Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Bates.
Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey as a little sister began… well, the moment I was born. My grandma taught me to sew when I visited for spring break in third grade, and I returned home with big eyes and an eager heart for creating! I turned to my sewing machine to create bags, backpacks, burp cloths, clothing, and everything in between for the next 15 years. My mom bought me my first quilt kit while on vacation in Kentucky. I knew nothing about quilting, but after making that simple quilt decided that of course, I could figure it out on my own! I didn’t know there were people out there creating actual quilt patterns that you could follow, so I headed to the fabric store and dove straight into complicated quilt math, which I managed to get very wrong… I made quilts on and off for the next 5 years and spent a lot of that time watching and soaking up as much information as I could. In April of 2020, I began thinking I should start labeling the quilts that I was gifting. I thought if I was going to start labeling things, I might as well create a logo and a brand and an Instagram and invite others to follow along! It surprisingly did not take long to land on “Little Sister Sewing” as it encompassed what I was doing and who I am! I began just posting what I was doing, with no intentions of selling or designing, but after being home with a toddler and baby who never slept, I began to yearn for something to challenge me. I was more and more drawn to the idea of creating something that was my own but something that could be shared with everyone. I had such a strong desire to bring the traditional skill of sewing back into the modern home, so I began making home decor and selling at markets. Little Sister Sewing has now grown to come alongside others to encourage and help advance their skill sets through patterns and tutorials, as well. My goal is to help others enjoy beautiful, handmade goods – whether they make it themselves or purchase!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Selling at markets is never a smooth road! It was a big learning curve to find out the right questions to ask to be able to understand if a market would be the right fit for me. Even still, a promising market can be a total bust. Bad weather or no advertising has caused for low turnouts; windy days have made displaying products impossible. Seeing someone walk up to my booth with the biggest smile to gush over a certain product or tell me about the quilts their grandmother made for them is such a joy and can really balance those bad days!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in quilting and quilted products and am known for my patchwork hats and my stockings. My patchwork hats are made using tiny 1/4-inch hexagons that I hand sew together into a flower patch. I take pride in the finishing details on all of my products and take my time to research and test everything before offering it to the public!
Contact Info:
- Website: littlesistersewing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlesistersewing/
