Maltese Entrepreneur Seeks Help From Public To Make Her Sewing Dreams Come True
Fueled by a love for fabrics and costumes form a young age, young local entrepreneur Sarah Grech has founded an upcycling sewing startup.
“My passion for the arts started at a young age, with my mum and both grandmothers showing us different ways to be creative with fabric, yarn, beads and thread,” Sarah said as she launched Perla u Suzy.
“From the age of 12 I was turning my grandmother’s clothes into garments for myself. A little snipping here, adding braid there and somehow I turned nanna clothes into ‘fashionable’ items.”
“I learned the art of sewing in further detail at school and also followed a two year course in pattern making and cutting. These skills came in handy when I started working in the costume department in the theatre industry.”
“After working for more than ten years in the costume department, my love for fabrics and costumes grew. The thrill of fixing costume malfunctions during shows allowed me to improve on my skills once again.”
Sarah is aware that the art is slowly dying out, warning that few people even know how to do a hem or sew a button. Seamstresses meanwhile are busy with creating new items of clothing and find it hard to fit other tasks – such as clothes altering – in their schedule.
She is asking the public to help fund her €2,200 to purchase a new and hardwearing sewing machine, a larger working space, equipment and materials such as fastenings, braids, fabric, and anything that clients might need for their alteration, and to train herself through online courses.
“The aim is to have a good amount of funds to push the business forward. In an ideal world, the business will grow and flourish, with its own location to welcome clients and to work in, embellished with a decent amount of working material, and even a potential vacancy for others like me who enjoy the art of sewing and want a career in tailoring,” she said.
Find out more about how you can support the campaign here