SEW FUN
Writer / Shelly Sack Photography Provided
It may have started as a fun activity to do with her daughter, but Valerie Salmon has expanded her lifelong passion for sewing into a small business. A Sewing Studio occupies a quaint storefront in the Village of WestClay in Carmel and caters to children aged seven to 12, but even teens take classes. The business grew from its inception in Salmon’s nearby home in 2012 to a commercial location in 2016. As a child, Salmon grew up around her mother’s tailoring shop in the Philippines, where she learned the craft from talented seamstresses and tailors. She made doll clothes when she was young, and grew with her skills to make prom dresses and eventually evening gowns. “It was a fluke thing,” says Salmon of starting a children’s sewing school. “I had an elementary school-age daughter and
A Sewing Studio Sows the Seeds of Creativity
taught her friends to sew. I thought it was fun for the kids. Sewing is kind of a dying art, and I’ve been around it my entire life and wanted to pass it down to another generation. I had no idea it was going to be a hit.”
to A Sewing Studio for years. While they’re busy having fun, the students are focused, following directions, learning machine mechanisms and patience through mistakes, using math skills and mastering hand-eye coordination.
When the kids’ pickup time resulted in cars circling her home-based business, it was time to find a larger space. Now, with a son entering his senior year in high school and a daughter attending classes at Indiana University, Salmon remains as busy as ever.
Salmon says the simple act of sewing can be therapeutic and relaxing.
To her students she is known as Miss Valerie, and her once-per-week classes are attended by 75 to 100 children during the school year with a curriculum she developed. Self-paced projects include clothes, bags, zipper pouches, stuffed animals and even aprons. “I keep it fun or they will lose interest,” Salmon says. Some of her students have been coming 26 / CARMEL MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2020 / atCarmel.com
“The hour goes by so fast, and they’re never ready to leave,” she says. “They’re around people with similar interests, music is playing, and they’re chatting, roaming and watching other projects. They might be standing, pinning, cutting - there’s some snacking going on. It’s their time to unwind from busy school activities. It’s their fun hour.” A Sewing Studio also offers camps, weekend workshops and birthday sewing parties. For these events, Salmon precuts the chosen craft materials and the students go home with their finished projects.
