I just finished an interview with a recruiter and all I want to do is scream. The recruiter, Brian, was so nice and it was a lovely conversation over a job that I honestly don’t want anything to do with. If I’m so apprehensive about it, why did I agree to chat? The answer to that – I try to explore all opportunities that come my way. There’s always something to learn and knowing what skills attracted the recruiter to my profile lets me know what’s working on my resume and what isn’t. I was able to ask Brian questions to see what messaging resonated versus what he completely glossed over. The call was only 23 minutes but I got a ton of beneficial information, for free.
I saw a statistic yesterday while writing an article for a newsletter – the US Labor Statistics showed that costume designer careers were on the rise, career options are expected to grow by 8% through 2029, which is faster growth than the average for other careers. I interpret this favorably, but there’s a lot of work that needs to go into making that a successful career.
I love reviewing data and conducting market research. My day job the last 3 years was to lead corporate clients like large pharmaceutical manufacturers and big tech companies through business decisions they wanted to make and pulling together the information they would need to make those decisions confidently. It was a cool job and I realized that I don’t need to be apart of a large company myself in order to do market research. I’ve been designing my own company, I’m ready to make the leap into a future where I dictate my day-to-day and I have unlimited earning potential. My greatest dream is to have a job that pays me to travel and to sew costumes. I think it’ll take me a few years to establish something like that though, so in the meantime I’m looking for a day job to fund my side hustles.
I have the energy, time, and purpose to be a business owner. The fact that I’ve been supporting other companies to do this makes me super confident that I can muddle through the initial (and somewhat uncomfortable) steps to get it off the ground.
What does this have to do with my sewing business? I’m working through that right now and I’m loving it. I have been sewing almost every day since I was let go from my day job. I spend a lot of time researching for my costumes, trying new skills, and getting through my stash. Being this creative every day brightens my soul and I know that I have to find a way to keep this up. To this end, I am opening up a business for commissions and I’m prepping some pieces to put on Etsy. I’m even considering how I can get enough stock together to have a booth at a fair or a full on retail store. I love business and finding a way to incorporate my sewing into a retail endeavor is opening my mind to so many opportunities.
The biggest issue I’m seeing is I have TOO much opportunity and the business consultant in me is looking to hone in on 1 or 2 of my idea’s (at least to start). I’m ready to blow my own mind at what I can accomplish, especially in order to avoid going back to work in a corporate job. I am letting go of something to make room for something else and there’s beauty in that process.
If you’re wondering what I’m currently working on, I’m prepping for a local event called Victorian Days. A town nearby hosts a weekend long event where people dress in Victorian wear, vendors set up along the town green and musicians play throughout the day. Last year I wore a late Victorian style walking skirt (Black Snail pattern) with an Edwardian style blouse (Folkwear pattern).
I’m currently working on a new Victorian ensemble using Floral Wars fabric I got during the May the 4th sale on Knitorious. I’m not in love with this outfit yet but I’m trusting the process that I will eventually. I made everything from the underwear, to the shirt and skirt pictured below, as well as a jacket that I’ll be getting pictures of later this week.
