We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Hughes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I started my business, I worked for a dept store that offered alterations. We (alterationists) were only allowed to work on clothing purchased at that store. Oftentimes customers asked about items that they had purchased elsewhere. So I started meeting with them at their homes or offices in my spare time. My clientele grew so that I was able to leave the dept store and start my business. I continue to meet my clients in homes or offices as many of my clients are not in my town of residence. Sew on the Go was born!

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 originally from Fort Atkinson. I started sewing when I took my first class in the 7th grade. I found that it came fairly naturally to me. I think it was in my blood as my grandmother was a great seamstress. I started working at a dinner theater in Fort when I was 16 and worked there in many capacities on the restaurant areas for about 10 years. When I was in my early 20s the costume designer was looking for seamstresses and I started working in the theater area. I learned many things about design, construction and alterations while I worked there. When I was 26 I moved to Iowa City IA. I started tending bar ( a job I had held at the dinner theater) at a hotel. But really didn’t enjoy it. Then I found an ad to do alterations for a dept store. I worked under a woman who had done alterations for many years. Because of my background in the theater, I found alterations a great fit. Over the next 10 years, I worked my way up to be head of the dept. Because the store only allowed us to work on items purchased there, I started building a clientele outside the store. It came to the point where I felt I could leave the store and start my business.
I had married by now and was living in Washington Ia so the practice of meeting people in their homes or offices continued to work. I have since connected with a few businesses in Iowa City and a Bridal shop in Mt Pleasant IA in addition to individual customers.
I offer alterations, zipper replacement and custom sewing to my customers. I work on Men’s, Women’s and Children’s clothes. Alterations range from the simple pant hems, to Men’s suits, to formal wear, to wedding dresses. I have even replaced zippers on tents! I am also the seamstress for the University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching band. Every year I do the alterations and repairs for the 275 member marching band.
One special item I have started offering to clients is making dressing robes out of Mother’s or Grandmother’s wedding dresses
I have a high standard of workmanship which has allowed my business to build mostly by word of mouth alone.
To take a ‘break’ from all the serious work that I do, I work at our Community Theater in Washington as the costumer. This is where I can let my creativity really show. I love working with the volunteers in the costume dept. Many are seasoned seamstresses but I also have beginners that I love teaching how to sew.
I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Helping people with simple clothing items to making their dreams come true with their wedding attire is special. I also love having the ability to set my own schedule and accommodate clients at all hours of the day if need be.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I guess Covid has been the biggest set back in my business. Weddings were cancelled no one was going anywhere so they didn’t need anything special to wear except masks. When everything shut down I started making and selling masks. It did not garner as much income as the alterations did but it was something. Thankfully, my husband is a teacher so we still had income that way. I offered contactless delivery before it was ‘a thing’. For my local clients, I have always had a container by my front door that they can leave things any time of day or night. I make the alterations, put the items back in the container and my client picks up at their convenience. This worked great for mask pick up. When things started to open up, the community theater allowed me to meet clients there rather than having eveyone in my home. I have recently started meeting in my home again.

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

I was born and raised in Fort Atkinson Wis. I thought I would always live there. But things changed after a divorce and I moved to Iowa. I found a job as a bartender (something I had done in Wis) When I was not satisfied doing that anymore, I found the job doing alterations. It was scary starting that job but the woman I worked with was very helpful. She knew from my previous theater experience that I could do this job. She was right! I could do it and it has since become my very own business.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Sew on the Go
• Email address: [email protected]