Fashion Entrepreneurship with Li Li’s Creations

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Episode Summary

Lisa talks with Malacia Anderson of LiLi’s Creations, a lovely custom sewing brand that blends the beauty and complexity of African fabrics with classic and bold silhouettes. Join them for a chat about fashion education, building a brand, sewing for celebrities, and persevering even when you can “taste the quit.”

Episode Notes

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[00:00:00] Lisa Woolfork: Hello, stitchers. Welcome to stitch, please. The official podcast of black women's stitch, the sewing group, where black lives matter. I'm your host Lisa wool fork. I'm a fourth generation sewing enthusiast with more than 20 years of sewing experience. I am looking forward to today's conversation. So sit back, relax, and get ready to get your stitch together.
[00:00:46] Lisa Woolfork: Hello everyone. Good day. And thank you so much for tuning into the stitch. Please podcast the. The pod, the official podcast of black women stitch the sewing group where black lives matter. I, I know I say this every week [00:01:00] and I know y'all must, hopefully believe me when I say it because I am incredibly sincere.
[00:01:05] Lisa Woolfork: When I say that I am excited to get with y'all every week and to have this conversation. And I am especially thrilled to be talking today with Malaysia Anderson of Lil's creations. Um, Malaysia's work is exquisite. I think her style is a combination, at least in my view of, of African print. Meets a kind of vintage look, she has these absolutely beautiful silhouettes, um, in a variety of collections that
[00:01:39] Lisa Woolfork: she has designed and sewn and sold over the years.
[00:01:44] Lisa Woolfork: And so I am so happy to be able to welcome Malaysia to the program today. Thank you so
[00:01:49] Li Li: For being here.
[00:01:50] Li Li: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to talk to you guys. I
[00:01:56] Lisa Woolfork: am so excited too, and I'm, I'm hoping [00:02:00] that there's folks who, um, are familiar with your work. Um, and if not, well, I will include links to a variety of so many things that she has done, but I wanted to kind of begin with where does your sewing story begin?
[00:02:15] Lisa Woolfork: How did you get started sewing?
[00:02:19] Li Li: Oh, my my sewing story, um, began with my mother. My mother, um, would make our clothes as a kid. Um, I grew up in a time where, you know, you, you ate dinner, had a bath and was in the bed, whether you were sleep or not by about seven 30 at night. And she would take that time to, uh, do all the things that she liked to do, which included sewing.
[00:02:46] Li Li: And a lot of times she would make us dresses and things like that. And hang 'em on our door already for the next day to be worn to school. And I just thought that was just C know, magical. [00:03:00] And so as I got older, um, probably around about nine, 10 years old, I wanted to learn how to sell, um, I didn't necessarily want my mother to teach me herself.
[00:03:13] Li Li: So soul, I, you know, I, I felt like my mom probably would've cracked away a little bit and I've been like, Nope, . So I, we had four H um, in my town at that time. Um, I'm in, I live in Roosevelt, New York and it used to be right above the European bank that used to be in Roosevelt. And, um, they offered a variety of classes in one included sewing.
[00:03:39] Li Li: My sewing teacher's name was Mrs. Taylor. And, um, that's where I actually learned how to sew my first year sewing under her two religion. Then every summer thereafter I would help her teach the other kids' houses, sew. And, you know, she became a longtime family friend, and [00:04:00] that's where my sewing, um, began.
[00:04:03] Li Li: And I would compete, um, at state fair up in Albany and. Compete to go. And I, I won, um, my sophomore year in high school and I wanna make my clothes in high school. And then my last year of high school, I decided I wanted to go to F I T, um, which was a daunting test because I wasn't, you know, the traditional, I wanna be a designer where I was drawing and designing.
[00:04:35] Li Li: I just loved to sew and it was just something I wanted, uh, to do. And my art teacher at the time, his wife was a teacher at F I T. So he asked her, you know, basically what are a criteria, you know, for someone to try and get into fashion design at F I T and then he would tailor my art classes around that to help me, [00:05:00] um, gain a little bit of drawing and, and design technique.
[00:05:06] Li Li: In high school so that I would be proficient enough to take the test. I knew that my sewing part, I, I knew that part was fine. It was the other aspects of like designing on the fly and the things that they made you do to get into F I T, which was really competitive. I don't know if they still do it that way, but you had to take a test of design, an outfit on the spot and then bring an outfit that you've made and be interviewed and talk about that outfit and how you constructed.
