Meet Allie Olson of Indiesew in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Olson.

Allie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been sewing since I was seven. I’ve made quilts, clothing, and everything in between. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I realized how much I craved creativity, how I needed to be making something to be happy. I started a sewing blog that became my obsession in grad school. And I became involved in the online sewing community and felt like I found where I belonged.

But I noticed something. The online sewing community was disjointed. The number of independent pattern makers was growing exponentially right alongside the number of sewing bloggers. Flickr groups were exploding, and Instagram was the ubiquitous platform for sharing sewing creations. But nothing brought it all together. Finding a fellow sewer you loved was hard work, and it was easy to lose track of your favorites across multiple platforms. I thought the digital sewing world needed to unite.

I met up with my MBA classmate, Steve, and together we decided this idea was worth exploring further. Steve took the tech reins, developing our site from scratch in record time. While I remained the designer. Together we’ve created something we’re insanely proud of.

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?
Is it ever a smooth road? We’ve had our fair share of struggles, but I consider most of the challenge just a process of “figuring it out”. We’ve had to deal with lots of changing regulation in the e-commerce world. The sewing industry has changed drastically over the last five years. Social media is a totally different playing field than it was a few years ago. Over the past five years, it’s been a constant cycle of course-correcting when the environment changes. But I like the challenge!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Indiesew – what should we know?
Indiesew is a marketplace for the hobby sewist. We provide high-quality sewing supplies to people who sew their own clothing! Our site is also a resource for DIY apparel, with hundreds of tutorials to help beginner, intermediate, and advanced sewists.

Our shop offers over 300 sewing patterns and we carry overstock fabric from fashion designers and movie sets. Sustainability is at the forefront of our mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: Indiesew.com
• Phone: (970) 343-4722
• Email: info@indiesew.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_sew/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indiesew/

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