The Saint Louis Fashion Fund is excited to begin exploring small batch production right here in our incubator. Reuben Reuel, one of our inaugural designers, currently produces all of his clothing in our mezzanine. His extremely talented seamstress Camille moved here from New York to continue working with Rueben. Watching their successful partnership brought the realization that all the designers would benefit from having their production directly upstairs from their office and studios. The challenge was finding talented sewers and pattern makers here in St. Louis. Our city, once full of sewing talent, has all but dispersed to other regions.
One of our goals is to change this. On July 18th, in conjunction with St. Louis Mosaic and International Institute of St. Louis, we invited all local experienced sewers and pattern makers to visit the Saint Louis Fashion Incubator for what became our first “Sewing Summit.” We conducted extensive searches – we called and visited dozens of tailors, sewing rooms, and fabric shops - to find experienced sewers all over the city. Over 25 people showed up to take a sewing test facilitated by our team. Their work was then evaluated by the Incubator’s designers. Interpreters were on hand for those who did not speak English to assist with the interview process.
