For some people, the very sight of a sewing machine brings back unpleasant high school memories of failed button holes, jammed bobbins, and crooked hemlines.
But for Laurie Allan-Franks, sitting in front of a humming sewing machine is a joy. In fact, sewing is something she’s so passionate about, she wants to share the hobby with others.
Allan-Franks founded La Movida Sewing & Design Studio with the goal of making learning to sew as fun and simple as possible.
“It’s so much easier to sew now,” she says, explaining modern machines have an automated one-step button-hole maker, among other handy functions.
The first La Movida location opened in Kitsilano three years ago and, in January 2016, a second location opened in Dundarave. The two studios provide sewing, illustration and design instruction for youth and adults of all skill levels. They also offer summer camps, private parties, and portfolio preparation for those looking to enhance their applications to post-secondary fashion design programs (former portfolio students have gone on to study at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Ryerson University in Toronto, and Parsons School of Design in New York, Allan-Franks notes).
To stay on trend, Allan-Franks often browses clothing stores to get ideas for classroom projects.
“I think there’s a feeling that when you sew something it looks very homemade, it looks kind of old-fashioned, but we try and make it as contemporary as possible,” she says.
La Movida has about 50 patterns designed in-house and specializes in patterns for tweens.
“They don’t exist in the marketplace,” Allan-Franks says, explaining most fabric stores stock patterns only for children or adults. “We also carry some commercial patterns and then a basic line of adult womenswear patterns,” she adds.
Students can also learn to do their own basic pattern drafting and then sew a garment based on their custom design.
“It’s very easy to make a simple skirt, a simple pair of pants. We do a lot of hoodies. Everybody likes to make hoodies – super easy,” Allan-Franks says.
Absolute beginners will start out by learning the basics of operating a sewing machine and then move on to making a lined tote bag. Students are welcome to bring in their own fabric, or they can choose from La Movida’s curated collection of fabrics and notions – a good option for those who have never set foot inside a fabric store.
“The advantage to having the shop in here is when you go into a big shop you have no idea what you’re looking for,” Allan-Franks says. “We use the little shop as an education tool to show (students) the different things that are available.”
La Movida originated back in 1987 as a fashion label. At the time, Lycra was gaining popularity in the apparel industry beyond just swimwear and undergarments and Allan-Franks made heavy use of the stretchy material in her line of nightclub wear for young women.
“I was 21 at the time, so it was like what every 21-year-old girl would want to have,” she says. “We sold throughout Vancouver and Western Canada.”
After a decade running La Movida Designs, Allan-Franks decided it was time for an about-face career change. “I was very artsy fartsy and I decided I needed something more serious.”
So, she left the fashion industry entirely and became a mortgage broker – a job that required her to remove her nose ring, dye her pink hair a more conservative brown, and wear a pinstripe suit. During that time, she missed fashion desperately and satisfied her creative urges by sewing clothes for her kids, fun weekend wear for herself, and textiles for her home. After 10 years in banking, it was finally time to call it quits.
“It just was so not me. I hated it,” she says.
But the work experience was not for naught. She was able to save up some money and she acquired the business acumen necessary to own and operate a children’s fine arts studio for three years. There, she discovered a love of teaching. She also realized that nobody was teaching sewing.
“I liked (sewing) so much and I was doing it all the time and my friends were asking me to teach them to sew,” Allan-Franks recalls.
Sewing is a skill that was forced upon her mother’s generation, she says, but it fell out of necessity as inexpensive, ready-to-wear clothing began flooding the marketplace. Today though, Allan-Franks meets plenty of teens wanting to make their own one-of-a-kind clothing and accessories that can’t be bought in stores, and adults looking to brush up on their rusty sewing skills.
“For some people it’s quite frustrating, but for me it’s definitely my happy place, so I really enjoy teaching people.”
Find La Movida Sewing & Design Studio’s West Vancouver location at 2461 Marine Dr. For more information, visit lamovida.ca.
