My Handwork Studio ~ A Fashion and Needle Arts Community for Kids!

Miss Julia and Miss Alisha Reflect on Being the Road Tour's Handwork Ambassadors

It is with great honor that Alisha and I have been bequeathed with the task of spreading the good word of Needle Arts. We will be representing The Handwork Studio throughout the summer by combining two of America’s greatest traditions: the road trip and crafting -- specifically the Needle Arts.

Needle Arts you ask?

No pun intended. Needle Arts cannot be "pinned down" to just one skill or technique. At The Handwork Studio we focus on some of the many techniques, namely knitting, crocheting, hand sewing, embroidery, quilting, machine sewing and fashion design.

It is true, many of the folks practicing these crafts were born at the beginning of the previous century…learning them from the hands of mothers, grandmothers and aunts, cousins, etc. and then passing them down to the younger hands that followed them. Sadly though, over time the sharing of this knowledge has dwindled. As a result, many people have not been exposed to this art form.

As Handwork Studio ambassadors it is our mission this summer to educate children in these techniques.  It isn't simply about crafting;  we believe in the importance of passing this tradition along. What used to be skills of necessity and survival are now skills of creativity and self discovery.

Handwork teaches children that their hands are capable of creating many functional items, like clothing (it proves to them that things do not just magically appear on a rack). We also teach the importance of patience, self sufficiency, problem solving, and so much more.

From our tiny beginning at owner Laura Kelly’s kitchen table eight years ago,  our summers are now bustling teaching more than 1,000 children locally. Thankfully Laura did not just stop at a the kitchen table. We found that the best recipe was to be contained within a pre-existing summer camp program, at local schools or college campuses. This is the model we will take to the open road this summer, running our Handwork and Machine Sewing camps at nine different locations from PA, NJ, MD, DC, TX, and CO.

Alisha and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring these skills to young hands and we invite you to read along about our many adventures (and hopefully not too many misadventures).