It is no secret that I love fabric, and that I love petting fabric of all types. I have a rather sizable <aka totally GI-normous-out-of-control) fabric stash that I have accumulated over the years from a variety of sources. I do regular damage at my two beautiful local fabric stores, AND I also buy fabric online. I know, I know – some of you have resisted buying online – but I heartily endorse it. I think one of the main reasons I fell in love with online fabric shopping is because of Linda Podietz, owner of EmmaOneSock.com. She stocks the most gorgeous collection of fabric, and most importantly, offers screamingly awesome customer service. She’ll send you swatches, includes Pantone numbers for all her fabrics, offers garment suggestions, responds to email inquiries, and her packaging makes me feel like I just received a little Christmas present! So if you haven’t taken the online purchasing plunge, or haven’t heard about EmmaOneSock.com, I present to you today a guest post from Linda herself <swoon!!>.
Linda, tell us a bit about your sewing business, and also a bit about yourself.Â
          I sell high quality fashion fabrics, and my market is mostly home sewists, dressmakers, designers, people who have custom clothes made, etc. We have customers all over the world, and I try to find fabrics that are beautiful, unusual, inspiring, and not readily available. I’ve been in the fabric-selling business for about 11 years, and I hope to continue for a long time! The name of the company originates from my first business, a line of “upscale” childrens clothing, and it combines the names of my two (now grown) children, Emma and Aaron (AKA “One Sock” when he was a baby). When I started selling fabric, I couldn’t bear to part with the name, so it has stuck all these years.  In a “former lifeâ€, I was classical musician, and have Bachelor and Masters degrees in piano performance. I am finally getting back into playing again, now that my husband and I are new empty-nesters! I am excited to revisit several dormant interests (music, art, sewing of course, gardening, cooking, etc) now that both kids are “launched”. Â
Linda, what gets you excited about your business? Is there one thing that makes you jump out of bed every morning?
         Well…I guess my morning coffee gets me out of bed… ha ha… I love fabric, and I love owning my own business, so my work is mostly very enjoyable. We do work long hours and it can sometimes be exhausting, but overall I feel very lucky to have a job that I like! It has been gratifying to watch the business grow over the years, and we have interesting, appreciative and loyal customers, many of whom I’ve gotten to know a bit through email exchanges. My husband and I both are entrepreneurial types, so this business suits us very well, and luckily it has been successful (knock on wood!).
What is the next big thing you want to do with your business?
         The business has been growing organically, little by little each year, and I think that’s the best way to grow for any business. Greed and overreaching are what makes businesses fail. So, we have no big plans, just a long list of little improvements that will continue to make the buying experience more and more enjoyable for our customers.
Please complete the sentence, “If I had to do it all over again, I would……â€Â
         …not do anything differently! Well, perhaps I would have listened to my husband’s advice and hired an assistant a lot sooner than 10 years into the business. That would have allowed me more time for my kids as they were growing up. I was working about 14 hours a day for several years, but now I’m down to about 10-12. I have always worked out of a home studio so it’s really not as bad as it sounds. Work has always mixed with life around here, and that seems to suit us. I’m a bit of a control freak so it took a long time for me to allow an employee into the “circle of trust”, if I may quote a line from a funny movie!Â
Please complete the sentence, “I wish I had more time to…..
         Sew, travel, play piano, garden, cook….. do artwork… read… meditate…. exercise… spend time with my family!
THANK YOU so much Linda, for sharing yourself and your story about EmmaOneSock.com. If you want to know more about EmmaOneSock, check out http://emmaonesock.com/aboutus.asp. I encourage you to bookmark the Daily Update on the homepage www.emmaonesock.com and join the mailing list http://emmaonesock.com/eosx/joinmailinglist.asp so you can find out about special promotions and new fabrics. Or you could just be like me and browse (and swoon!) thru her new fabric offerings every day at http://emmaonesock.com/fabrics/recentarrivals.asp !