[00:05:39] Li Li: And I don't know if they still do it that way, but that is how they did it back then. And you're in a room full of, oh my gosh, maybe 50, 60 other people trying to get in, uh, into the design program and to my surprise, [00:06:00] I got in and, um, My, I, I, what's interesting about that is, um, I took design for my first year and a half and it was, it was intense.
[00:06:15] Li Li: And my sewing definitely rescued me in, in many, many, many ways. I, but I wasn't a drawer. I wasn't a person who could like just illustrate this beautiful thing and then, you know, turn it into a garment. I was more of, let me turn it into the garment and then draw it, which is not, you know, how it's garnered in school.
[00:06:39] Li Li: So I think I, by my year and a half, I kind of got frustrated. I thought that it would get beyond my capabilities of being able to handle it. And I ended up, uh, switching my major to, uh, fashion buying and merchandising, which was cool, but not as. Creative. So that was, it just was [00:07:00] different in that sense. Um, so I had maybe one year and a half, almost two years of fashion design from F YT.
[00:07:07] Li Li: And later on in life, I went back for pattern making because I wanted to understand, uh, fit and grading because I used to, could take a commercial pattern and just, I could mash up the patterns altogether to create whatever the person was asking for. I understood how to grade across the sizes to get that fit.
[00:07:30] Li Li: Um, but I wanted to have a, a deeper knowledge of it. So I took, um, pattern making and design, which actually helps in what I do right now. And that's kind of how it all evolved based off my mother, putting dresses on our door when we were
[00:07:47] Lisa Woolfork: little kids. That is fantastic. I mean, you described the magical, the first story you described.
[00:07:53] Lisa Woolfork: Definitely, definitely seemed magical. I definitely remember as a kid going to bed when I wasn't tired. Um, but I guess my mama [00:08:00] was tired of me. That was the point pretty much. Um, it wasn't that, oh, it doesn't matter if three of y'all are tired or not. oh, she, I am tired. I'm
[00:08:07] Li Li: tired. And you're what I'm trying to do has nothing to do with you.
[00:08:12] Li Li: Yes. So what you're gonna do, and it was always this rule of don't be making too much noise, right?
[00:08:19] Lisa Woolfork: Yes,
[00:08:20] Li Li: yes. Yeah. And sometimes I would be tired and my sister would talk my ear off and I would just be like, well, she just please. And other times, you know, and other times it was like, why are we in here? You know, it's like, I
[00:08:33] Lisa Woolfork: think the sun is still out the sun
[00:08:36] Li Li: still out in the summertime.
[00:08:37] Li Li: The sun's still out. And my mother did not care. Okay. Did
[00:08:41] Lisa Woolfork: not care. She did not care. And so this, this, so this, for this bedtime, of course, let her create magic for you. All right. Yes. You go to bed and next thing you know, on your door, it's like a whole new outfit is hanging something for you, something for you to wear.
[00:08:55] Lisa Woolfork: It's just, that's just a beautiful story. And then what you've described for us is this [00:09:00] transit, this transition from four H to F I T, like that was such a quick, um, a transformation. And what sounds so beautiful about it is that you were able to begin your sewing time or your, your sewing story, um, with a kind of formal instruction, um, that then you started teaching other kids.
[00:09:23] Lisa Woolfork: Yeah. You know, through four H like you could be the assistant. Yeah. Um, and I'll include links in the show notes. Y'all for four H it's um, it's it stands for, I think what's the one of the four it's a, if you imagine a Clover, it, each leaf of the Clover mm-hmm each leaf has an H like hard head hand and something, I forgot what the fourth one was, but it's about, it's about, they do farming.
[00:09:49] Lisa Woolfork: They do sewing, they do all types of, um, domestic arts is the wrong word, but it's just something about basic, almost like what it [00:10:00] takes to kind of build your own homestead, kind of what are the kind of things you're gonna need. So I know animal husband treat is a big part
[00:10:06] Li Li: of it for hands in health.
[00:10:08] Li Li: That's what it's.
[00:10:09] Lisa Woolfork: There you go. Thank you. So you've spoken like a true four HR , um, And, um, and so that's the, and it's a, they do a lot of youth programs, a lot of youth programs and summer camps and things like that. Mm-hmm so, and then F I T is the fashion Institute of technology, which is in New York city.
[00:10:29] Lisa Woolfork: Um, four H is all around the country. Um, and F I T is a fashion school in New York, and I thought it was really cool that your high school teacher kind of had an in, um, mm-hmm, not to kind of give you the hookup necessarily, but to give you the training that could help you build your profile. So yes, he, he gave
[00:10:51] Li Li: these the guidance.
