Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Vial.
Elizabeth, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was first introduced to sewing when I was a little girl, watching my Mimi at her sewing machine. When I was young, I remember her mostly mending things, but I also remember costumes that she had made when my mom was a little girl that I would play in! Together, we made a couple of pillowcases, but never anything much more than that. When I was in high school, I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday. My mom picked out a starter machine for me, and I remember getting ideas and attempting to sew them up with a super carefree attitude (and little to no knowledge of what I was doing!). Needless to say, my garments looked very handmade and I eventually resigned my sewing machine to be used for little more than to narrow the width of a school spirit beefy tee every now and then. My machine spent many years in the bottom of a cabinet, but when I graduated from the University of Oklahoma and moved to Texas, for some reason, it was a top priority for me to bring my sewing machine along with me. It remained mostly unused until the spring of 2016, when I was online trying to hunt down a dress that had sold out online in my size. I somehow stumbled across someone who had found a very similar fabric and created their own version of the dress. I was pleasantly stunned, and fell down a rabbit hole that ultimately lead to a Facebook Group based around women who were creating their own clothing based off of ideas they’d gotten while shopping with well-known retailers. A sew-along was set to start up, and I ordered the fabric and pattern I wanted to use and jumped right in.
The first dress I made took me about 8 weeks to finish, but I took my time and ended up with a garment with beautiful interior finishes (MUCH nicer looking than the finishes on the garments I’d attempted previously, with no real idea what I was doing!) that I felt so proud to wear in public. Something clicked in my brain, and a new hobby was born with a fervor! As time went on, I wanted to share some of the things I’d made, but didn’t want to bombard my friends and family that may not be interested, so I ended up creating an Instagram dedicated solely to my new “me-made” garments at the end of the summer of 2016. My account was affectionately named Pins & Pinot, as an ode to my mutual love for sewing and wine! As I began sharing my garments, I fell in love with the positivity and creativity of the online sewing community, and as I began to work towards a new goal of creating an entirely handmade wardrobe, I felt that I had more to say about the things that I was making than I could capture in an Instagram caption.
In October of 2017, my Pins & Pinot blog was born! Though my goal was never more lofty than to simply share the things that I have enjoyed making, the last 8 months working on my blog have lead to opportunities I could never have imagined. I’ve had the honor of partnering with more than 10 different pattern companies and 5 different fabric stores and designers. I was chosen from a large group of applicants to be one of 7 leaders of an international, year-long sewing project called Sew My Style that features one pattern per month to be made by participants around the globe. Most recently, I have been interviewed to be featured in two well-known sewing magazines, one in the UK and one here in the US! It’s truly incredible how large your interests and hobbies can grow if you can find the confidence to just put yourself out there!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This is a hard one to answer – I truly never intended my hobby to be anything more than that, simply a hobby! I think this has been one reason that I’ve not encountered many struggles along the way. When I began the Pins & Pinot account on Instagram, it came from two places – one was a desire to spare my friends that weren’t interested from a deluge of sewing related posts, but the other was simply a desire to catalog the things that I was making for my own reference. Though I followed other sewists and often turned to their accounts for inspiration when considering new projects, I truly never imagined that anyone would want to follow me! Each time I hit any sort of milestone – 100 followers, 1000 followers, – I was truly humbled and shocked! The first time another sexist reached out to me to collaborate on a project, the first time a designer asked if I’d like to sew up some of her fabric (for free!) and participate in a promotional blog tour for her newest line of designs, the first time I was approached with a request to partner with a retailer for paid, sponsored blog posts… the original response that is formed in my head starts with something along the lines of “They must’ve gotten in contact with the wrong person… right?!” I continue to feel so honored and humbled that other see such value in a hobby that brings me so much joy. My biggest hurdle continues to be finding the right balance between commitments. I want to say a big huge YES to every opportunity that comes across my inbox! However, I am also a full-time nurse with some pretty odd and demanding hours, a wife to the best husband of all time, and I am currently 5 months pregnant with our first baby! My time is limited, and it is important to me to maintain a balance between the things I am making simply for myself, and the things that I am making as part of a partnership.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Pins & Pinot – what should we know?
Pins & Pinot is a sewing blog, highlighting my journey through learning to sew with the goal of eventually creating a fully handmade wardrobe. I sew specifically for myself, with the occasional “selfless sewing” project for a close friend or family member. I love to work with Indie pattern designers and small business fabric shops to support and promote other makers in the sewing community. I believe that one thing that sets me apart from the other many talented sewing bloggers in the community is that I’m not afraid to play with color and bold prints in my clothing! I also strive to provide an honest review of the patterns and fabrics used in my garments, as well as my own process. I’ve only been sewing for just over 2 years, and there is always so much more to be learned! Unfortunately, not every project turns out perfect, but I think it is important to share the losses right alongside the wins. Today, I am most proud of the confidence that Pins & Pinot has brought me.
From the day I started sewing for myself, I this hobby has been a great way to step away from the stresses of life and simply immerse myself in something that makes me feel happy. I can be very hard on myself when I feel that I am spending time on activities that aren’t productive, so the fact that my hobby results in tangible, wearable results is an added bonus. The confidence I feel when wearing something I’ve made from scratch has only been magnified since transitioning to sharing these on the blog. As someone who is not fond of having my photo taken or talking much about myself, writing about things that I have done and shared pictures of my projects on a blog seems like something that should be totally out of my wheelhouse… and at first, it probably was! I look back now and I can see a notable difference in the confidence in my face in photos taken a year ago versus those taken today. Another great example of the unforeseen end results of really immersing yourself in a hobby!!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Without a doubt, passion is the only reason that Pins & Pinot has turned into what it is today. I can honestly say that if tomorrow, I woke up and all of my wonderful blog partnerships and sponsorships were to end, and no one cared to follow my posts on Instagram, it wouldn’t matter – I would keep doing what I am doing and making new things. I sew clothing because I love to sew clothing; I share the things I make on my blog because I enjoy sharing the process. Though the partnerships and sponsorships are certainly incredible, I didn’t begin Pins & Pinot with them in mind! I simply set out to do something that I love and to do it for myself – everything else has fallen into place in such a beautiful way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pinsandpinot.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pinsandpinot
Image Credit:
Seed Visual
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