Alexcia Patterson-Schroll's shop in Fairfield Center is often filled with kids and not just her own 3-year-old son West. They crowd into Make and Mingle to create works of art from brightly colored materials that Alexcia provides. Are they watercolors? Oil paints? Clay, maybe? Try fabric.
"That's what I lovejust seeing this whole, cool new generation of kids wanting to get crafty," Alexcia says. "I just love their ideas."
In December 2009, Alexcia and two business partners set out to make a hipper, cooler fabric store, an alternative to the department store-like mega-chains. So in her shop on Donnelly Walk (a small, pedestrian-only corridor that runs between Unquowa Road and Sanford Street), you're more likely to hear Arcade Fire or Rhianna blasting from her iPod deck than Muzak from above.
Alexcia became sole owner in July but still does the basics. She makes pillowcases, curtains and duvet covers. And of course, she still sells designer fabrics by the yard. But Alexcia says she has been surprised by the response from young kids at her private classes and birthday parties.
"[Fairfield's] a great mom community, so everybody's looking for activities to do with their kids," Alexcia says. "Sewing's fun, but it's also a great skill for them to have."
With Alexcia's guidance, young girls and even boys can act out their "Project Runway"-inspired fantasies. The can use her fabrics to create simple dresses or shirts. Or they can take old, out-of-style clothes and transform them into something new.
Alexcia says even young West has gotten into the act. Though he doesn't do much hand-on work, he became a convert to the wonders of sewing when Alexcia stitched him a new hat for his "Toy Story" action figure, Woody.
"He's realized the potential of fabric," Alexcia says. "I love that he realized that you can take pieces and make something out of it."
Are you crafty? Do you know how to sew? Is sewing a skill you would like your children to learn? Start the conversation below.
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