Kansas City Connection

I am looking forward to my upcoming Kansas City book events Sept.2nd-4th, and I am thrilled  to celebrate the release of Vintage Notions with favorite local retailers who have inspired me: Curious Sofa, Urban Mining, and Tomboy Design Studio. Check my events schedule for more details. Now a little bit about my book’s connection to Kansas City…..

To tell the story of my inspiration let’s start from the beginning. My book is based on material from The Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences which was founded in 1916. After discovering newsletters from the Institute  and purchasing them based on the beautiful illustrations, I began reading the editorial writing  and was compelled to rescue and introduce the content in a modern format…

Mary Brooks Picken was the founder of the Institute and directed much of the material that was distributed via the Institute’s correspondence course. Her writing and philosophy for everyday living spoke to me ..as I further researched her life I was so excited to learn she was born in Kansas and educated in Kansas City (my home) at the American College of Dressmaking. While  researching I found this image of an advertisement from that school in one of the college’s original texts that is housed in the rare book collection at the Missouri Valley Room in Kansas City’s downtown public library.

“We teach you by mail and put you in a position to command the largest salary of any woman in your locality, or you can start in business for yourself.”

An example of early woman’s entrepreneurial driven by the knowledge of sewing and dressmaking…I love the fact what is old is new again, sewing and crafting are in vogue. Etsy and The Renegade Craft Fair are just a couple examples of this amazing handmade movement!!

Incubator events like The Creative Connection Event next month offer classes, seminars and more…join me for the event and  panel “How To Launch a Business”!!

Blog Categories

Subscribe for my best project ideas & inspiration!

You will also receive a 20% discount coupon good for any item(s) in my shop at AmyBarickman.com, as well as a special PDF bonus featuring Vintage Made Modern printables including labels, lists, cards, and a magic pattern!

Thank you for subscribing!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

0
error: Alert: Content is protected !!