Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennie Chancey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

I have two heroes who became the main inspiration for my business. First is my paternal grandmother, Jeanie Ethell (or “Mimi,” as we called her). She had an incredible sense of style and dignity. In my earliest childhood memories, she is dressed to perfection, always accessorizing with jewelry, a hat, and gloves–even just to run errands in her yellow Cadillac. Mimi made very outing special by dressing up and treating life like an adventure. She also sewed on her adorable portable Singer Featherweight, which I found fascinating.

Second is my mother, Bettie, whose grandmother inspired her to sew and make her own clothes. My mom made such beautiful clothing in college that other girls asked her where she shopped. I wanted to learn to sew like my mother and my grandmother, and I begged my mother to teach me long before my foot could reach the pedal. The greatest Christmas gift she gave me was a 1920 “White” brand cabinet sewing machine when I was ten years old. I immediately began stitching up clothes for my dolls and loved experimenting with fabrics and trims.

Fast forward to my college days, and I made most of the clothes I wore or repaired and wore vintage clothing I found in second-hand shops. I had my own style and loved it, and a lot of my friends asked me to sew for them. This led to a side income stream, but I really never dreamed I’d end up designing patterns for women to make their own clothes inspired by historical fashions. That would happen a few years later when I got frustrated trying to help a friend find a pattern for a Jane Austen-style ballgown. She finally said, “But you know how to make things without patterns. Can’t you just make one from my drawing?” I immediately called my mom to see if she could help me puzzle out the design, and that process was so enjoyable that the seed of the idea for Sense & Sensibility Patterns was planted.

After my friend wore her custom gown, she raved about it and asked me if I’d consider selling her a copy of the pattern I had made. I protested that I wasn’t a “real” pattern designer and had traced the pieces on parchment paper, but she kept asking, and, finally, I knuckled down and drafted out that first pattern for sizes 6-18. My original Regency Gown Pattern went to press in 1998, and the rest is history! I started an entire company to create patterns from historical fashions, and 25 years later, I’m still selling my patterns all over the world and seeing what my amazing customers make from them. Thanks, Mom and Mimi!

Jennie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up as one of three siblings in a homeschooling family, traveling with my aviation historian and pilot father and my incredibly creative teacher mother. We visited almost all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, England, Germany, and South Africa before I was 16 years old. For me, it was normal to spend summers at vintage air shows, flying in “Warbirds” like the T-6 Texan and B-25 Mitchell bomber. My parents often dressed in authentic WW2 uniforms to match the planes Dad flew, and we children all fell in love with the history of the time. After watching the 1980s miniseries, “Anne of Green Gables” at age 13, I just had to have some Edwardian ensembles, and I begged Mom to make them for me. She pointed to the sewing machine with a smile, and I knew it was time to grit my teeth and get going. Mom was also making soft-sculpture dolls and selling them at craft fairs, and I decided to make mini dolls to go with the big ones. I ended up making hundreds over the next few years, including a few in historical dress.

Over the next five years, Mom taught me to reproduce favorite outfits by tweaking existing patterns or drafting new ones. I got my own fit mannequin and learned to drape and cut and pin to create the looks I wanted. Sometimes I got teased for my eccentric style, but I didn’t care and happily wore my “costumes” into my twenties, when I met my future husband. I had made several 1940s-style dresses by then and loved twirling on the dance floor. The mid-1990s were also banner years for Jane Austen film adaptations. I saw Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility” in 1995 and the Gwyneth Paltrow “Emma” in 1996. “Persuasion” came out on VHS around the same time, and I just fell in love with the gowns and accessories. Empire-waist fashions were perfect for me while I was pregnant with my first baby, so I made a whole bunch of dresses inspired by films and historical fashion plates and wore them constantly.

Just like when I was in college, ladies kept asking me where I found my outfits, then wondered if I’d make them to sell. It sounded like a good idea to me, so I stitched up a few sample outfits for models and had a friend take pictures for me. My husband told me he thought the designs were sensible and beautiful and said I should christen my sewing business “Sense & Sensibility Clothing.” A dear friend created my first catalog, which I gave away to friends, family members, and interested strangers. My brother convinced me to put up a website in 1997, and my tiny cottage industry quickly boomed. Before too long, I had to keep a waiting list and limit my orders so I could manage them.

After customers kept asking me to sell copies of the patterns I created to make their outfits, I finally took the plunge in 1998, publishing my Regency Gown Pattern. The immediate success of that pattern convinced me that there was a market for wearable, historical patterns that evoke the grace and charm of times past, and that’s when Sense & Sensibility Patterns was born. I developed subsequent patterns slowly over the next 19 years, working in the time to design them around the birth of new babies, teaching my older children, and managing our lively household. The popularity of the patterns grew at a rate that astonished me.

By far, the most fulfilling part of this business has been seeing what my customers create. I feel like I have kindred spirits all over the world and am constantly amazed by their talent and eye for beauty. What I am most proud of are the online classes and personal customer support I have created for my customers. I love seeing people learn to sew and astonish themselves with what they can make. It has been especially fun over the last few years to watch Gen Z grab hold of sewing and mending and create incredible, wearable works of art!

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

Our entire family moved overseas to Kenya for my husband’s work in 2011. We were there for three years, then in South Africa for five. Having no access to large-format scanners or printers slowed down my ability to introduce new patterns to the market, but it didn’t stop me. This actually forced me to reach out to a pattern grader who could digitize my designs and do everything online, since I couldn’t travel to a local printer. That turned out to be a great pivot, helping me to speed up production in spite of living far from the United States for an extended period. I also started a little side business of leading historical fashion tours in England, beginning in 2009 and continuing until 2019. Those trips were always a huge shot of inspiration and led to new ideas, which I worked on while living overseas.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

My business has always been very personal. I answer all emails myself and try to answer within 24-48 hours. I wrote an extensive FAQ section for my website and created step-by-step photo instructions and videos to help customers navigate through my pattern instructions with as little frustration as possible. I still get half a dozen emails a week from customers asking for clarification or help resizing, and I am always happy to provide that personal support. When I started publishing my patterns, I determined that no one would ever feel helpless in the face of a tricky sewing step! Filming videos and taking photos is a low-cost investment in the long run, as it really helps people work their way through my patterns with minimal confusion. But you just can’t beat the personal touch, and that’s my favorite part of this business–talking to customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://sensibility.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s_and_s_patterns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennie-chancey-119bb23a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sensibilitypatterns
• Other: http://pinterest.com/sspatterns/ Note that IG is an archived account now. I retired from FB five years ago and IG three years ago.