I Started A Business & Made A Reasonable Living At It After Just 17 Yrs lol || Victorian Velvet Coat
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Free class: foundationsrev...
In which I spill the tea on my business journey... how it started, how it's going, and just how long it took to make it my full time gig.
Music:
'The Twelve Spies' by Silver Maple
'Solskenvals' by Sandra Marteleur
'Be Still' by Harley Rain
'Fading Star' by Lama House
'Spiral Dynamics' by Lama House
'The Orchard' by Jakob Ahlbom
'Let There Be Rain' by Silver Maple
'Autumn Ends' by Alfie-Jay Winters
(All from Epidemic Sound)
Edited by Sophie Black at @triskellepictures
/ @triskellepicturesuk
You can also follow me and see my own sewing on Instagram:
/ cathy.hay
Your letters and cards are welcome at this address:
Cathy Hay
c/o Harman Hay Publications Ltd
1 Northumberland Avenue
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5BW
United Kingdom
Please don't send parcels - the fees to have them imported/forwarded to me are expensive! Contact me first if it's something special or important.
Thank you, thank you, to everyone who has sent something to me. It is deeply valuable to read your words in your own handwriting and hold them in my hands. It helps me to connect to who you really are, and what you really need from me. I read, enjoy and treasure every one. Thank you.
![ตีสิบเดย์ [FULL] | นางเอกหมอลำเงินล้าน "อุ๋งอิ๋ง เพชรบ้านแพง" & ไฮโซสาวสุดฮอต "ลิลลี่ เหงียน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jPxQS_EgrJ4/mqdefault.jpg)
I remember reading about couture dresses costing $50k+ and just being blown away. Now that I've seen what goes into acquiring the luxury fabrics and materials and the time and effort into creating this work of art, it doesn't seem unreasonable at all. Especially when you consider that many of the big fashion houses will have an entire team of artisans doing all the hours and hours of work to make these dresses.
Right - it's a big work of art. Thank you for seeing that!
This community is the reason I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and trying my hand at making my own garment with zero skill and a little bit of knowledge. I finished making my second mock-up skirt just a few days ago and it's looking so good already. Thanks for being an inspiration.
I bet switching between the frames helps the overall work come out more evenly! I always notice that on anything I do repetitively, the first section isn’t as neat/practiced/confident as later ones. By working on the pieces interchangeably, you’re increasing how much their looks will blend together style-wise.
Yes, I hope so!
Always a pleasure to see an update for this project. Any time I have turned a hobby into a job/profit I have always wound up hating the hobby. Hopefully this class will help avoid that. I'm looking forward to it.
That's so common. I'm looking forward to meeting you in the class, I look forward to hearing more and giving you some pointers!
Yep, never going to be making a hobby into a business, again
Mom and I used to do alterations on wedding and prom dresses, after a while I hated the idea of doing a wedding dress. Prom dresses are usually just taking up the hem. Now I just do small things, hems n zippers and easy stuff. I won’t touch major stuff on a wedding dress, people are too opinionated and rude these days.
@@tenaoconnor7510I think weddings have become something unhealthy for women. Every time I see them come up, people say some version of, "This is your one special day." It used to be understood as a celebration for two families, not a day of worship for the bride. When you get told over and over that it's supposed to be your _one_ perfect day where everything is about you, you'll probably become a horrible combination of entitled and so tense you twang in the wind.
I am in awe of your work! I grew up in the 60s and 70s learning from my mom and grandmother how to do every type of needle work except for lace making. Me and my middle sister spent a lot of time learning the crafts. I stepped away from needlework for many years and just this last year, took up knitting again, and then sewing, buying my first sewing machine since I gave mine away back in 2008. Now, I create jackets and bags using salvaged textiles, so as to not add to the landfill. I spend a lot of time repairing some of the textiles, although I do not use vintage because they will just degrade after washing. With all the time I spend and the hand work I do I charge anywhere between $100 and $250 for each jacket. Not a week goes by that I don’t get comments about overcharging and that someone could find a jacket at the local department store that would do just fine. But then I meet those people who appreciate the handmaid quality and don’t have any trouble selling my goods. My point is that those of us who do hand work whether it’s with fabric or wood or whatever should never compromise in order to meet the lowest common denominator in the customer crowd.
