Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydney Durham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sydney , thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?
Failure is my friend. As a costumer, mockups are a must. As a historical costumer, they are constant. Trying to bring a piece of clothing to life that hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years is hard. You cannot just go to a craft store to buy a pattern; Esty can only get you so far if you are going for a niche. As I’ve grown in my costuming career, I’ve moved away from premade patterns and now draft them myself, which takes a lot more time and is labor-intensive. It also doubles my mockups. I no longer just make them out of fabric but have to mockup paper patterns. Saying mockup makes it sound nice but what it means is I have failed to make this the first time and need to retry.
A few times, I have gotten past the mockup stage, and the last mockup is beautiful. Then I make the new pattern, transfer it to my fashion fabric, and get it sewn up, and it’s just an ugly mess that should never see the light of day. It hurts when this happens, fabric is not cheap, and I can hear my poor little pockets weeping as I toss the disappointment into the box of shame.
As a historical costumer who mainly uses natural fiber fabric when I need a scrap, I can go to the box of shame and grab something that will work for the project. I cannot bare to waste fabric. Even though it’s the worst of failed attempts, there is typically something that can be salvaged and made into something good, and if that doesn’t work well, scrap pockets and rags are a historically accurate solution.
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
I am Sydney Rose Durham, also known as TheNeedleWomen. I’m a historical customer located in Savannah, Georgia. I’ve been sewing for ten-plus years, focusing on the late 18th century. Savannah has been a great place to live since savannah was established in 1733. It has many places to spark creativity. With a friend like Daphne Ratliff to help capture photos of me in historical clothing. I’m getting to share my passion with more people.
I am a student at Savannah College of Art and Design, and one of the cool things about attending there is that most of the buildings are historic. For instance, the first SCAD building was the Savannah volunteer guard armory, now known as Poetter Hall. I love having history tied directly to my education. It inspires me to create more and be able to tell history through the lence of a 21st-century student.
When I’m not in classes, I have a part-time job working for Coastal Heritage Society working out at Old Fort Jackson. It is very peaceful to work out there for a place mainly attributed to being a civil war fort. The span of history is a big pull to working out there. This site was used in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the civil war. It has as much history passing through as it has crabs. Where else can you see cannons go off at least thrice daily?
Have you ever had to pivot?
This past year has been one of the most challenging years of my life, but I’ve grown so much. One of my biggest supporters and my best friend passed away earlier in the year. My grandmother was the one id call to tell her about all my sewing projects or the next thing I was plotting. She always had my back and was my biggest supporter.
With her passing, I fell into a downward spiral of not wanting to create. I had so many plans, buts what’s the point of doing if you can’t share your passion with one of the only people that put everything down to talk to you? I felt so alone during this time, doing many extra activities with my friends and the community I built for myself. I felt like I had no one. School can be very isolating when everyone is constantly working on projects in a different major than your own.
As the school quarter ended, I took some time off to breathe. I threw myself into work at old fort Jackson which was not the best time for me, but I had built a community of people there that are very uplifting. Like Dianna McDonough, whos a reenactor and has taught me a lot about civil war history. Harrison Carter is an excellent blacksmith whos always there with a witty comeback. I’ve never seen someone as passionate about history as Arron Bradford. Watching him interact with a guest can always put a smile on your face. Walter Rivas made working there a hoot, always cracking jokes and making life lighter. Ethan Baker is a great friend that’s always willing to go above and beyond for their guests. And last but not least, our fantastic boss, Justin Childers, running is a rag-tag team and keeps us in line. I couldn’t have survived the summer without them.
Now, this is not my end goal working here, but as a part-time job, this is an excellent introduction to working in the living history/ museum field. And I think this is the field I want to work in. Working in historical clothing and sharing it with the public brings me so much joy. There is nowhere Id rather be than a place that uplifts and allows you to share your passion.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The people you meet, and I know this sounds like such a basic answer, but when you are a part of such a small community, that’s the only set of people that understand your struggles. Working in history does not pay a lot, nor are the materials for costuming. The only way to survive this career path is to make a name for yourself. Or have a few side hustles.
I might not have a big name for myself I am always down to network and talk to people. When you talk to people, you never know where you will end up. I have made good friends by reaching out and trying to learn what they are passionate about.
One of my newer passions is filming historical things to share them with people who might not be able to learn about them in another way. I mainly post this type of video on TikTok. Just short little snippets into the world of living history. I also post a lot more day-to-day photos on my Instagram. You never know what shenanigans I will be getting up to. I love to dress up to walk around savannah and start a conversation I would never have talked to otherwise.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theneedlewomen.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneedlewomen/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/The-Needlewomen-242168884390418/?ref=bookmarks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/sydney-durham-884358218
- Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdc692jQ/ https://www.redbubble.com/people/TheNeedleWomen/explore?asc=u&page=1&sortOrder=recent
Image Credits
credit to https://www.instagram.com/daphneratliff.photography/ except the photo of my grandmother which is black and white and the photos with the curved hat and grey skirt.