404 - Opportunity Thinking Series with Renee Gurganas, WCAA Executive Director

We are a family from Ukraine who have been living and working in the UK for over 17 years.  Our backgrounds were unrelated to the interior design business. But we always love craft , had ambitions, and lots of ideas.  Our shared passion and belief in each other led us to start Kott Soft Furnishings.    Our busy working studio is nestled in the beautiful countryside of Hampshire,  UK.    I’ve worked as a curtain maker for over 10 years and it's my absolute love and passion.    After being overwhelmed with orders, my husband joined me, leaving his previous job. He does upholstery and fitting and has become an integral part of our family business.    We are happy and united more than ever.   Together, we provide a comprehensive service, from initial measurements and fabric selection to the final fitting.  Our children also enjoy helping out, and perhaps one day, they will carry on our family business.   Social media : www.olgakott.co.uk Instagram - kott.soft.furnishings  Facebook - kott.soft.furnishing  YouTube - Olga Kott 

Laurie Gutberlet began her business in February 2020.  Her one-person, small workroom is located in the Atlantic Coast region of Bethany Beach, DE.    The catalyst for Laurie's “startup” is largely due to the relationship built and training received from Susan Woodcock at Workroom Tech.  Laurie has a life-long love of sewing and always thought about doing professional work.  She figured “If not now, when?”  Her company name—SeaGlass Seams, LLC—is largely based on her location.  My work to date includes draperies, cushions, roman shades, valances, bedding, and those random projects of “can you sew this for me?” Laurie is on Facebook and Instagram Links and Resources; Workroom Tech Price Your Work With Confidence by Kitty Stein Nancy Letts Rosemarie Garner Emily Petit Deb Cronin The Funky Little Chair Kai Scissors Stevenson Vestal   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

In this OPPORTUNITY THINKING episode of the Sew Much More Podcast, Ceil DiGuglielmo joins Jeanelle Dech in her office at Adaptive Textiles in West Chester, PA. They talk about the origins and growth of the textile printing business and the launch of KLIMAKA STUDIOS https://klimakastudios.com/, a new collection of workroom-centric fabric and wallpaper, featuring artists collaborations and engineered designs.    You can watch this episode of the Podcast on YouTube here.

The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

Amber De Lagarza's Time Blindness Podcast   Gretchen Rubin - The One Minute Rule and Will Future Gretchen Thank Me?   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

  Will Linn is the Head workroom manager at Marquis Design Group in West Palm Beach, Florida. With over 15 years experience in the world of Fashion and Interior Design, he manages the day-to-day operation of the shop, building and upholstering beds, ottomans, cornices, and walls for Marquis Design Group as well as pillows, roman shades and drapery. As a native Florida resident, he loves spending his time, when not working, at the beach and theme parks. Having graduated from Mount Ida College in Boston with a bachelor’s degree in fashion design in 2009, Will enjoys putting his degree to use in his passion for costume design and construction. His costumes can be seen gracing the stages of theatres and ballet companies in South Florida in such productions as: “The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Romeo & Juliet”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Don Quixote” and many more. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering at his former elementary school drama department helping create costume pieces for productions like “Mary Poppins”, “Oklahoma”, “The Addams Family”, and “The Lion King”, just to name a few. Will is a member of the rank of Eagle Scout with The Boy Scouts of America. He was selected by Window Fashion Magazine’s “Top 40 under 40” and even won 1st place for their workroom competition in Upholstery in 2021 As a lover of art and design, he loves to travel the globe traveling to new museums and places such as the Louvre in Paris, The Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Reykjavík Art Museum of Iceland, and The Scottish National Gallery of Art in Edinburgh Scotland to name a few.   He can be found on Instagram @boywndr86, @thesilverthimblefl, and @marquisdesigns Marquis Design Group Instagram Will Linn's Instagram

Renee Gurganus is a native of Augusta, Georgia and now lives in beautiful Wilmington, NC.  With over 20 years of leadership experience in the non-profit  and for-profit sectors, Renee brings a wealth of knowledge to the WCAA. Previously she was the Executive Director of a community organization in Murrells Inlet, SC, where she lead the organization in a new Strategic Plan that they continue to use today.   After becoming the Executive Director of the WCAA, Renee began working with the Board of Directors on a new Strategic Plan as well as rebranding the organization. 

Keaven Willa Hartt was born in Bar Harbor, Maine, and grew up in the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. She moved back to Maine in 2010 to attend the Maine College of Art, in Portland, where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Woodworking and Furniture Design, with a self-directed thesis on Sustainability Through Upholstery. Keaven founded her upholstery business, Willa Hartt, in 2019. She joined the National Upholstery Association in 2021, and was nominated to the Board of Directors, where she served first as Secretary, before recently becoming the President. Keaven still lives in Portland with her husband and their two dogs. Keaven is on Instagram     Links and Resources; (Some of the links I provide, specifically to Amazon and a few others, require me to let you know that if you use those links and make a purchase, I will make some money.  I won't make a million dollars, but I might be able to get a cup of coffee, so thank you!)   Spruce Upholstery by Amanda Brown and Grace Bonney Upholstery: A Complete Course by David James    The planner I use is from Laurel Studios.   Keaven uses the Commit 30 planner.   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

Rachel began her business in 2004 on the dining table of her mother’s living room after a fluke encounter with a family friend at the local bakery.  Who knew that croissants would be the catalyst to begin a soft furnishings business? The seed had been planted several years after visiting a stranger's home and noticing custom bedding, draperies, and floor-length round tablecloths. “I remember thinking …’hey I wonder if I could do that!’ after a sneaky examination of the undersides and backsides of those items.”  Sewing had begun for Rachel at the age of 11 and 4-H sewing programs, but it was not until 17 years later that the entrepreneurial bug bit hard and spawned a new vocational life trajectory!   Rachel is on Instagram    Links and Resources; Price Your Work with Confidence by Kitty Stein