My younger sister (a marriage and family therapist) had an absolute cow when she asked what I charged an hour for a landscape design. Insulting me by telling me I made more than her and because I had less education I didn’t deserve it. I smiled and asked her if she loved what she did because a lot of people make more than her and hate their jobs. Always competitive.
If they want an op shop they can go there lol, or if they want to try make it they can. It's silly to complain to you.
I love this video title! After just 17 years? 😂 I do love the coat, though. I’ve enjoyed your process straight through!
It's like the 'overnight success ' of an actor who has been in bit parts for 17 years and only now gets a proper part
I hope the business continues to work for you. I find your videos very calming. Thank you...
To get that slightly poofed look with the stems. A laying tool or needle under the thicker stem threads as you couch it down, or just as you are doing. You're doing just fine.
That technique reminds me of using a toothpick or large needle under a flat button when sewing it on to a thicker fabric to create a button shank.
Sewswithdolls, I do exactly the same. I'm sure my Gran would have done that too and she was a streamstress
It must feel splendid and nerve wracking to recreate something no one has recreated before
It does! I don't know whether I'm the first to attempt it; as a well known museum piece, many others have used it as inspiration for modern work; I can't be the first to try to recreate it as is. But maybe?
you're an artist with the patience of a saint :-)
I have friends who are in the coaching/wellness fields and there's a similar mindset there too. They feel they 'ought' to be poor and humble, rather than charging what they are actually worth
Right Kiki - I'm sorry to hear that. It's first and foremost a mindset issue.
@@CathyHay being a 'professional' lady, I don't have that problem. I do my best to persuade them that they give a service and thus energy, so that energy needs to come back to them in the form of cash, but it's really like they want to suffer
@@kikidevine694 It's a deeply rooted thing. I'm glad you're able to charge what you're worth though!
I’m watching you do the puffy couching on the stems and I’d like to suggest that you lay the couched threads over a cocktail stick or thin straw as this will give you uniform puffs if that is desired. Love the coat - just stunning.
Those leaves need to be filled a bit more, looking at thr owigingal it appears to have spokes more tightly spaced and more of them per leaf. Also I beleived the puffy shape of the couched stems aappear after the original was removed from the frame, worn and handled for a few decades; and the stitches stayed taught enough to hold it down and cinch in the fullness of a potentially flufffier cord. The couched thread always loosens, especially in long applications such as stems. In cases where the couched thread is itself essentially couching a padded form the couching doesnt loosen at all, even if form is wider than an inch.
This was a wonderful discussion about following your dreams, learning what your dreams can (or might) pay for, and has the added bonus of "Cathy sets up the camera, and then throws herself over the leg of the chair" moment!
I just started my journey of taking my hobby of sewing into a business. The lessons I learnt from for running my cake decorating business. I'm taking to taking to sewing. I need to be paid my worth. I'm looking forward to the online class.
You know the landscape then - this isn't your first rodeo and you know better now. I'm excited for what's possible for you in that space!
I love the flap, as they say piecing is period! lol i purposely use that method for some of my modern alternative clothing to give it some character as well as make an item fit when its a few inches too small. i really loved the idea when i learned about piecing in historical sewing. it's helped me a lot in crisis that like i said ive used it in my everyday form of clothes but in a way that none notice because it literally hidden or part of the design.
Oh yes! It isn't the same without a *bit* of piecing right?
I trained as an actor, so I'm NO stranger to the whole starving artist bit. And every time I've tried to find some other path, it still ends up being something creative and all the perfect-for-me jobs I ever see posted are INVARIABLY volunteer positions. I'm now trying to make a go of this youtube thing, which I don't see becoming a regular job (my crafts are too varied to get the numbers), but I would still like to do it better, and I'd like to branch out to other things like digital products. But I definitely get lost in the getting started and keeping everything straight bits.
All of which is to say, I'm excited for this one!
Never point out your mistakes. Most people won’t notice them. A true artist/craftsman makes them, but disguises or repairs them in ways that unless you point them out isn’t noticeable. Of course if the mistake is a teachable moment, then yes use it. Thanks for a lovely video as always. Your needlework is wonderful, at least to my uneducated eyes. Love how it is turning out.