[00:10:52] Lisa Woolfork: Yes, yes. Gave you guidance. Exactly. This isn't like, I know her, let her in, this is not that kind of situation. Um, but [00:11:00] it's able, you, you are able to say, okay, my sewing is already good. My sewing is solid. What else do I need? . Um, and so you had an art teacher who was able to say, okay, what you're gonna need is some illustration skills.
[00:11:12] Lisa Woolfork: Mm-hmm, , you're gonna need this. You're gonna need that. And then you can practice that and work on that. Now, did you end up using the sketching and illustration skills? Do you still use those kind of things today, or are you more, or do you do more of the kind of pattern it is, pattern making more, um, of what you do now in terms of the skills you retained from your time in school?
[00:11:36] Lisa Woolfork: I,
[00:11:37] Li Li: I it's, um, I think what I do now is I, I tend to buy my fabric first, um, and then build it from that. Sometimes, yes, I will sit and I will sketch out once I've gotten all of the pieces of fabric that I, I think I wanna use for a [00:12:00] collection, I will sketch out and say, I'm gonna do a dress. I'm gonna do a skirt.
[00:12:04] Li Li: I do this, I pants. I do kind do that. I also, if you follow me or go through my Instagram, I do actually keep pretty much the same aesthetic. So if it's a dress, it's gonna be a specific dress. So it'll, it could be either a remix dress or it'll be my Lee Afro bowel dress. And I'll just mix new fabric and new color.
[00:12:30] Li Li: So I cuz I felt that keeping a consistent look inside the brand is what keeps people to know who I am and then I would build around it. So maybe I'll bring in pants or I'll bring in a blouse I've never done. Or, and maybe I may jazz it up with a different. Dress that I thought of. Uh, but the, but the basic vintage style dress and the skirt, it's kind of like the staples.
[00:12:58] Li Li: And then I, I build it [00:13:00] around there. Um, and so I do, I will, sometimes I will sketch it out. Sometimes the fabric just kind of tells me it should be this, or it should be that. And then I just decide, like, what kind of dress or what kind of skirt or, you know, and then I also think about how everyone else will wear it.
[00:13:22] Li Li: Um, for me, even though I'm not tall, I have just enough curve that I can wait
[00:13:28] Lisa Woolfork: a minute. You're not tall. No, I'm sorry. You are not tall. So one of the things I'd love to, we're gonna talk about, uh, y'all is on the list of things to discuss was her fashion photography. Because if you scroll through her page, um, she's got these gorgeous, gorgeous photos, vintage cars, and on stairways.
[00:13:49] Lisa Woolfork: And you know, and of course I wanna get into some of the shoes and she's got these beautiful, beautiful photographs. There is no way. I thought you were anything less than five [00:14:00] 11. I thought for you, I'm
[00:14:01] Li Li: not tall in
[00:14:02] Lisa Woolfork: my photographer. Not for sure you talk. I thought this is news to me. I'm so glad you told me this, because if I ever happen to meet you in real life, I think I would be so shocked.
[00:14:11] Lisa Woolfork: You'll be shocked. I would just be like, wait a minute. This is not the same person. Cause the person I'm is like six people
[00:14:17] Li Li: on heel now, heels an for that, I am not tall. Um, And I have hips and I have a small waist, so it actually helps, uh, when I'm making something, if I could get it to fit me, cuz I'm very shallow.
[00:14:38] Li Li: I have, I have fit issues that, you know, if I can get it to fit me and look nice, I pretty much know everybody else will be able to wear it because I'm not exactly a easy person to fit. I'm not like straight or perfect or. I'm not that, so sorry. Not tall. [00:15:00]
[00:15:00] Lisa Woolfork: Oh my gosh. That is, so that is so awesome. No, I, and I guess, like you said, your photographer's the bomb as well as the pieces that you put together.
[00:15:10] Lisa Woolfork: Um, I, I wanted to ask, um, you, uh, ask you, how would you consider your Afro bell dress, one of your signature pieces. And I also like how you said you start with the fabric, um, what you were describing earlier about pattern making and how that became, um, most useful for you, um, or in your current work right now, as a designer, I thought that was really great because what we, what we're learning now, at least those of us who are using big four patterns, they're now call it pattern hack.
[00:15:41] Lisa Woolfork: And you can actually buy a pattern and practice it. I think simplicity has that pattern hacking line that gives you instructions on how to change things around, which is, you know, things that you've learned in school. And I don't know, I just thought that was interesting that, you know, this mix and match kind of [00:16:00] thing is something that, um, home sellers are now being encouraged to do formally.
