Truth be told there isn’t really an us…..yet. Right now at the beginning there is only me. My name is Kandyce Hudson and I am a designer, artist, crafter, maker, and most enduringly a sewer (pronounced SOH-er). InKandycence is my sewing studio, where I teach, I sew, I create, and I inspire.
A lot of people will tell me that sewing is a dying art, something their grandmother or Mother did, but the not the sort of thing they ever got involved in… at least not on purpose. Even the most popular Fashion Design Competitions on network tv allow the so called “designers” to wax on about the time and energy they shouldn’t have to waste on the sewing. They are strangely, “just there to create”.
I just roll my eyes when people start talking like that. I ask you if the cooking shows did that would you accept it? Can you really trust anyone who can’t cook to “conceive “of your next gourmet meal without actually knowing how to prepare it.
I really look at sewing and design like engineering and construction. A really good structural engineer doesn’t have to be the best at pouring concrete or erecting trusses but if she had to do it she could, because that is how she understands if the skilled tradesmen she hires to do those things for her are doing a good job. And the more that structural engineer understands about construction and it’s processes, the better and more innovative her engineering can become. She isn’t limited by what other people tell her can be done. Her engineering and creative skills are heightened by her practical building knowledge.
And so it follows in Fashion Design and Sewing. Sewing is the essential skill that brings all the fashion design to life. A really great designer doesn’t have to be the best at straight stitching and installing zippers but she is only improved by the study of sewing, not limited by it. In short, sewing is a worthwhile (and in my opinion the most amazing) skill to pursue.
And that is where InKandycence comes in. I created this studio because I wanted to build a sewing community within my local Scenic City community, not just of crafters and quilters (who are very cool, kind, and dedicated visionaries by the way) but also of dressmakers, tailors, handbag makers and the like, so that I could share this amazing appreciation, enthusiasm, and sewing way of life with them.
I feel like even if the only people who wear those designs are the makers themselves, everyone has the potential to be a "Great Designer". Nothing has to necessarily be out of reach. If you need a school uniform, make it. If you need a fabulous wedding gown, make it. If you need a “I’m here to take this place over” power interview suit, make it. If you need the “shelter in place has added inches to my frame” plus size custom creation, YOU CAN MAKE IT. All InKandycence wants to do is be here to share the sewing adventure with you... And don’t worry darling, if you still don’t think you can make it, I am here to make it for you. So it’s all good.
In short InKandycence is about serving through sewing. One day instead of just me, myself, and I; InKandycence will mean: We teach, We create, We sew, and We Inspire… "We" being the greater Scenic City Sewing Community.
Hope you will join my sewing evolution. Thank you for supporting my personal legend.
Best Wishes & Straight Stitches