Sewist And Fashion Designer Make A Fortuitous Match
SAINT JOHN — Saint John Sewist Academy has found a new home, and a new name, complete with easy access to a fashion designer neighbour.
Serendipity describes both how ‘The Sewist’, Saint John Sewist Academy’s alternate moniker, came to be located in Saint John’s vibrant Uptown, but also how owner Jacquie Woodruff met Chavah Lindsay, the fashion designer who shares her 62 Water St. space.
After deciding to expand her sewing instruction business last year, Woodruff had plans for a storefront elsewhere in the city. Those plans fell through, but that’s when fate intervened.
“I just happened to be driving down Water Street and saw that the old Paris Crew [art gallery] building was empty,” Woodruff explains. “I came in and saw the space was way bigger than I needed. But at the same time, it was perfect. I ended up messaging with Chavah and said ‘hey, I have this space. Would you be interested in taking the upstairs?’ Well, the rest is history.”
A space to learn and to shop
Along with the original idea of continuing to offer sewing classes and to house Chavah Lindsay fashion upstairs, ‘The Sewist’ has expanded to include a store.
The ground-floor store opened just after Thanksgiving. It offers sewing supplies like fabric shears, embroidery kits and rotary cutters, sewing-themed merchandise like mugs and cards, as well as handmade items like pieces from Lindsay’s collection and some of Woodruff’s fabric art.
The store was an idea that had been on the back burner but the new space, and the new partnership, inspired them to push forward.
“Even before we were open, people were peeking in,” says Lindsay of the storefront, which has a large, street-facing window. “We had a ‘coming soon’ sign and a of couple people opened the door just to ask what was up. So, there’s been interest already, which is nice.”
The stars aligned for the two entrepreneurs when Woodruff and Lindsay met a few years ago at a fashion show held by the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. Lindsay had a collection that was featured in the show and Woodruff was impressed with the pieces.
Lindsay says she and Woodruff inspire each other.
“I went to her fashion show for the first time last year,” Lindsay says of Woodruff’s annual fashion show for her sewing classes that she’s been doing since 2012.
“It was really cool to see because I’d gone to the garment class, the Young Designers, and helped out with that class for the past couple of years. And this year I get to be a part of it!”
Class offerings
The Sewist classes range from a sewing crash course — teaching all the basics to start sewing whatever interests the client — to garment construction classes where everyone follows the same pattern.
Woodruff says the classes appeal to a wide range of ages: older women who are looking for a new hobby after their children have left home, millennials who are both fashion and ecologically conscious, and kids who are learning a new skill.
During Covid, learning to sew was one of the few activities kids could do safely socially distanced at their machines, and business really picked up.
“It’s just nice that the parents can still find an outlet for their creative kids,” says Woodruff. “We’ve kind of created a neat little niche.”
Sewing stories
Their love of sewing and fashion goes back to when they themselves were kids.
Woodruff came from a family of sewers and started getting more interested in the trade after she became a mom.
“I eventually got to a point where I was like – I can share this skill with other people,” she says. “My own daughter has grown up and she fell in love with it too. She’s at Dalhousie right now in her third year doing the costume studies program. So, it’s kind of a generational thing that’s ongoing.”
Lindsay’s journey also started at home, inspired by her grandmother, who was a tailor. After pursuing fashion design in high school and college, Lindsay headed to Ontario to explore the fashion marketing industry there.
“I always knew I wanted to do my own thing,” she says of her designs. “I started my business six years ago and I took it on full time two years ago. And that’s just what I’ve been doing ever since.”
“I did Fashion Week in Toronto this year. It’s been just a growing adventure.”
But the call of home brought Lindsay back to her native New Brunswick, not far from the town where she grew up, St. Stephen. Woodruff isn’t from Atlantic Canada but is excited about the opportunities the region has provided for her so far.
“I love Saint John! We fell in love with the city soon as we moved here, “says Woodruff, who is originally from Alberta. “I’d say it’s a small city that has a very big city feel. And that’s one of the cool things about being Uptown now is it feels like we’re kind of a part of it all, a little more.”
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].