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First Samples opened its doors in January of 2005. It was created in response to the interest people were showing to learn how to sew apparel and the lack of places to learn at. The founder, Shauna Smith, created a place that teaches fashion sewing in a way and environment that she would have liked to have learned in. Our main goal is to nurture and propagate the art and craft of garment construction. We live every day from the day we are born to the day we die wearing sewn products. We have become so removed from our clothes that most of us have trouble sewing a button on. Our sewing is all outsourced. First Samples™ wants to bring it back home. 
Shauna Smith Shauna is a pattern maker, seamstress and designer. She graduated from FIDM in '92. Since then, she has held positions that have given her experience in nearly every phase of a sewn garment: design, patternmaking, spec technician, factory liaison, production sewing, q.c., retail buying, retail sales, and alterations. Now she is embarking upon a new adventure to create a place that approaches the cottage industry of sewing in a way that is intended to connect designers, sewing enthusiasts, patternmakers and other potential industry professionals in the community. Her goal is to bring people out of their kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, attics and basements to share their special skills and knowledge with each other. 
Tina Sparkles Tina Sparkles stopped buying new clothes over two years ago, instead she makes a lot of her own clothes, re-constructs vintage/thrift finds and scores big time at clothes swaps. She got her start in the world of fashion in 6th grade making accessories like belts & velco bowties, and re-working t-shirts into tight tube skirts (which her parents didn't let her wear). Fast forwarding, Tina now has a degree in psychology/philosophy and a potpourri of fashion-art education & experience under her belt. She studied fashion & textiles at UT for a few semesters and continues to learn pattern-making & design DIY-style with the help of textbooks, mentors and plain old practice. When she's not teaching at First Samples, she designs limited-edition clothing for retail, runs an accessories company called Sparkle Craft, organizes with girl crafting gang The Austin Craft Mafia, co-produces an annual indie fashion show & guerilla craft fair called Stitch Austin and co-hosts a wearable arts "how to" show on the DIY Network called Stylelicious. Whoa! Tina loves the duality of fashion because she gets to use both sides of her brain: the logical, math side and the artistic, no-rules, creative side. She is also a big fan of learning by doing and teaching at First Samples allows her to share that experience whether it is threading a needle for the first time or altering & creating patterns. 
Jesse Kelly Landes As soon as Jesse graduated from college she taught herself to sew, and her life has never been the same. After making clothes for herself and friends for several years Jesse decided to open her own clothing design business, Amet and Sasha. For five years Jesse was designing and creating clothing that was sold in boutiques around the US and Canada. After a wonderful five years of designing for Amet and Sasha and doing custom work, Jesse decided it was time to retire from professional sewing so she could go back to what she really loved - designing and making clothes for her favorite client, herself! You may have seen Jesse around town as a co-producer of the annual fashion and craft fair, Stitch, hanging with her girls in the Austin Craft Mafia or on your TV as a co-host of the series Styleicious on the DIY Network. Jesse is a strong believer in making things from scratch... from clothes, to gardening, to food. She is thrilled that she can share her skills at First Samples and inspire others explore their own creativity. 
Jen Delk Jen is a self taught (or mom taught in some cases) seamstress. She started doing alterations and garment deconstruction/reconstruction by hand in high school for the drama club and continued through college with vintage clothing. Her specialty has quickly become pants because she was unable to find anything that fit well in stores. Jen doesn't stop there though. She is willing to take on just about any sewing project. She really enjoys a sewing challenge. Jen currently maintains a website spinsta.net where she blogs on sewing/refashioning and building a brand name. 
Antionette Perez Consistent with the motto, “You are what you do,” Antoinette has established a reputation for never staying still for long. Antoinette, a sewer since college, enjoyed a 10-year-plus career in the finance, mortgage, and real estate industries. She committed in 2006 to bring together her creative interests and knack for business, and a First Samples Business Manager was born. When she is not spreading the word about First Samples, Antoinette spends lots of time with her husband and young son, works on writing projects such as The Pregnancy Organizer, travels occasionally as a business trainer, and consults select Austin-area businesses. It is said that, late at night, the lamp in her sewing room is often on, lighting the passage of the finest quality apparel fabrics through the feed dogs of her Kenmore sewing machine, in the pursuit of fashion perfection. 
Tristan Gross Tristan is our web man. He refuses to do anything the easy way, as he understands that the process is more enlightening than the results. He is a life long computer junkie and self proclaimed computer nerd. He loves a challenge and we have certainly given him one, creating the First Samples registration and checkout system from scratch. Yup. Flour, butter and milk, not the box. |