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

Erika, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved to sew. When I was little I would sew pajamas and dresses with my mom (more accurately, I would watch her sew these items for me and help a little) and I found it to be pure magic. The fact that you could take a piece of fabric and turn it into anything you wanted was fascinating to me, it felt like a superpower. As I got older I drifted away from sewing, forgetting how much I had enjoyed it. After I graduated from college I found myself coming back to it as a creative escape, I woke up one day and thought, I want to sew. So I bought a $100 refurbished sewing machine on the internet, and that was the start to this whole journey. I obsessed over watching sewing youtube videos, I took classes locally, and I read books all about sewing. I was having so much fun, I didn’t realize I was giving myself an education in the craft.

I could have sped up the learning process by majoring in this creative field in college. I had looked into it, but all I could find were degrees around costume design, or full on fashion design school, which was far too expensive. Nothing had felt like the right fit at that time, and to my young self, who still didn’t really know exactly what she wanted to do, it felt like too much of a risk to go that route. Regardless of which degree I received, I still had a lot of useful skills to take away from college. Persistence, time management, and knowing what I did and did not like were all skills that have helped me along the way!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Erika, and my organic hemp clothing line is called Botanical Clothing, which I started this year (2022). I got into this industry when I started my first business, Portland Apron Company, in 2012. Back then, I was fascinated to discover that people were making and selling things on this platform called Etsy. I joined, and with my newly growing sewing skills started a shop selling linen aprons. I grew that business organically over 10 years, and sold it in 2022.

I think what sets me apart is that I’ve always been meticulous about details. Whether that’s the details of the stitching in a garment, or the details of the quality of the fabric I’m using, or the details about how I interact with customers, it’s always been about the little things, I think it makes all the difference. One could argue this is not the most lucrative way to run a business, and while it’s true that I am not fast and furious, and I am not a cutthroat business person, I have still succeeded in this space. I am slow and intentional, I want quality over quantity, which feels truest to me. Over the years I’ve found that many others want the same, and that’s all the validation I’ve needed to keep going year after year.

In addition to my self-guided education on sewing, I realized along the way there was another topic I wanted to learn all about- sustainability in the fashion and textile space. Early on in my apron making days, I started questioning how my fabrics were made and where they came from. I realized I knew very little about the most important part of my products! That ignited the longest (and still ongoing today) quest to know all I can about the supply chain in garment manufacturing.
To be honest, it can be quite dismal to learn all there is about this part of the industry. There are many, many things that need to be addressed and changed. From the way fibers are grown and made (some plant based, many petroleum based), to the way they are dyed, to the way the people in factories are treated, to the way we as consumers view clothing and other goods, much needs to be addressed. The good news is that there are more people working on making changes than ever before, and there have been many positive shifts in the industry over the last 5-10 years. We have a long way to go, but as I always remind myself: small changes lead to big impacts, and what we do makes a difference.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My most recent pivot was last year, when I realized I was burnt out running my business of 10 years, and wanted to do something new. I considered just closing my previous business, but that felt like such a sad waste! I had so many wonderful customers that had been buying aprons from me for years. To simply shut it down felt like an abandonment to everything I had built. So, I reconsidered my options, and when the opportunity to sell my business practically walked up to me and knocked on my door, I said yes. It was scary, it was new, but I approached the process one step at a time and saw it through. So here I am now, with my new business, which is also rather scary, but also very exciting! I haven’t started a new business in so long, but I’m doing it one day at a time, seeing where it leads and trusting the process.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I known about these resources early on: Extended learning courses at my local Community College
Grants! There are so many ways to apply for monetary support as a new entrepreneur
Podcasts: I have learned so much from listening to stories about others experiences
The importance of building your email list from day one (and not just focusing on social media)
Asking for help. People want to help you, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://botanicalclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/botanical.clothing/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/botanicalclothing/

Image Credits
Erika Kelly