[00:16:05] Li Li: Yeah. Yes. And I, I think the commercial patterns, oh my gosh, they they've come so far and long in regards to design and fashion that they're offering now. Cuz now, you know, I I'm like, well I could just lay that down and make it okay. Whereas in the past I used to be like how many pieces I mash up four patterns to get there you know, so, wow.
[00:16:32] Li Li: Wow. Now, and I that's just what I would, um, I, you know, if I saw a picture in the magazine. I could drap it. I did take draping. I have a draping form. Um, but from, for offering things online, I feel like draping would take me too long. I, I wouldn't, it would be too costly to drap each and every piece for each person.
[00:16:58] Li Li: So I had to learn right. [00:17:00] Um, hacking and fit and measurements and things like that. I mean, someone can gimme their measurements now, and I can tell if you're wrong or not just from looking at it. I, I can just be like, no, I think you need to take that again. That, that doesn't aesthetically make sense. You can't be an inch apart on your bus wasting hip.
[00:17:20] Li Li: You're not a box that's not possible. Right.
[00:17:24] Lisa Woolfork: So, right.
[00:17:26] Li Li: I think pattern hacking and understanding, um, grading really helps. I think that's one of the challenges people probably have in using a commercial pattern is not understanding how to cut it, to fit their sides. they just take the pattern and they let's say they'll cut a eight.
[00:17:43] Li Li: I'm a eight. No, you're not, you're not a eight. You're not a eight. You're like a 14 in the hip and in a waist. and a eight plus.
[00:17:51] Lisa Woolfork: Yeah, exactly.
[00:17:53] Li Li: Uh, and, but, you know, there's no guide in that when you get a pattern, they don't tell you [00:18:00] that they don't say before you touch this,
[00:18:03] Lisa Woolfork: you know, before you touch this, look at the finished
[00:18:06] Li Li: measurements.
[00:18:07] Li Li: You know, you look at the measurements on the back of the envelope, which are probably archaic. They probably have not, or updated that at all. What the,
[00:18:17] Lisa Woolfork: I think almost said something. It was something like, if you are a size, I think they had something like for a size 16 or something was. I think like a 33 inch or 34 inch waist.
[00:18:28] Lisa Woolfork: And I was just like, I'm like, I'm, I'm trying to understand where is
[00:18:32] Li Li: this coming from? That's not really a 16. That's really a 14. it's just
[00:18:36] Lisa Woolfork: it's it was, it was some kind of just weird thing.
[00:18:39] Li Li: It's very weird. Or it's like, oh, eight is really like a 28 inch race in reality. But if you look at the pattern, you're like, where where's the where's where's the 28.
[00:18:54] Li Li: What, what, where is it? Well, I don't have to worry about [00:19:00] like, if you, if you're really like a true, no holes bar 12, it's really like 31 inches is a perfect size, 12 ways literally. But if you looking at the pattern, you are confused. Now you are 18. You're like. So you have to, uh, the finish measurements is what you need, not the actual envelope, the actual finish, where does it finish at?
[00:19:27] Li Li: Because you take that amount and you compare it to your own measurements and boom. Now, you know where to cut now. You know how to cut it and not cut it wrong.
[00:19:39] Lisa Woolfork: And I think that sometimes it seems like because sizing is so different from at least from ready to wear. To commercial patterns. Yeah. That you could be a 12 in one person size mm-hmm or one company size, and then the same size, you could be an eight mm-hmm or you could be a 14 mm-hmm [00:20:00] all of these things.
[00:20:01] Lisa Woolfork: Like the numbers are just so random. Um, and so, and that's why I think it becomes so important, like you said, to, to measure for your measurements and to remember that no one is a standard body, you know? And I think that that's something that I think that, that, that could be so stressful about sewing, unfortunately, is when you give the power to the pattern envelope, mm-hmm um, to, to say, well, this is, you know, you are imperfect because you are a blend of three different sizes and it's like, no, no, I'm just, I'm not imperfect.
[00:20:33] Lisa Woolfork: I am just a human. And this block was made for someone who was a straw. And so that's why in
[00:20:41] Li Li: 1950, whatever, it's not even a new yeah.
[00:20:44] Lisa Woolfork: I like before people had, you know, refined carbohydrates, um, I guess, right. And in their diets syrup, I mean, exactly, exactly. So people were shaped differently. Um, I wanted to ask about this.[00:21:00]
[00:21:00] Lisa Woolfork: When you say beginning with the fabric, it seems like you let the fabric kinda speak to you. Yes. Would you say that that's true because you have some absolutely stunning fabrics and I wonder how you, what is your process for looking at a piece of fabric and knowing what it needs to be?
