In a digital world where the tap of our fingers, across a keyboard or across a screen, defines the majority of our days, there is something really wonderful about the simplicity of stitching pieces of fabric together.
Digital can be detrimental. We don’t produce tangible items, so it can be challenging to feel a sense of achievement. We crowd-source our work and our feedback, leaving us lacking in satisfaction from a job well done. By day, I write about cryptography, supporting companies in their pursuit of development on the blockchain and solving some of today’s biggest societal issues. While I enjoy my job, it is 100% digital. I network on Twitter, and I hang out with my coworkers on Zoom. At the end of the day, I need something that is tangible and creative, something that lets my hands do the work and my mind wander.
It started when I was about five, when my Grannie first taught me to sew up a little square bag. I soon received a tiny child-sized sewing machine and was sewing up Barbie clothes. By the time I reached high school I only wanted to be a fashion designer. I was most dedicated to my sewing and pattern-making classes, and ultimately only applied to one post-secondary school where I hoped to get a degree in fashion design and technology. At 17 I probably saw myself one day moving to NYC.
While I was accepted to that dream school, my time there only lasted two years as I realized that a career in fashion in Vancouver was going to be very limited. At the time, we didn’t have the global Lululemon or Aritzia headquarters that we do now, nor was e-commerce anywhere near as powerful as it was today. It was fall of 2007, and I changed course to pursue marketing. In hindsight this was a great decision and I’ve grown so much as I’ve pursued a career in tech, particularly over the past few years.
But I’ve never lost the urge to design and create. Unlike writing at my laptop, I can cut and sew and stitch late into the night without noticing what time it is. Seeing something in front of you that you conceptualized is so gratifying that I find it relaxing. I’m working on putting together a few new outfits at the moment, I’ll post them here when they’re ready.
