A Long Overdue Update

What a wild year it’s been!

In less than 20 months, I somehow managed to break my arm, move across the country three times, and finally, return to a career that I had left behind three years ago. 

In the words of the beautiful Carrie Underwood, “…I need a smoke break.”

No, I don’t smoke. But damn. 

I’m currently gazing at a Californian desert-scape outside of my home. Clusters of Joshua Trees fill my view, their branches agonizingly twisting in any and every direction. This epitomizes how I have felt in the past few months as I tried to reconcile the decisions I was making with MIKO Sewing Patterns and my core values.

My move back to California proved to be especially difficult. Is there such a thing as cross country travel fatigue? Ultimately, that third trek forced me into an unplanned month long hiatus from MIKO. 

I only intended to suspend operations for one week, max. But one week  slowly dripped into two. Then the flow quickened into the third week and finally the dam had completely broken for that fourth week. And while I did feel some regret for turning on that faucet of time, I also developed a great amount of clarity within myself and for the future of MIKO.

Learning hard lessons:

If you don’t have clarity of ideas, you’re just communicating sheer sound.

Yo-yo Ma

In 2015, I denounced fast fashion. I remained committed to not purchasing RTW clothing since then. But, I have fallen into fast fashion habits throughout the years.

Isn’t it amazing and abundantly disappointing how pervasive the fast fashion and instant gratification mentality is in our lives? 

And just this past summer, I realized that I had again given into the fast fashion temptation. Right before I left Kentucky for California, I developed a furious need to draft and release as many patterns as possible before the trek.

It fills me with so much damn regret that I indulged myself in this unnecessary desire to rapidly produce and release flurries of patterns. My docket of patterns didn’t even resemble anything like the aesthetic and functionality upon which MIKO was built. More importantly, the creative process didn’t represent my personal values and the values that I wanted to impart through MIKO Designs. 

Everything felt so terribly wasteful. Not just a waste of unwanted iterations and fabric, but also a waste of energy that should have been funneled toward supporting our amazing community of makers. I made myself into a pattern factory, and it didn’t help anyone. I couldn’t bring myself to release those patterns, which were the antithesis of the mission that I had built and envisioned for MIKO and what I wanted to bring to you.   

Onward and upward:

So, where does that leave us? What’s in store for the future?

There will be patterns, but they won’t be released in a rapid pace. They will be developed, tested and released slowly over time, and I will make sure to keep you involved throughout the process. Each design will receive the care and attention it needs to give you a garment that you can be proud of. 

I am very intimately connected to my current pattern offerings because they are pieces that I’ve personally made hundreds of times for clients over the years. This is the connection that I want for all future patterns so that I can help you through any obstacle you may encounter. 

I will also continue to supply high quality bra cups and notions for your suit making needs, whether you’re a hobbyist or micro-business. 

The future is basically this:

I want to dedicate my time to giving you the pathways that will help you develop and master the skills you need to achieve your goals. And I have a lot of fun shit planned for those pathways! (More details are on the way)

Truly, your success (however you choose to measure it) is my joy. And I want to express my sincerest gratitude to you for your patience during my abrupt life changes and for allowing me to be a part of your journey.

With so much love,