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

Hi Jane, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It’s really challenging to select the most meaningful project I’ve worked on because the nature of my creations means that everything I work on has meaning to my clients. And knowing this give me great joy. One of the most meaningful projects was a personal one.

My son is a jazz pianists. In college, he studied piano under Mark Flugge, a gifted musician and kind soul. Throughout those college years, my son grew close to his teacher and we had many opportunities to hear him play. Sadly, he suffered from hearing loss and depression and died by suicide three days after my son graduated. My son was devastated. Our grief was immense. The collective grief was immense. Suicide often leaves us with more questions than answers. The minister at his beautiful memorial service stated that, “depression kills.” And if we felt anger, we should be angry at the depression. I clung to these words.

I rarely reach out to people who have suffered a recent loss. However, when Mark’s wife offered my son a choice of one of Mark’s ties, I decided to ask if I could make a quilt for her and her daughter. We exchanged emails and her strength helped me heal. She sent a huge bin of clothes. I pondered what to make for a long time. I searched for inspiration on how to use his many plaid and striped shirts. I settled on a lovely design. And then added a piano key border which seemed very fitting. I included a few memory pillows as well and asked if I could give one to my son.

It was my hope the quilts would bring Mark’s loved ones comfort. But it also gave me comfort as I worked on them and helped me process the loss of such a unique person.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a chemical engineer by degree. I worked in industry for a number of years but decided that I would have many careers in my life. My journey took me through motherhood, substitute teaching and various part-time jobs. During those years I began sewing as a hobby and created t shirt quilts for family members. I was encouraged to start an Etsy shop where I created custom quilts and some practical items like aprons and headbands. My business evolved into a custom sewing studio. My clients bring me ideas and I create what they envision.

Most of my projects are memory items. They range from quilts and pillows, to bags made out of neckties and old wedding dresses. It’s rewarding for me to create one-of-a-kind items that are special to my clients because they remind them of a loved one. I love the practical nature of my products – they are meant to be used! I have transformed a suede coat that was sitting in a closet into purses. I can take an old varsity jacket and make it into a pillow. I can transform an old sweater that was hand knit into a stunning pillow. I’ve even worked with schools to upcycle old marching band uniforms into items they can use to fundraiser for their programs.

I started this business 14 years ago and love that I get to work with my hands. I also love the variety of projects that I work on – I never get bored! The biggest challenge as a custom business is that there is always a waiting period to receive the product, so I always feel behind. But thanks to the quality of my work and the photos to convey that, I have developed a good reputation. So much so that I currently have 50 people on my quilt waiting list. I can’t scale my business, but that is fine by me. Every project passes through my hands, which is fun for me and leads to quality for my clients.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In 14 years the social media scene has changed! I began to establish a presence by creating a blog to exist alongside my Etsy shop. I connected with other bloggers via Ravelry, a knitting website and community. At the time, we read each other’s blogs, helped to promote each other through interviews. Blogging was a way to build followers. I enjoyed writing and often shared personal stories as well as the stories behind my projects.

I connected with a lot of fellow creatives on Twitter. It was actually a fun time and I “met” so many people who remain online friends from those early days. Eventually, people started moving to Facebook and Instagram. The old blogging days seemed to fade away. It seems that Instagram is a microblog and that’s how I use it now. I share my projects but also share some personal stories. Those posts are shared on my Facebook business page. I have different followers on each platform but I try to engage with them.

I had a weekly email list with subscribers, but that was not effective for me since I am not selling a finished product. There is a waiting period. And many of the customers who signed up for the email list may not need my services again.

The best advice I can give is to be yourself and grow organically. I experienced slow and steady growth. If someone sends me a photo of a quilt being used by their child, I ask if I can share the photo. That, in turn, often leads them to share my page and new followers are gained. I don’t like using my personal page for my business, but since stories are so popular, I will share my business page posts in both my business and personal stories.

Now there is a push for videos and reels. I will make them occasionally, but, for me, they don’t translate to any interaction on Facebook.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I am humbled and happy when my clients call me an artist because I don’t see myself as an artist. I jokingly say that I sew straight lines! But if I consider it from their perspective, my sewing transforms something ordinary into something unique. It’s unique, mostly because it has special meaning to my client. But it’s also unique because I designed the finished product. Many ideas start with my clients. They ask the question – can you make a bag out of this dress? It’s my creativity that leads to a solution. I enjoy the search for a design. I enjoy the moment an idea appears in my head. I love to work on different projects every day. That’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maidenjane.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/maidenjane
• Facebook: facebook.com/maidenjanedesigns