Artsy Mamas

Tell us a little bit about Deirdre Styles.
Deirdre Styles began obviously from the love of sewing. Actually, my first company was called Sew What? Wear. I love making things like one of a kind items including costumes and my purses and accessories. I had a competitive Dance Team a few years back and did not like the costumes offered in the catalogs, so was inspired to create my own for all the girls. A mom on one of the teams I had got Victoria Secret Catalogs and would always bring them in to practice to look at and pass the time. She commented once on a dress she wanted, but it was too expensive. I looked at the picture and the price and a few days later, brought the dress that I had made in to practice. It was identical and her size, and when I told her all she had to do was pay me for the materials, which was about $12, she died! The dress in the catalog was $72! She said she even liked this fabric better. Anyway, after that, she encouraged me to copy more and she said I should do some Trunk Shows, and she would hold the first one. I agreed. A few weeks later, and several pieces of different sized clothing later, we had a Trunk Show in her home. Every last piece sold and I made a whopping amount of money! I was hooked! It kept going from there and evolved in to the hand bags and purses I do today!

Now, tell us about Deirdre.
Hmmm....I'm not a complicated person. My kids all say I am the coolest mom, so that is a huge compliment right there! I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. My mom was a local, who met a sailor in the Navy, stationed there, and well, the rest is history. I'm the youngest of 3 children. All of my family is still there. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio with my husband (who I met playing in a Rock Band in Honolulu) and 5 of my 6 children. My oldest will be 24 and is out on his own. My 2 oldest daughters 20 and 21, keep leaving and making their way back home....can't seem to get rid of them...LOL!! In school we have Matthew, 18, who is following in his Artsy Mama's footsteps. He loves to design and create costumes to wear to the Anime Conventions he goes to. Then Gina, is 15 and I home school my youngest Dylan, who is 12.

From reading your myspace page, it sounds like you are an Artsy Mama who came from another Artsy Mama. Can you tell us about your mother? Well, my mom was also a seamstress and worked for a lot of people in show business as their wardrobe mistress. She never taught me how to sew, she was always to busy, and I wasn't allowed to speak to her while she was working, so I would quietly stand behind her and watch while she was sewing. So, basically, I am self taught. When I was 6, one day I waited for her to leave and go to work. I snuck behind that machine and was ready! I made my very first project,and it was ironically, a purse! A little square with a long strap, but I was so pleased with myself! I can remember it like it was yesterday!

How do you find time to fit in your craft while caring for six children? How do you balance your family life and your craft business? My family members are each talented in all different ways. They appreciate fine arts and know when to leave someone who is working alone. Don't want that to come out wrong, but basically they either sing, dance, sew or play instruments, so the house is always very lively and they are all pretty content. I guess what I am trying to say is, it all just falls in to line!

Do you have any advice for mamas who are wanting to learn to sew or who would like to make some extra cash to help supplement her family's income by creating art and selling it? Go for it! You don't need to invest any money in to lessons, if you got it, then you got it! Just give it a shot. You will never know if you have it or not, if you have never tried! Handcrafted items are in high demand. Choose your craft, study it, practice it and above all love it! Sewing is a dying art form and I teach it to whoever wants to learn, free of charge!

How could we contact you or purchase one of your bags? My website is www.Deirdrestyles.com. You can also find me on myspace.com/deirdrestyles. My email is deirdre_styles@hotmail.com . I have hard time keeping bags on my site, they all seem to disappear as soon as I list them. I won't hire anyone to sew for me, I am too picky and want to make sure every bag that comes from my site is made by me! I wholesale as well (actually prefer this) With a minimum of 10 bags, you can take 50% off and add $1 each for shipping. The resell is great for those wanting to make an extra buck to help out their families financial situation. All I ask is that my hang tags and bag tags are intact and not removed. There are a lot of companies that sell bags similar to mine, but I feel they are overpriced, and I also have not found one company whose bags can be machine washed!
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