Broadly speaking I agree, *and* it's always a teaching moment here. I've heard and seen how people are inclined to put someone in a well edited video on a pedestal, so it's important to me to keep "betraying" my shortcomings (ie. humanness).
@@CathyHayJust found you today, what a pleasure to see your artistry. I laughed because I’ve done that before but by the time the seams are sewn a quarter of an inch may show on the outside. No one knows but me.
Cathy, you are a real artist! Not too many people possess your skills as a seamstress. You are so much more, and you bring delight to people's lives! Sophisticated, charming, modest, intelligent, sensible, creative, beautiful, etc. etc.
The Royal Coat is fit for a Queen! I ❤❤❤ the hand embroidery on the purple velvet! No matter how much frustration you had to deal with in creating this coat, it was worth it because it truly is a masterpiece.🤗🤗🤗💗
This is such a beautiful project. I had a dream one night when I answered my front door, wearing a long sleeve velvet devoré gown, very much like this one. The next day, I asked my mum for a sewing machine. That was in 2015. My mother was astonished. I hate needlework or any of those related subjects. I lost my mum in 2016. The sewing machine intimidates me and pulses malevolently from the back bedroom.
Have you thought about making something to remember your mum by? Perhaps a memrial teddy bear using some of her clothes
@w.dossett3332 luckily, I have some of her things, so I don't have to rely on my appalling sewing skills! Most importantly of all, I have a letter that I asked her to write to me a few Christmas's before she passed. In it, she tells me how much she loves me and how proud she is of me. And at the end, she's written, 'and if you think I'm going to write more of this soppy twaddle, you've got another think coming'. It made me laugh so much! I have written stuff from my dad, too, but because he died suddenly when I was 23, there's nothing specifically to me, except a couple of birthday cards.
@@itsacarolbthing5221 you are very lucky indeed. I only have some hand written labels on gifts I had the forsight to keep from my Dad. I wish I had asked him to write me a letter, but I was too busy nursing him and making him comfortable.
I am sure one day you may feel the urge to use your machine.
I have been sewing since I was five years old sat on my Nan's knee, sadly I lost her when I was eleven. I still sew and I still love it.
I'm so sorry you lost your Mum, loosing parents at any age is hard isnt it.
@w.dossett3332 it's a pain like no other. Foolishly, as I was really close to my dad, I thought after losing him that losing my mum wouldn't be as difficult. I lost 13 friends and family from Feb 2016 to Dec 2019, including my mum, her sister and brother. I've never felt as completely alone since losing my mum. It's such a profound loss. I have so many great memories, though. I still consider myself to be very lucky. Love to you ❤️
@@itsacarolbthing5221 my dad was my best friend my whole life. My mum was a very cruel lady to me, but it didnt stop me nursing her too.
The pain for me, is lifelong. I lost my Dad in 2018 and I still cry. Like you though I class myself as very blessed.
I hope your life is fulfilling.
You have lost of people from your life, I am so sorry for you.
I hope your life is happy
I would love to listen to more stories about your wedding dress business. So interesting! Thank you for sharing ❤
Also, just signed up to the free workshop. Can't wait! :)
Thank you! I might share a few more. See you in the workshop!
SO EXCITED that you guys are doing a workshop on this subject, I have been running a small tailor shop out of local thrift shops, and I love it! I am running into some business issues however! So any sort of advice on this is soooooooo welcomed! Thank you Kathy and FDR team!
Excellent, that sounds like fun! I'll be so happy to help!
What is FDR?
@@CynthiaN.6005 whoops! I meant foundation’s revealed. 🤣🤣🤣 I guess it’s just FR.
I keep missing the classes but hopefully I'll be able to catch this one!
Darling Cathy, I adore watching this series and feel like one of your cheerleaders - I've been watching you for about 5 years - or is it even longer? As I started watching you before the Bernadette Banner collab. And as much as I cheer you on for your work, I worry too about your voice - it seems like it took a step backward; And I just worry about your psyche and how YOU are doing? Hugs from a friend
Thank you, that's very kind of you, and thank you for sticking with me all this time! This month was quite quiet, I was quite isolated here, and in the church in the previous month, so I didn't use my voice as much and it took a little step back. Now that I'm back in Colorado it's come out to play again. It comes and goes, but I'm very well in myself thank you!
