had to giggle at the answer - “Put that down!" ("Maybe not my favorite, but definitely something I say about a hundred times a day with a one-year old staggering around the house on a mission to destroy!")

If you want to get to know Rebecca better, you can find her here:

Shop: http://etsy.com/shop/BeckySuesBowAndSews

Facebook: http://facebook.com/BeckySuesBowAndSews

Blog: http://craftingincrazytown.blogspot.com (under construction)

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BeckySuesBoutiq

Thanks so much for taking time to introduce yourself, Rebecca!