Sonya was recently interviewed by StyleArc for their International Women's Day blog series. You can read the interview below.
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Q: When you think back, what people, moments, or experiences helped shape you into the maker and business owner you are today?  My grandmother and my mother are the obvious answers - growing up around women who sewed out of necessity and made them well left a real impression on me as a maker. They introduced me to the satisfaction of taking a piece of fabric and transforming it into a piece of clothing that fits well. But as a business owner, my dad shaped me just as much. He was a farmer, and always entrepreneurial - an early adopter who'd try new technology, new crops, new techniques. That was just the environment I grew up in - the assumption was always that you could try new things. So, when I couldn't find sewing tools that suited my needs and looked great, starting a business to fix that didn't feel like a huge leap. It just felt like the obvious next step. Most good ideas come from that place, I think - not inspiration exactly, but a very specific dissatisfaction, and the belief that you can do something about it. |
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Q: Creative work by women has not always been given the value it deserves. What does it mean to you to build something with care and skill, and to do it your own way? Â I think the framing of "women's work" being undervalued is true, but I try not to let it be the lens I build through. I'm a creator and business owner who also happens to be a woman. What matters to me is that making things - sewing, crafting, creating - has real value regardless of who's doing it. It's skilled, and it deserves proper tools. SOHMO is really just an argument for taking the work seriously. If that resonates with women who've felt their hobbies dismissed, I'm glad - but it's not a gendered argument, it's a quality argument. |
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Q: What advice would you give to women who are trying to make space for creativity alongside everything else in their lives? Â Stop waiting until you have a big block of time, because it probably won't come. Twenty minutes with a good needle and the right thread is worth more than an hour of making do with whatever's at the bottom of the drawer. I'd also say: invest in your tools. You don't need to have a completely kitted out sewing room, but if you have a small selection of tools that are worth using, you find yourself using them. |
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