@CathyHay since I know for sure I can't be physically present and can only see the recording later, do I still sign up for the class with "save my seat" or is there something else that I should do?
@@Hellion912 If you sign up you'll be on the mailing list to get both the reminders and the recording afterwards. 🙂
Hello, I too was hoping you are well. I follow you and love your videos and your gifts.
My Granny got her wedding dress from Marshall and Snelgrove in 1939❤
Aww! I've heard so many stories - apparently they were quite the posh place!
@@CathyHay yes. We've come down in the world quite a lot since then😊
Another little serving of joy awatching the embroidery grow. Thank you.
Thank you Teddy, i appreciate you!
Cathy love seeing the embroidery come to life. So glad you chose a new project where you could achieve the embroidery yourself and show that using historical garments as inspiration to create your own garments is possible. Looking forward to your master class.
Thank you Natalie.
Just reserved my seat! Thank you so much for talking about the bread and butter of the business side of life.
You are so welcome! Looking forward to seeing you there.
I’ve been running my biz since 1999. You are absolutely right the challenges are unique and only those doing it understand it.
Always a pleasure to see your work and glad you are in a position to work as and where you like.
Always such a pleasure to see you update. I love listening to how you see the world, and I always learn something new from you. I definitely will be getting a recording of that workshop: I've had people tell me for years to turn my craft (knitting, spinning, general fiber tomfoolery) into a business, but taking direct commissions would never work. Nobody could pay enough to keep me afloat. Maybe I can learn from you how to make my joy in craft a larger part of my life than an evening hobby.
That's exactly the big question - how to get off the commission treadmill as much as you choose. There are lots of ways to make a joy in craft a bigger part of your life! See you there!
Love to watch you work. It is very calming and grounding.
Thank you Linda!
Stunning Artistry, SO BEAUTIFUL
Can't wait!
11:30 Nobodies noticed because we are goblins and are going "Oooooh shiny!" as you work on the stitching.
You are definitely a talented artist! I am a quilter, and used to have an Etsy shop. So i totally understood about the money issue. I have found that people are cheap. Especially now with the economy, and money being tight. So, now i just do my hobby for gifts.
Lovely to see this coat coming to life ❤️🎉
Thank you Lynne!
I love your videos Cathy never change for anyone ❤
This video is giving me Northern Mudlarks vibes!! They do such beautiful editing.
Cathy, it's a pleasure to learn from you. I have tracked your journey and greatly enjoy your observations about the adventure you live. It is rare that someone can capably assume the roles of both artist and business person. I greatly appreciate that you have vanquished that myth! It is a true contribution to be the living example for us, but it is oh so much more meaningful that you choose to share your knowledge in a way that is wise and loving. God bless you!
Thank you so much, what a kind and eloquent comment!
I just discovered your channel. I'm no aspiring needleworker or seamstress, but I really appreciate your beautifully shot videos. Thank you for sharing!
I have been looking for a resource like this for the last 18 months - thank you, thank you, thank you for being willing to share and for making this resource FREE. I’ve seen so many resources where people lock all the knowledge behind a pricey wall and there are no guarantees their advice is helpful (particularly when their business is all about targeting new businesses) or relevant to the creative field. I already really enjoy your videos and I’m really excited to find this!
You're very welcome! It's a big subject but I think it warrants this kind of attention.
How professional embroiders do it? Is how out wonderful, talented and very generous Ms. Hay does it!
You are far too kind, I am very much making it up as I go. Thank you for enjoying it though!
I want to thank you for this video. I have been a musician all my life. Talking about improving and changing perception regarding what is fair and seeing the value and the skill and helping people understand.
So delightful to see the embroidery coming along! Have you discussed what you’ll be lining the coat with (if anything)? If the outer layer wasn’t so fabulous I imagine there would be a temptation to simply use the mock-up, but that sumptuous velvet deserves an equally sumptuous inner layer.
Hi! It's going to be a white silk lining if I follow the original. 😄
So fun to see an update! The music you chose in this video is particularly lovely.
