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On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a career as a fashion design expert with my guest, Lesley Ware.

Lesley helps young fashionistas of all stripes discover their personal style and talents through fun and creativity. Her passion for inspiring young people began when she earned her degree in elementary education and continued when she orchestrated a national program for the Girl Scouts. She has previously written two books on style and fashion design for girls, Sew Fab: Sewing and Style for Young Fashionistas and My Fab Fashion Style File (Laurence King). Her third book, How to Be a Fashion Designer, was released last month published by DK Books.

Lesley teaches at The Parsons School of Design, The Metropolitan Museum, Museum of the City of New York and other arts institutions in New York. Her sewing studio is based in Brooklyn where she is designing a capsule collection based on a recent road trip to Kentucky with her dad.

Lesley interacts with young people every day while teaching sewing at a high school in East New York so I ask her what this age group is thinking about when it comes to sewing and crafts. She has some excellent insights that are applicable to anyone who would like to market to or teach the next generation of sewists.

We also talk about how Lesley’s books came to be. Her first book deal is a fascinating story involved both serendipity and preparedness.

Lesley has a unique approach to thinking about the problems presented by fast fashion. She explains how she teaches her students to better understand clothing construction and how she herself shops with an eye toward quality. Lesley is an expert at upcycling and refashioning thrifted finds and describes her fabulous style as “nerdy librarian.”

Watch the trailer for Lesley’s first book.

In the interview we refer to:

• the Leadership Journeys books published by the Girl Scouts
• Book Expo
• My Wonderful World of Fashion books published by Laurence King
• Lesley’s latest piece published in Harness Magazine about buying a training bra with her dad
• Tiki Papier

And, of course, I ask Lesley to recommend great stuff she’s enjoying right now. Lesley recommends:

• Harness Magazine
• Tranquility du Jour podcast with Kimberly Wilson
• The Artist Way by Julia Cameron

Keep up with Lesley on Instagram and on her website, The Creative Cookie, and be sure to check out her new book, How to Be a Fashion Designer (my 7-year-old can’t put this book down!).

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This episode is sponsored by Camp Stitches.

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