Rekindling an Old Passion

When I was a little girl I dreamed about being a fashion designer, but I barely ever told anyone, because it seemed like a such a crazy notion. In fact, I’m not even sure the 10 year old girl that used to “draw” Punjabi suits and fill them in with flowers and colours even knew what a fashion designer was.

the cutting room vancouver, pink chai

As I grew into my teens and my fashion and styling skills became a hot topic at my high school (not always for the right reasons), my passion grew. I remember telling my mom I wanted to be a fashion designer and she suggested I take a course from a local Aunty on sewing suits. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the difference between a designer and a tailor.

Obviously I didn’t become a fashion designer, but studied marketing instead (something I don’t regret). However, the urge to create never went away. After my son was born, I bought a sewing machine and started a maternity clothing line with my sister. We were so not ready for pattern making, buying shows, and mass production, but we learned so much in those 3 years.

the cutting room vancouver, pink chai

After transitioning to my marketing and PR business, I’ve never really had the time to think about sewing and fashion as much (except for outfit posts), but earlier this summer I started feeling the itch to get back into design, and I even bought a new sewing machine. Ironically, the same week, my friend Taslim invited me to a fun sewing night at The Cutting Room together. At the time, I didn’t put two and two together, but the Universe was telling me something (the Universe and Taslim often work in tandem in my life).

When I attended the sewing evening with a group of local bloggers, I was excited to be back behind a sewing machine (and was suddenly reminded of the new one in my closet collecting dust). Threading a machine, pivoting at the curves, and pressing the hems – it was just like riding a bike, and it all came back!

the cutting room vancouver, pink chai

That evening each of us got to choose the fabric and trim we wanted for our tote bag project. I chose a classic denim and stripe pattern with vintage Japanese ribbon. I love this bag, and I really love that I made it. 

If there is something that you used to love to do and have let it go because life, kids, family, etc has got in the way, I urge you to find your way back to your passion. And if your passion is also sewing or design, do check out The Cutting Room Vancouver. It is run by an amazing group of inspiring women, and it’s such a fun place to learn. They are even offering Pink Chai Readers $30 off of a class with the code: PinkChai30. [I have my eye on this pattern making class]

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