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

Lara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?

I experienced a couple kind moments that had a very big impact on the path I took with my business and the success I experience today.

In my mid twenties, I had an industrial sewing machine, I had made a few custom wedding dresses since graduating from college, and I knew I loved doing it. I worked a full time retail management job, and had my custom gown business as a side hustle. Since I did everything out of my apartment, I picked out an indie bridal show that fit my personal aesthetic, and had a booth to offer my custom gown creation services.

It was at this bridal show that the mom of the makeup artist next to me came over to chat. She was a seamstress too, and did wedding dress alterations. She asked if I had ever thought about doing wedding gown alterations, since it’s so specialised and requires expertise and knowledge of construction and fabrics. I had truly not ever considered this, but was open to the idea. She offered to show me her home studio, and some of the dresses she was working on. I went and visited her home as she explained what it was like to do gown alterations, and showed me her work. She encouraged me to try it out.

Soon after this, I visited the bridal shop that was down the street from the women’s clothing store I was working as a manager. The owner was there, and I shared how I had a side hustle creating custom gowns, and was interested to try alterations. I asked if she was looking to find people who did this. She explained that she referred brides to trusted bridal tailors, and was happy to refer a bride to me, as a trial. It was great, since she wanted to build trust to make sure I could deliver quality work, and I wanted to try it out to see if it was something I would enjoy. The first few brides she referred to me were a success. I began to add wedding gown alterations to my side hustle.

Because of the openness and kindness of both of these women, I now am able to do my business full time. Bridal alterations make up typically 60-75% of my regular workload, while custom gowns make up the remainder. I am very grateful to these two people in my life who have made such a positive impact.

Lara, 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?

In short, I create custom wedding gowns from scratch, and do wedding dress alterations.

There are a lot of things in between these as well, such as custom pieces like veils, overskirts, capes, and lace toppers. There are many brides who bring me their mother’s or grandmother’s dress to recreate or modernize portions of it. If it can be imagined, then usually it can be done! Think of me as your fairy godmother, helping your gown vision come to life.

I got my start in fashion school at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I made my first custom wedding gown for a friend soon after, and haven’t stopped since! I transitioned into doing my business full time in 2017, once I expanded my services to offer wedding gown alterations as well.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In all fairness I am still learning this, but it has taken me years to learn how to set boundaries around healthy work/life balance.

It has been a process for me. The first step was learning the pace at which I worked, and knowing when I was taking on too much work. Often, I operate with a fear that work will dry up. Oftentimes this fear springs up during wedding slow seasons, and I have to remind myself that the nature of my work is seasonal, and busy season will always come back around.

The other aspect of this is my people pleasing tendency! It’s hard for me to say no- whether it’s because I already have too much work, or I might get asked to do a project that doesn’t align with my business niche, and I am truly not interested in doing it. In the past, this inability to say no has led me to overwork and burnout.

The last thing is that since I own my business- I can set the rules! I have been learning to honor my own process and preferences to set hours that work for me, the way I price my services that works for me, and the projects I am willing to take on, that work for me. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, I do my best work under the conditions that suit me. Then I can give my clients what they want, which is excellent quality, and a happy and non-stressful business to work with.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

For me, my biggest reputation builder has been referrals from bridal shops, and Yelp. Since I work in a service based profession, many potential clients do some research online before choosing to work with me. It’s been super helpful to have a Yelp profile where they can go to read reviews. Many clients also take the word of the bridal shop who refers them. In the past, I have gone to the bridal shops I wave worked with, to do fittings there. The bridal shop staff is able to get to know me and see my work, and it has built trust between us as we partner together to provide brides with a lovely experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.FolkloreDressStudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/folklore_dress_studio?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/p_GVVGx2ya

Image Credits

@lennypellico
@josephesserphotography
@vivian_lin_photography
@hisandherscreative
@shinesphotography