Meet Theresa Taylor

We recently connected with Theresa Taylor and have shared our conversation below.

Theresa, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

Being creative is one of my favorite attributes and it has been envied by others. As a child growing up, I had a love for color, being outside, art, reading books, dancing and music. A combination of all these things evoked my creativity and allowed me to use it in many ways throughout my life. When I was little, I always found myself drawing pictures of a house with a sun shining bright and an apple tree growing in the front yard with pretty flowers. I would often use my imagination from reading books to paint a picture of what the story told.
Now as an adult, those very same things still give me inspiration and keeps my creativity alive and thriving! I use so many different elements to draw creativity from. And as a fashion designer and seamstress, I get to put that energy into my work and pass it on to others when I teach my sewing classes. I get students who say they don’t know how to be creative and I make it my duty to push them to tap into it, even when they think they don’t have it.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Right now I am focused on building up my professional and business network, while continuing to sew bridal gowns and veils. Being featured in several magazines at this point, I am definitely putting together content for the articles and my social media pages. I am also considering doing LIVE videos and demos to showcase bridal alterations and dress transformations.
Creating content takes a lot of work, time and energy, but it can be very rewarding when it’s capturing the attention of future clients and even spectators.
I do plan to attend Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, not sure when but it will be in the next couple years. I am sure that will give me even more inspiration to create my very collection of bridal gowns and veils. My desire and goal is to create haute couture, elaborate, exclusive gowns and veils with exquisite details. I want my gowns to be one of a kind and unique from the traditional wedding gowns.
I am also looking forward to teaching others how to make gowns and veils as well. These will be the far advanced students who have the skill and potential to have a collection of their own. I would love to teach 100 people a year how to sew!
Another goal is to get into bridal expos and join into a few organizations that empower entrepreneurs like myself.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

One of my most impactful qualities is knowing about fabrics/textiles. I owe that to working as a fabric cutter at Hancock Fabrics when they were a business. I learned a lot about how to identify fabrics like satin, chiffon and linen. I also learned how to measure fabric for cutting and how to cut pile fabric like fur and velvet. Having this knowledge put me at the head of the class when I went to college and had to take textiles. Now I can tell what most fabrics are just by looking at a picture.
My second my impactful skill is reading books! I have always been an avid reader and it fuels my imagination on many levels. I have read all kinds of books from romance to self-help. I enjoy the stories and the ability to put myself in the plots, as if I am a part of it or just a fly on the wall. Reading has allowed me the ability to enhance my speaking, teaching and my knowledge on many levels. Reading helps broaden my perspective, vocabulary and evokes my curiosity!
The third I must say is my attention to detail. When I was in college, in our clothing construction classes, we would loose points if there were hanging threads on our garments. So that keeps my eyes focused on anything that is out of place, using balance and my creative eye.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Brave Love 365: Daily Inspiration, Validation and Support for Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse and Toxic Relationships by Ericka Nelson, MAC

This book has opened up my mind, heart and spirit to the journey of healing. I needed to read this book because I didn’t realize how badly I needed to heal. Having been through childhood trauma and domestic abuse, I went through my life feeling unloved, unappreciated and undervalued.
And because of that I had to learn how to not only love myself but to forgive myself as well.
The book doesn’t have chapters it has daily affirmations and it describes every situation you could be in and not know it.
I never knew what “love-bombing and gaslighting” meant and how damaging it can be to someone who is vulnerable.
Being able to identify my triggers and how to keep them from getting in my head and reacting to something that needs to be addressed. The book taught me how valuable I am and the important roles I play in other people’s lives. It showed me that forgiving myself for mistakes or bad decisions is very important for my healing journey.
I am very grateful for reading this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who has been in toxic situations and relationships.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @clothesruleschoolofsewing
• Facebook: Royalty Couture Dresses and Gowns
• Twitter: @Icansteamyou2

Image Credits

Photos taken by Theresa Taylor