We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corey Strohmeyer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Corey, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
My Oma taught me how to sew when I was about 8 years old…I use the word “taught” loosely–I used to watch her sew and then she would let me loose on her scrap bin and let me make whatever I wanted. She would help me when I would get stuck on something but the majority of the time I learned through trial and error, which can be highly frustrating, but is the best way for me personally to learn.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Though I have been sewing for most of my life, it’s really been the last 15 or so years that I have been making a go of it as a profession. Some of the work, like the reusable gift bags, is meaningful to me because I love the functionality and also like the environmentally friendly aspect of it, but outside of selecting really great prints, the work itself isn’t the most creative. And I think that’s where the other parts of the business come in, like the repurposed denim pillows, which really let me play. I am also a big fan of taking on projects involving materials or tasks that I’m unfamiliar with…at first it’s really, really stressful (and there are usually a lot of re-do’s), but for me a little stress and pressure can produce great results. Also, saying yes to those types of projects is the fastest way to learning all kinds of new things. One of my favorite/least favorite jobs is pretend-upholsterer. I recently did an upholstered leather bench back and the only direction was “do your thing” and it was one of those rewarding projects where what I saw in my head at the beginning translated to the finished product.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
A difficult thing to work around is when people view creative endeavors more as a hobby…I’ve had someone react to what I do with “Aw, that’s cute, how fun!” I take what I do very seriously. Even if the work produced is fun and at times silly, it doesn’t feel great when the effort to get there, and the knowledge that’s behind it, isn’t recognized. I try to create things that also have function as that can be easier for people to understand WHY I do something, but sometimes something beautiful for the sake of beauty is just as useful, in a different way.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
For me, I think a better question would be “what are some resources to support your creative journey” and the answer would be “I don’t know!” There are resources that would be particularly helpful to me, such as how to effectively price your work and reach the right audience. I could google resources all day long but quite frankly that sounds terrible as I’d rather spend that time making. I’d love to know if there’s a maker community in person that offers forums or meetings that help with those types of things, marketing and the actual selling is my least favorite part.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colorblocks.com and www.thegoodbags.shop
- Instagram: @corstroh