Thank you, kudos to Sophie the Editor! @triskellepictures
A pleasure , dear Cat . Always
Wow interesting!!!! Helpful for self taught person
oh wow, I'm so happy that I came across this video. Both your craft and the videography is mezmerising. Just absolutely gorgeous. I've started my business a few months ago so I'll absolutely be joining the class.
Your story, work, and eye for detail are an inspiration. A couple of months back, I posted an insensitive comment referencing the dress that shall not be named and felt terrible about it afterward because I wrongly neglected to think about how difficult that situation must have been for you. Thank you for sharing this content in a day and age when people don't think about the challenges of handmaking beautiful garments and your methods. My apologies for being snarky; it taught me to remember that TH-cam is from real creators and not produced like content from mega corporations on TV,
Thank you Clark, that means the world to me, it really does. Thank you for sharing that thought so vulnerably.
Your photography of all of the delicate stitching is beautiful. It's so crisp and sharp and close it leaves no questions about how to do that stitch properly. The scenery of the places you've been staying is incredible and particular this one in the cottage. Thank you for your backstory I've always wondered. I also wonder how in the world you got the patience to do a project like this or the lovely things that you replicate. Your videos are so soothing and your voice explaining what you're doing as you go and explaining your life in general is comforting. I feel like a friend sitting in your parlor with my tea and my beautiful gown on, stitching on beautiful fabric with beautiful threads. Thank you.
Very relatable video! I have been developing my dressmaking business for 10 plus years alongside my NHS career. I am a trained health professional but a self taught dressmaker. Several years ago, I dropped hours in my NHS job to focus more time on my dressmaking but have recently returned to full time compressed hours. I’m always torn as I love my NHS job, but I love dressmaking too - however the NHS job is a steady reliable income and the dressmaking commissions aren’t - not to mention my struggles with charging an appropriate fee for my dressmaking time which as Cathy said, ends up being pocket money vs amount of time dedicated to each project! Thank you for sharing 😇
Thank you for sharing Jonni, bless you and thank you for your service to the NHS! You must have boundless energy to do both! Hopefully I can help inspire you into a way to make it work, if you're thinking of coming to the class!
Your embroidery looks beautiful 😻 more patience than I have. My grandma taught me to embroider among other crafts. Anticipating seeing the finished coat next year❤ Traveling around to different places looks like an amazing time.😊 Getting to see different places is a pipe dream for me. I’ve worked paycheck to paycheck all my life, no extra money to travel. I have to travel through the camera of others lol.
After almost eight years at my day job and dealing with an increasingly abusive supervisor for the last two years I decided it was time to leave. That was two months ago. Now at almost 60 (birthdays tomorrow) I’m starting over. My daughter wants to start an Etsy shop, nice idea but will it pay the bills?. Right now I’m trying to clear out a lifetime of being a clutter bug from my house and make my sewing /crafting room usable again. My savings will last maybe till the end of this year but I’m looking at getting a part time job for now. My bills aren’t too bad but winter is coming. It would be nice to know how to turn something I enjoy doing into a feasible business. I will have to check out your website.😊
Thank you for inspiring my own adventures into embroidery!
You are so welcome! Thank you for being here!
This is a great video and thank you for bringing up the point about art and business. One of the best decisions I made was to take businesses classes in college. That's what made me successful. If you are in the the US. We have the SBA and they offer business advice for little or no cost. She's absolutely right. Creative works deserve the pay.
Oh! This has always been one of my favorite pieces of antique clothing; what a joy to think of you wearing one of your own!
Lovely to see another color go on! The bumps on those stems look just like the reference. What is your plan for the white lace panels?
Thank you! I have a great lace sample from a company local to me in Derbyshire who have been making lace on the same looms since 1845. Very excited about that - more to come!
New subscriber. Im so happy I found your channel and look forward to learning your story. Binge watching = nothing getting done on my end.
I’m thinking of getting velvet for a pillow covering and doing some embroidery. Maybe use velvet I already have, not purple. Small scale project!
Absolutely stunning. Just found you, and you are my new favorite!
I do so enjoy your videos. The coat is really coming along and is so beautiful, you are so brave to take on such a project
Thank you so much!
I LOVE this video!!! What a pleasure!!!Thank you!!!
