Editor’s Note: In our November-December 2014 issue—now on newsstands—we write about the year-long Sacred Sewing Room National Tour project by Enchanted Makeovers and Baby Lock. For a personal spin, though, we asked Samantha Palmere of Baby Lock to share her on-the-ground experience with the Sacred Sewing Room effort.
By Samantha Palmere, guest blogger
Do you ever have someone randomly enter your thoughts and you think, “Maybe I should call that person”? In August 2013, Enchanted Makeovers founder Terry Grahl popped into my head, and that flash of randomness resulted in much more than a conversation.
Here’s some background: Baby Lock had been working with Enchanted Makeovers for about two years already as the official sewing machine sponsor for Terry’s Sacred Sewing Room program. At this point, we had completed two Sacred Sewing Rooms, but we didn’t have another in the works.
Meanwhile, I knew August was the time when the Enchanted Makeovers fundraising event, She is Me, usually takes place. I also knew that I wanted to keep our relationship with Enchanted Makeovers alive. So, even though we were busy at the Baby Lock office preparing for our annual retailer convention, I couldn’t help but imagine Terry working hard to make her own event a success, too. It was the perfect opportunity to get in touch.
Within minutes, I had a response to my e-mail. “Oh my gosh, Samantha! I was thinking about you last night and today. Can we talk next week or a day that works for you?” she wrote.
How exciting! Conversations with Terry always made me smile, so I was eager to reconnect. Little did I know that this was the start of something bigger than a machine donation. Much. Bigger.
When we finally got together on the phone, Terry explained her idea for a Sacred Sewing Room National Tour, and I immediately loved it.The Sacred Sewing Room serves as a space where a shelter’s residents can learn to sew and use sewing as a confidence booster and healing mechanism. It fits well with Baby Lock’s brand mission—for the love of sewing—because we believe that sewing is more than the act of connecting fabric with stitches. It is what you get during the process. It’s an empowering life skill, and it’s extremely therapeutic for some.
Because this was a bigger commitment than a single sewing room, I needed to make sure the whole Baby Lock team was on board. I put together a presentation more about Enchanted Makeovers, our current relationship, and Terry’s tour proposal. Before I got even halfway through the presentation, I could see smiles on every face in the room. All right! It was really going to happen!
We quickly got to work. We had numerous conference calls, started creating materials to help Enchanted Makeovers announce the tour and find sponsors, and built a micro-site for the tour. This little project suddenly wasn’t so small. I was busier than usual at work, but I loved it. I started to feel a piece of myself that I hadn’t felt in a long time—a real sense of purpose from contributing to something meaningful and helping to make a difference.
Out of the five Sacred Sewing Room makeovers we did this year, I will have personally attended four by the time you’re reading this. I’m grateful to be so hands-on with Enchanted Makeovers, and it is fun representing Baby Lock sewing machines on the road. Seeing the pictures of a finished room is one thing, but being there and really getting involved is completely different.
As we open boxes, assemble shelves and arrange fabric, we tend to lose ourselves in the moment and become part of the transformation. The days go by fast, and sometimes we forget to eat lunch or don’t grab dinner until 9 p.m. And it’s not that we purposely do it… we just get so wrapped up in finishing the room.
With Enchanted Makeovers, the job is never sloppily finished. Terry wants the residents in each shelter to know they are important. We take pride in the rooms because that translates to self-worth for the people who will use the room. Our love goes into everything, from the mural to the arrangement of fabric. Attention to detail makes the once-disheveled room more of a home. The Sacred Sewing Rooms feel welcoming and safe, and in the end, each one becomes a source of inspiration…a place that motivates real change.
The 2014 Sacred Sewing Room Tour has ended, but you can still be a part of the mission. Visit www.sacredsewingroom.org to see how you can get involved and even consider becoming a sponsor. Sponsors give Enchanted Makeovers the means to travel and bring different programs to cities across the country. If you have questions, feel free to contact Enchanted Makeovers. A conversation with Terry just may change the course of your year, as it did for me.
Samantha Palmere is the public relations specialist/copywriter for Baby Lock and
its sister brands. She writes for a variety of marketing materials including brochures, brand websites, and press releases. Samantha also develops relationships with members of the media and special organizations. This helps increase awareness for Baby Lock machines and spread the love of sewing. In her spare time she likes to find new ways to use her creative energy, most recently in hoop dancing, getting crafty with wedding invitations, making up poetry games with her fiancé, and learning how to bake cookies without “necessary” ingredients such as eggs or sugar.
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