The History of SEWright321
What an adventure this has become!
When I moved to Kalispell, MT in 2012, my passion was making American Girl Doll clothes. I created 20 complete ensembles and even had a website, also advertising on Etsy and other online stores. But the demand was just not there, and the timing was not right, I suppose. I was teaching piano lessons for a few years, also adding alterations to my list in 2016. Soon I had so much business that I had to give up teaching piano and worked full time at alterations.
I love to build websites on GoDaddy and soon had a massive website called SEWright321.com, complete with measurement worksheets, instructions, and loads of pages about everything alterations. Soon I had clients coming nonstop through my little apartment door, and word got out that I was really good at what I did. I continued at a breakneck pace until July 2024, when burnout came crashing down around me. I turned nearly every bit of work over to my apprentice, selling or giving away my supplies, and shutting down my website for good. I thought that I would never be this under-the-gun ever again, because it was affecting my health: physical, mental, and emotional.
So, I moved to Cane Beds, AZ to live in a lovely two bedroom, two bath cottage my older brother and sister-in-law owned, enjoying, at last, my golden retirement years. That lasted about six months, and I began thinking about how much I really loved doing alterations, but without the stress and not being able to get away from it, you know, like having a separate workshop/sewing studio for my clients. I have all that now, all 16' X 20' area of it in a separate building on my property!
Cane Beds, AZ, is about eight miles from the southern Utah border, in the middle of nowhere. I mean, all we neighbors live on at least one acre, my family on over two. The nearest all-service grocery store, Bee's, five miles away, charges 60% over Walmart in Hurricane, UT, about 40 minutes' drive from us. Las Vegas is about two and a half hours away, but the mountain scenery here is breathtaking. Think Grand Canyon mountains all around you with their watercolor shades and rugged majesty.
Amazon shopping is a big deal in our area, simply because everything is so far away, and takes up too much time and fuel. Doctors, hospitals, and major shopping are in Hurricane, Washington, and St. George, UT, as much as an hour away. I think you get the picture...
So I started thinking, why not turn SEWright321 into a mail order alterations business? There are a lot of logistics to work out, it would entail more time than before, the shipping would need to be considered in the pricing, but fitting could be possible with Zoom or FaceTime, texting with photos, and instructions on my new website that you're reading right now, I'd welcome your input for helping me make this much needed business a success. So this was the history of SEWright321.
