When I started my sewing business in 2005, I made only purses and accessories. I made recycled wrapper purses (2005-2008), photo purses from 2007 until the end of 2012 (when my printer guy retired), embroidered Scripture Purses (2007-2019), repurposed clothing purses, boutique-style fabric purses, and denim "patootie purses" made from recycled blue jeans, to name a few types. It was a lot of fun, and it kept me pretty busy. I made a LOT of unique purses that I sold in person at local shows, and on my original website.
Once I started on Etsy, making so many one-of-a-kind purses did not work with their algorithm. (Etsy only values things that can be sold over and over-- getting one-of-a-kind things to be seen is practically impossible on their marketplace.) So I focused on purses I could make over and over (customizable Scripture Purses and the popular Santa Purses) and sold the remaining OOAK purses on eBay and at in-person events.
I started the apron-making part of my journey in 2008 when my youngest daughter decided she wanted to be a pastry chef when she grew up. I made the first apron for her, but I didn't stop there! I LOVED everything about making aprons. I loved combining beautiful colors and prints. I loved imitating vintage styles and sewing techniques. Once I joined Etsy in 2011, I found that aprons got A LOT more attention than purses. So much so that I eventually discontinued all purses in 2019, except the Santa Purse & Tote.
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When I was starting my business, I had a lot of time (most of the year) for pattern development. I'm sure I still have a notebook somewhere with photos, drawings, & magazine clippings that inspired me. As I prepared inventory for the Holiday Craft Shows I participated in from 2005-2012, I almost always had at least a few "prototypes" in the bunch to see what people liked. In-person shows were great for immediate feedback! A few of the aprons in this collage photo were made using authentic vintage patterns from the '40s and '50s. Some of the aprons were designed to utilize leftover fabric pieces that were too pretty to throw away. A couple of them were developed after customer requests. But the majority of them just came from my imagination. After I opened my shop on Etsy, pattern development pretty much ceased. There just wasn't enough time. I settled on 5 main apron styles to offer in my Etsy shop: the Vendor Apron, the Pinafore, the 50s Smock, the Twirly Skirt Apron, and the Chef Apron. |
Making aprons brings me so much joy. Over the years, I've collected many beautiful fabrics, and aprons are a wonderful way to showcase them. While I enjoyed making purses for a time, I found them to be much more labor-intensive—at least the way I made them. During my peak purse-making era, I would go to bed with aching hands after a long day of sewing! That’s another reason why I decided to focus exclusively on making aprons. I’m learning to sew "smarter," not harder. I can enjoy what I do without it taking a physical toll on my body.