Why did I Retire?

I know some of you don’t know that I (we) left the sewing business for a period of time.  Quite recently, a loyal customer from years ago asked why I ‘stopped’ during these years.  I thought, ‘Hmm, that’s interesting!  I wondered how many others of our long-time customers had the same question.”

So here it is.  I wasn't getting any younger (no surprise there) and we'd been traveling (worldwide) by then for close to 20 years.  I was quite tired of living out of suitcases, eating in restaurants, and sleeping in uncomfortable hotel beds.  So we 'retired' - well, at least semi-retired. I always kept busy doing one thing or another, but after having re-painted all the rooms in our home, ripped off dated wall-paper, did a kitchen remodel and 2 bathroom remodels, my husband had had enough.  Next I wanted to rip out a couple of walls and convert 2 rooms into a main-floor master.  He didn't want to.  That was no surprise either.

What to do with myself? Some of you who know me, know I’m always busy doing one thing or another and I’d rather have it be a ‘productive something’.  I decided it was time to give some of my talent and skill back to the community, so I started offering fitting/sewing classes.  You know what happened.  One thing led to another, the ladies wanted the SFD kits/products and of course it all just started to snowball. 

We started investigating how best to get the patterns and books printed.  Of course, the entire industrial printing scene had changed dramatically since even 6 years ago.  Now we could Print on Demand instead of buying 1000's and 1000’s of units. Small quantity purchases now became very reasonable...as long as the product was digitized.  That was the kicker!  After deciding to go forward, we then spent literally months digitizing the books and all the accessory items. 

Also by then, the entire face of the internet had changed as well.  Wes, my husband, has always been ahead of the curve.  Years ago, he used to say to me, ‘Wouldn’t it be fabulous if our ladies could see you over the computer and you could work with them right from here?’  That was long before Skype.  It was also long before YouTube was so readily available and so widely used.  Now we've got these fabulous resources, and I can literally stay at home in the comfort of my own office and sewing studio, and let the Internet reach customers worldwide...and that is exactly what has happened.  I get to sleep in my own bed, eat my own food and I really don't need to travel unless I want to.

Though I miss our month-long winter sojourns to warmer climates, I am thoroughly enjoying being back in the saddle. 

Thanks to all of you, our loyal customers both ‘old and new’, for being a part of our Sure-Fit Designs™ family.