About Cookie Louise Pleaze...

A little story to start the holiday weekend...

I have always wanted to craft for a living, dreaming of spending my days in a creative fog, sun shining through my window as I toil in my studio. But hey these are modern times so wake up sister, plus what exactly are you going to make that anyone wants to buy anyway? Poof...bubble burst, just like that I was off to college, then the working world, married and suddenly I was dreaming again of that studio.

The same questions haunted me... what are you going to make that people would want to buy? I have tried my hand at many creative things... dancing, painting, guitar, needlepoint, scrap booking the list can go on and on. However, there has always been one thing that has held my heart closer than any of the rest and that is sewing.

You see, my Mee Maw was a seamstress maybe not out of pleasure but out of necessity because that's what housewives did. Spending money on store bought clothes... nonsense, I can make better quality myself. So with that mantra it was rare between the ages of birth to twelve years that I have a piece of clothing from a department store. I would spend summers with my loving Mee Maw walking the block, going to the duckpond and hours upon hours in the afternoons laying under her sewing machine as she worked on a new dress for me. Occasionally standing up to have random unfinished pieces tried on and held up next to the part they were supposed to cover.

I loved looking at all of the old patterns that she had kept over the years as well as the scrap fabric from every dress asking "What did you make out of this one Mee Maw?" lying there dreamily as she told me what article of clothing it was and about how old I was when I wore the item. On occasion she would humor me and teach me how to thread the machine and how to sew simple stitches.

Fast forward to junior high and Home Ec., by this point I was sewing well by hand and learning to follow a pattern. I even made a pair of boxer shorts that the class wore in a fashion show! I would piddle on and off making purses and Halloween costumes but it never occured to me that sewing could be my "thing".

Now here I am a working wife with a God given dream of having a table at a conference filled with handmade goods. That's where Cookie Louise Pleaze begins...

As my wonderful Pastor was speaking to us about the dreams God places in our hearts and following said dreams I had my vision and my heart swelled with excitement. I began thinking of names and Cookie Louise Pleaze just popped into my head. I knew I wanted the name to reflect my sweet Boston Terrier, Cookie Louise who has been by my side for the last 11 years.

What wasn't decided was exactly what would I do with CLP? I wanted to make custom order gift baskets for sure but the overhead on starting that was quite high. Then I thought back to my vision of homemade goods. All of these cute embellished tops I would see in the stores I always thought I could make myself so I decided to give it a try. After making one for a gift and showing it to the ladies at the office the next week I had an order....

So I was off, securing a DBA, logo and really trying to start Cookie Louise Pleaze the way it deserved to begin... the right way. I have since had seven orders and made a few tops for inventory. Everyday my mind is filled with more ideas and such a desire to get to my studio and create. "What colors and fabrics will I use today, what style top can I add to this time, are there any other ways to make fabric flowers?" these are just some of the questions that fill my mind day after day.

So that is the beginning of Cookie Louise Pleaze, this is just the beginning because this little puppy has a long way to go!

xoxo,

Christina Rene'e