FAbulous video.... such artistry!
Such a great class topic! Love your vulnerable honesty on your long journey to running a sustainable creative business.
Thank you, I appreciate that very much!
Thank you for everything Cathy!
Just found this, amazing project thank you
I've just signed up! I've been struggling to get off my feet with my small business, can't wait 😊
What a wonderful video. So interesting.
every time i see you in those suspenders, i desperately want a pair of my own.
I used to embroider quite a bit. Don't do it now bc my vision isn't up to it. Miss my Teresa Wentzler tapestry making.
Im really enjoy your udates 😊
Thank you so very much for sharing this
Happy Birthday🎉. By the way did you do the Durango to Silvertown Steam Train when you were in that part of the USA? Wonderful video and lots of inspiration. Thank you J
This is just timeless. Remarkable work!
Just beautiful✨
Awesome 👍🏾😅
Beautiful work 👏😮
I was born in Southport in 1940 where there was a huge Marshal and Snelgrove store on Lord St, the main (and famous) street, which had been copied by the boulevards of Paris.Sadly the building was sold to Broadbents, and then another store whose name I have forgotten.
So inspiring! Thank you so much❤️♾️❤️
Thanks for watching!
You are such a beautiful soul ❤❤❤
I can't wait for that ;).
What a cool project! The colours are beautiful! I always wonder, with pieces like this, if they're ever meant to be worn (more than once) and cleaned, folded, ironed etc? I would definitely want to wear it after putting in so much work! I hope you get to wear & enjoy it when it's done :)
reminds me of my 30yr old dressing gown, same colour, but my dressing gown has bleach marks on it giving it a pattern of sorts
Amazing beautiful.
Cool 😀
Unfortunately can't make the live stream (In Australia) so hoping I can see the recording.
Sorry about that, I do try to make it so it's during the day for most of the English speaking world, but it is early morning for you! If you sign up you'll get a link to the recording on Friday morning. 🙂
Flowers 💐🌹🌸🌺🌻🪷🪻🥰
“No one on the internet has noticed” she says, telling the whole internet 😂
OMG! It’s so inspirational 🥰
How Beautiful
I thought you had ran out of the cotton backing. I also don't tend to leave comments on videos because I have been getting spam.
Never again will a wedding gown pass through these hands. The last one was easily a $60,000.00 gown for which my partner and I charged $25,000.00 plus supplies. The last minute alterations (the bride lived 2000 miles away) she had lost 3" from her waist! one week before the wedding....
Never again.
The people that made my dress only did the first layer and the embroidery some time before the wedding (maybe 2 months before?). They said that every bride would change sizes every week before the wedding, so they schedule the wedding dress work for the week before the wedding.
❤😊 bon travail, investigations, respect (je ne comprends pas tous les commentaires)❤❤❤😊
Kick that starvation to the curb. I believe in unions, and I also believe in talking in an open, honest manner about the perception and value of the arts that it enrich is the community and the beauty and gives has a value, and everybody deserves to get paid for what value they give to society
I still miss the dress, who's name i can not say. Nice to see you, tho.
Can I ask a personal question? Do you have spasmodic dysphonia? I think I can hear it, but not 100% sure.
I do, yes. Six years now. Thank you for noticing and being compassionate about it!
@CathyHay the doctors thought that I had it. I suffered for 3 years, and I couldn't take it anymore, I was ready to have botox in my vocal cords, but I decided to see "just one more" doctor. He said that he thought that's what I had, but he wanted to eliminate the possibility of acid reflux. I had no symptoms of that, but what's it going to hurt taking Omprazole for a few months just to see. After the first month I had about a 50% improvement and after 3 months it was gone. I had and still haven't had any symptoms of gerd/acid reflux, so I don't know how it worked, but it did. I have been free of the spasms for about 6 months, and if it happens again, I just take opeprazole for 3-6 months. If it doesn't go away, then they will do further tests. I truly sympathize with you. I had it so bad that I could hardly get any words out. Sending you virtual hugs 🫂... I wish it was as easy as taking heartburn medication for everyone.
Have you changed residency?
👍👍👍👍
Can’t seem to find that link to the class….?
foundationsrevealed.com/workshop 🙂
AMSR