SEWING CIRCLE: Suzanne Mancini, owner of The-Sew-Op, located in North Kingstown, offers sewing instruction for every level. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
A brown and orange dress sewn in seventh grade home-economics class was the first completed project Suzanne Mancini remembers feeling pride in crafting herself. "It was the 1970s," she said, laughing at the color scheme. After pitching an after-school sewing program to the local Parent Teacher Organization to no avail, Mancini decided to go into business for herself. On top of teaching part time at Rhode Island School of Design, where she received her bachelor's degree in fashion and apparel design (she also has a master's in education from NYU) Mancini opened the-sew-op in North Kingstown on August 30th.
"I wanted a storefront so people could see us making and have the courage to make things by themselves" she said.
Her goal is to create a community by offering classes and hosting workshops to build seasonal projects, as well as clothing repairs and alterations.
"Retail is a new animal to me, but other than that, working in the studio and teaching are familiar," she said.
