Fashion has always been a part of my world from an early age. I remember having notebook after notebook filled with drawings of glamorous ballgowns. All including ruffles, puff sleeves, lace – elements I still incorporate in my pieces today.
It wasn’t until early high school that I really found my love of sewing and design. I had the most fantastic fashion design teacher who taught me so much, pushed me, and let me sneak into her classroom during lunch hour to continue sewing after class year after year. In my senior year in high school, I made all my costumes for my final theater performance.
And that’s when I struggled on which direction to go after high school since theater was also a huge part of my life. “Acting or fashion?” was the looming question. I chose acting at that time and was able to work in the costume shop for work-study and continue sewing under amazing mentors. As college went on theater took over my schedule, and sewing was put on the back burner.
After graduation in 2015, I moved to Chicago and it was there that I began dreaming of starting a sustainable fashion brand. With encouragement from my husband, I picked up my sewing machine once again and I knew that was where my heart was. But Chicago is expensive, and I was already working multiple jobs to pay the bills. So again, my dream was put on the back burner.
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Fast forward to 2019, my husband and I moved to Kansas City and I set up a small studio space to dive right back into sewing. I got to costume my best friend’s latest production she was directing and learn to sew on other body types other than my own. Well, not too long after…COVID hit. My office job went completely remote and I took that as my opportunity to play around with new designs every week and keep myself accountable with a sewing Instagram account. I found my groove again and finally fell back in my element and started working towards that dream years ago of creating my brand.
The summer of 2020 we moved to St. Louis, and by May 2021 I launched my brand, Heididoll Designs, and I cannot tell you the feeling of someone purchasing my first design less than an hour later.
A few weeks later, I went to a night market on a whim and met so many amazing women-owned small businesses. I felt incredibly inspired by that evening and it was like a fire ignited inside me. I began finding my community here in St. Louis, MO, applying to markets, and getting excited about the future of Heididoll Designs.
