Teaching Sewing...

I always swore I would never become a teacher. My mother was an english teacher, and my father was the head of the math department at my highschool. I was doing math puzzles before I could talk and to this day I have an uncanny ability to score really high on IQ tests without trying at all. I went into fashion because I wanted to make things, not teach.

But lately I've started giving sewing lessons at my studio, and much to my surprise... I really love it! It's awesome to watch people learning a new skill, getting excited about stuff they've made themselves - and when people tell me that they learned how to sew with me, I feel really good! I was often disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm in my teachers at university. I imagined that they would all be Edith Head look-alikes who eat slept and breathed fashion. But more often than not they were slightly bored by their jobs and definitely disillusioned by the fashion industry. I never want to be that kind of teacher. I want to inspire people to create and to experiment and enjoy themselves. I want to be patient. I definitely don't want to discourage or dishearten them. I want my criticisms to be constructive.

I'm writing this here so that I have a record. I want to remind myself that learning a new skill can be daunting for people and that it is a privilege to be helping someone to learn that skill. Fingers crossed I won't forget that!