Learning how to sew is making a comeback.
And for a little over a decade, Springs resident and SewHampton owner Kathryn Reid has known that. About 11 years ago, Reid participated as an instructor for a fashion design class being offered at the Ross School, initially enlisted by her daughter, who worked there.
“My career over the last 30 plus years has been as a live event producer, so I am very familiar with putting on events,” she says. “And a lot of parents were coming to me afterwards saying, ‘my child loved this so much, can we book a private lesson?'” Naturally, she obliged to their requests.
It was clear Reid would be able to make a business out of the sewing interest found amongst her community. She quickly trademarked her company name and started doing private lessons out of her home and at the homes of her clients, all while maintaining her event production work… that is until the pandemic hit.
The SewHampton pop-up on Main Street in East Hampton will be up and running three days a week until April 15. (Photos by Emily Toy)
“When Covid happened, all live events shut down,” she says. That summer, while Reid was making and selling masks, she gained a word-of-mouth following amongst a group of moms in Southampton. “I got booked with all of these children during the summer, because they couldn’t go to sleep away camp, so I had a business of giving lessons.” This continued for her up until about a year ago, when Reid learned the Anchor Society in East Hampton was trying to bring small businesses into the hamlet’s downtown that couldn’t afford to have a footprint in the village on their own.
“I thought I would love to do something like this for SewHampton, because I always, from the inception, had thought it would be great to have a space where not only could I give lessons, but I could also do event type things, like, have larger group classes and have it be a real community-based arena.”
And for this upcoming winter season, that’s exactly what she’s going to do.
Reid’s SewHampton is located at 79 Main Street in downtown East Hampton, in the space where Alice + Olivia lives in during the summer. She shares the space with Our Fabulous Variety Show, open on alternating days throughout the week. She’ll be located at the pop up until mid-April, open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays and offering classes to whoever wants to learn, at least twice each day she’s open.
Equipped with enough Brother sewing machines and work stations to accommodate up to six people at a time, Reid offers classes for both adults looking to sharpen their sewing skills (or to pick them back up from years ago) as well as children that are trying sewing for the first time.
“A lot of the people want refreshers,” she says, noting her adult students ages range from mid-20s into mid-80s. “The most popular comment that I get from anyone is ‘my mom used to sew or my grandmother used to sew’ and they want to pick it up again.”
Reid also has children as young as 8 years old as students, noting she gets a lot of parents who want their children to learn how to sew because they’re desperate to get their children off of their screen.
“Sewing is one of those things that has not been replaced with a screen,” she says. “There are computerized machines, yes, that you can touch the screen, use different stitches and all, but you still have to thread that machine. You still have to wind that bobbin, and you still have to physically sit down and put the fabric into the machine and have that experience.”
Novice participants of all ages learn how to operate a sewing machine, with sewing projects including learning how to do zipper and button work, minimal alterations as well as upcycling denim classes plus pillow and bag-making workshops.
Weekly classes include bag-making workshops, sewing machine basics and upcycling demin. (Photos by Emily Toy)
One-on-one classes are also available. A private lesson for 90 minutes is $150, while a semi-private lesson is $100. Group lessons run between $60 and $75 per person, with a maximum of six people per group.
“I’d love to know what people are interested in. I am absolutely open for suggestions of classes or things that people would like to see incorporated. I’m very much into that,” she says. “I want the space to be a community space, so you’re learning something, but you’re also in an atmosphere that is kind of fun and vibrant and creative. We live in such a great area for that, and it’s open to all ages.”
To book a lesson, email [email protected] or call 917-514-8201.
