Lori Wyllie (center), owner of Sew Much Fun & More,
a sewing store in Boca Raton, is pictured with some of her more
youthful sewing students (back row, from left): Kaitlyn Blade, 13,
Deerfield Beach; Minami Guido, 12, Boca Raton; Megan McGuire, 14,
Boca Raton; Brittany English, 20, FAU student (assistant); (front row, from left),
Kayla Belafonte-Young, 11, Boca Raton; Ricca Lopatukhin, 9, Boca Raton;
and Victoria Fusco, 12, Boca Raton. Photos by Tim Stepien
By Liz Best
Even if you don’t consider yourself a seamstress, the first thing you feel when you walk into Lori Wyllie’s sewing shop is a sense of happiness.
The walls are lined with vibrant bolts of fabric, brightly colored buttons, spools of thread and other sewing notions. A bulletin board is plastered with pictures of smiling children wearing their latest creations from Wyllie’s summer sewing camp.
The second thing you notice is Wyllie herself, a 56-year-old mother of one who opened Sew Much Fun and More on Federal Highway in Boca Raton last November.
Wyllie has been sewing since she was a child and her joy in being the owner and teacher in her own boutique is written all over her smiling face.
But Wyllie didn’t parlay her love of sewing into a business opportunity until she retired from a nearly 20-year corporate career. And she seems to know how to get people into her shop — and how to keep them coming back.
Not only does she sell fabric and notions, she also has an inventory of high-end Brother sewing machines for sale and offers group and private lessons for budding seamstresses of pretty much any age.
Her summer sewing camp, Project Runway, attracted girls ranging in age from 8 to 14. Her individual classes and adult group lessons are popular with people who are looking to revamp their wardrobes with something of their own creation that costs only a fraction of department store prices.
“I mean, you can spend $35 on fabric and make your own or you can go to Macy’s and spend $100 on a dress,” said Wyllie, who lives in Boca Raton with her husband, Mark.
She saw a resurgence of interest in sewing over the past few years, which she says is based on a pretty simple string of events.
Many female Baby Boomers, after choosing the briefcase and office job over domestic activities, are now staring at an empty nest and have the time and money to pay for classes to learn the basics of sewing.
Wyllie also says the lousy economy has more people taking inventory of clothes they already have and looking for ways to revamp them.
Lori Wyllie (right), owner of Sew Much Fun & More,
works with student Kayla Belafonte-Young, 11, of Boca Raton.
Wyllie feels lucky to have learned the beauty of mastering her own wardrobe at an early age.
Her first sewing memory was when she was 2 years old. Her grandmother had a now-classic Singer sewing machine and Wyllie played on the machine’s treadle — while her grandmother was using it.
“She obviously found that annoying, so one day she pulled me up into her lap and started showing me how to use it,” said Wyllie.
Wyllie’s light-bulb moment came in second grade when her mother gave her an ultimatum: “She said, ‘You can either have your sister’s hand-me-downs or I’ll get you some fabric and teach you how to sew.’”
Wyllie chose the make-your-own-clothes route and by the time she was 12, had graduated from simple projects like skirts to a sophisticated pink suit.
When she launched her summer camp for kids, Wyllie offered theme classes such as Re-Do Re-Use Week (bring in dad’s old shirt and turn it into a cute dress), Look Ma No Pattern Week (work with ideas rather than patterns) and Pay It Ahead Week (make items to donate to charity).
And her group and individual lessons attract people of all ages — kids, Baby Boomers and grandmothers.
Advertising executive Barbara Giannattasio of Boca Raton is one of the Baby Boomers who takes adult group lessons on Saturday mornings.
So far, Giannattasio, who had never sewed a stitch before last January, has made two blouses, a skirt and is working on a dress made from an organic cotton blend fabric she found in Wyllie’s shop.
She says Wyllie is the perfect teacher, with the patience of Job and an encyclopedic knowledge of her craft.
“She knows everything.” Ú
In Coasting Along, our writers stop to reflect on life along the shore.
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