All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
"I just want to encourage people to try it," said Allie Olson, a local designer and seamstress who will be hosting sewing workshops at the Left Hand Grange in August.
Allie Olson is looking forward to making new connections with her local sewing workshops. "I'm excited, and I think people are investing more in themselves," she said.
Since her college days, local seamstress and designer Allie Olson has loved to sew her own clothes. Her mother taught her the craft as a child, and it is something that has always stuck with her.
"I've been working in the sewing world for 10 years," Olson said. "Sewing tends to be a very introverted hobby... I'm surprised by how social it is."
After graduating from the University of Colorado, Olson and a small team opened a business that sold indie sewing patterns. "They're not like your grandma's," she said with a laugh. She realized that there was a gap in the pattern market--both with the more traditional and indie designs-- and inspiration struck her.
With time, Olson began making her own designs and selling them online. In addition to selling her digital patterns, she has been teaching sewing classes periodically for some time. COVID, however, impacted her ability to meet up with sewing enthusiasts and beginners alike.
That said, her online store had a very positive impact. "Last winter, we saw a ton more sales online. People had all this time and they wanted to teach themselves to sew," explained Olson.
Now with relaxed restrictions, she's excited to start hosting workshops at the Left Hand Grange in Niwot. Her upcoming workshop is intermediate and will be working with a pattern that she created; she's also excited to start having beginning sewing classes.
"A lot of people who come to [sewing] classes tend to be a little intimidated, but usually, we can show them pretty quickly that if we can make clothes that fit them really well, they get excited."
Not only does sewing clothes get people excited about updating or personalizing their wardrobe, but it also provides people with a unique social opportunity. This is, perhaps, one of Olson's favorite aspects about the sewing world.
"Sewing clothing is a very niche hobby and not that many people do it," she said. "Connecting with customers and [meeting people] who have the same love for sewing is fun."
You can keep up to date with Olson via her website https://www.allieolson.com/ and you can follow her on Instagram at allieolson.patterns.
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