We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Augusta Avallone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Augusta , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

In a word: never.

Because the hallmarks of a “regular” job is something that seems rooted in the American past– the idea of getting a job and staying there for 30 years, using the weekly paycheck to buy a house, and then retire at 65 is now a fairy tale. At any moment, that regular job could be cut, the housing market is prohibitive, and our retirement age creeps up year after year.

So why not do the thing you love?

Is it harder to have a career in the arts? Do you have to be better prepared for lean times? Are the hours insane? All “yes”.

Now, I will say that the key for me was to find the nearest adjacent “job” to the art I wanted to do. I was a fresh faced film student, ink not even dry on my film degree, driving into Los Angeles from Philadelphia. Now what? I was not going to be hired as a director, but I needed an income. Since I always loved fashion and clothes, I launched into becoming a set costumer. It allowed me to work in the film industry, pay the rent, and see firsthand how films were made.

But in my downtime I was able to pursue my art, making short films and a documentary that played a year+ in film festivals that I self released. And work as a Costume Designer for indie films. And become and award winning burlesque dancer and produce a burlesque show for 12+ years.

My career has morphed now–after 20 years of being a Set Costumer (the person who sets the dressing rooms and maintains the costumes on the actors on set), I have transitioned to becoming a full time seamstress. The one part of costuming I thought I could never do because I wasn’t “classically” trained, after 20 years of sewing on the side for smaller theater productions and burlesque dancers, I could step up into a new position.

Embracing the the “free” in “freelance” has allowed me to grow my professional life in ways I couldn’t foresee. Am I driving a 10 year old Prius? Clinging to my rent control apartment? Yup. But I also have a pension I built, and in 2021 I got to fulfill a lifelong dream and got to work on both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Trek: Picard.

And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I always say, if you want to insult a craftsperson, use the word “just” in a request. “Well, isn’t it just making seven identical Marie Antoinette dresses?” “Isn’t it just building a coffee table?” “Isn’t it just making a pop song?”

To which I think “If it’s just that easy, you wouldn’t need me”.

If there is one word that tells me a client has never worked with a craftsperson, it’s “just”.

Because ultimately crafting a garment, or furniture, or music is more than just the materials. It’s the time to purchase the materials, drafting a pattern or blueprint or composition, building a prototype, constructing the piece, doing the necessary finishing work. But that’s only half the story– what about your education? Your experience? Your instincts? What is the value of that?

Instead of “isn’t it just?” ask your craftsperson “can you tell me more about how you would tackle this?” and see the assignment through their eyes.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

It is continually heartbreaking the way society diminishes sewing as anything less than a science and a skill, on the simple fact that it is considered “women’s work”. If I could, I would empower every femme that made garments that their efforts are also feats of engineering, math, and science. But, or course, if the patriarchy admitted that, they’d have to pay us more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pennystarrjrindustries.com
• Instagram: @pennystarrjr

Image Credits

Brian C Janes Photography (Petite Barnum pic)
Brittany Marie Photography (mouse ears pic)
Roxanne Peykamian (close up of hand sewing jewels)