Recently, I have had the pleasure of working with Heather Chopra, a clothing designer. I found Heather's shop on etsy, laken and lila, and love her style. I decided to contact her to see if she would like to do something fun with my two fabric collections, All Things Good and Lift Your Spirit. Working with Heather gave me the chance to find out that we are both working mom's and business women who love being creative. Here is a little about Heather in her words....
Life is very busy. My son, Laken is almost 5 & always on the go. He inspired me to start designing and creating handmade children’s clothing. I work from a studio in my home and sell my clothing online and wholesale to boutiques across the country. My shop has been named the #6 baby clothing site on etsy by babble... very exciting for me! I design my own patterns and they are eco-friendly. What does that mean? Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Fashion means I design pieces that create little to no waste. Think about all the fabric "scraps" that get thrown away each year... my patterns do not allow scraps... making it sustainable fashion. I've been doing this for years and read in the New York Times last fall that The Fashion Institute of New York (F.I.T) is now starting to teach classes in this method! I feel like a pioneer in the idea.
I’ve always loved creating. Writing, scrapbooking, cooking, etc… but my love for clothing and creating pieces has always been my true passion. I started sewing during a high school sewing class and I have enjoyed it ever since. I worked in the corporate world before I was a mom and then stayed home after having Laken. Being a stay at home mom is more difficult than I could ever have imagined but I would never trade it. After some soul searching and life changes, I decided I could have it all if I started incorporating my love of sewing back into my life. Making handmade children’s clothes just came naturally because of my love of children. What I realized was there is a need for unique, handmade, quality children’s apparel. Back in the day of my Grandmother and even my Mother handmade gifts were always given at Baby Showers. My clothing pieces are truly timepieces to cherish with a whimisical flair.
Over the past 3 years laken and lila has grown so much and I'm still a one woman show. I could hardly call myself a stay at home mom. I work full time plus to get my orders out in a timely fashion and create new pieces.
A walk through my creative process… things just sort of come to me especially when I’m shopping for new fabric. I find fabric I like and then may just buy it even though I have no plan for it… then a few months later I may find something that would go just perfect with it and pick up where I left off. That’s where I am planning for the back to school collection right now. (yes I know we haven't had summer yet... lol) I found the cutest fabric on etsy and just had to have it… it’s been sitting on my work area for a few months and I just found some amazing fall fabric to use with it – then I will go back to the drawing board and figure out just how and where to use the original, unique fabric. My process is not very scientific… I like something, I’m drawn to it for some reason… and then I find a use for it.
Thank you Heather for sharing your story. It reminds us all to go for your dreams and love what you do no matter how hard it may be. Working with Heather, also gave me the chance to see some of the beautiful photography Melissa Rieke has done for Heather and fun headpieces by Melissa from Funky Fabulous Headbands and Glam. Please check them out too!
Thank you to Melissa Rieke Photography
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