[00:21:22] Li Li: Um, well, you're right in that I do, uh, let the fabrics, uh, speak to me.
[00:21:27] Li Li: I find that, uh, African fabric, um, it's, it has so much depth to it that. Um, I do try to keep the actual basis of the design simple so that you can actually see the, the beauty of the fabric instead of complicating it. And then you, you lose it all. Um, when I am, when I am, um, buying fabric, I kind of, I do buy what I [00:22:00] like in, in a sense.
[00:22:02] Li Li: Um, I ha I have a tendency of color matching with my eyes without realizing I'm blending everything together so I can buy a piece of fabric. Let's say, I, I, which you know, I'll be at, uh, bam and they'll have a big African arts festival. I will see 12 year olds of fabric and have no idea what it's going to be for.
[00:22:30] Li Li: But I love it. I buy it. And as I go, I see stuff and I buy it. And then when it's time to form a collection, I'll pull out everything that I've bought and, and somehow there's a cohesiveness in color or it, and it just happens very organically. Um, and then what I do is I, I kind of really look at it and say, you know what?
[00:22:54] Li Li: That would make a really beautiful, uh, skirt or this mix with that would just [00:23:00] make an awesome, you know, dress. So I, some of it is organic. Just the fact that I, how I interpret the colors in my mind. And then, um, I kind of, kind of go from there. So I don't buy the fabric all at one time. I actually buy it in pieces and stages as I go along.
[00:23:20] Li Li: And then. Um, build it this spring. If, if I get to it, I hope . I actually bought my fabric from Spoonflower because I wanted to try something different. Um, I always buy African fabric and, um, I was feeling a little frustrated with all of the flooding of African clothes that's in, in that's in the market right now that I wanted to just, uh, try something different.
[00:23:53] Li Li: So all of the fabric that I have for spring is actually from, um, spoon and flour is, [00:24:00] um, I mean, look up her, her name. So I, if, when I say her name, I actually say it correctly. Um, Katie is the designer of the fabric that I picked. I actually follow her, uh, Katie Corman art. Um,
[00:24:18] Lisa Woolfork: oh, Katie Corman. Yeah, I know who that is.
[00:24:21] Lisa Woolfork: Yeah.
[00:24:21] Li Li: Katie Corman. I actually follow her on, um, Instagram. I love all of her. I love all her prints and splashes of color. And I just think it's just so amazing. And I thought it would be cool to actually use fabric that was made by someone else as opposed to, you know, so, and then I picked the different, um, like cottons and Shon and things like that.
[00:24:47] Li Li: And, and I still ended up re blending the colors together, even though, you know, I still ended up doing it anyway. So if I lay it all out, they all look like the Easter egg [00:25:00] rainbow. Oh, that's awesome. I could probably mix and match half of them together. Unknowingly, just it's just the way my eye tends to, uh, to play with the color.
[00:25:11] Li Li: I think that keeping it organic in that way. And I just feel like the fabric shouldn't be so disturbed. I've seen people do so many things with it that you almost disturb the fabric and they can't even really tell a story. And I kind of wanna keep that the artfulness, uh, to the prince. And that's kind of where I allow it talk to me instead of me dictate what it's gonna be.
[00:25:37] Li Li: I think that that
[00:25:37] Lisa Woolfork: organic process that you describe is really beautiful. And you can see that for your overall aesthetic. It's absolutely working. Um, I was thinking about a post that you made back actually on my birthday, March 20th of this year. And you have this, you wear this, um, fascinator that has like a net going down over your face.
[00:25:59] Lisa Woolfork: Mm-hmm [00:26:00] um, like a, I don't know what, I don't know what else to call it. I, I think it's a
[00:26:04] Li Li: fascinating that's right. It's a fascinator
[00:26:05] Lisa Woolfork: mm-hmm and then you have the Bodi of the dress is in this bold red with white swatches and then the skirt is black and white, I think never in a million years. Would I have thought to put a black and white skirt with a red, white, yellow, and black top?
[00:26:26] Lisa Woolfork: Like mm-hmm I mean, what is the, was there a particular. Story or something you were going for there because it just looks, it looks absolutely perfect, but I never would've thought about putting those two things together. How do you, how do you get the fabric to, um, as you were saying, you don't wanna disturb the fabric?
[00:26:49] Lisa Woolfork: I think that's a beautiful way to think about let, let the fabric tell its own story. Mm-hmm um, how do you manage to put these pieces together? Um, in, in a [00:27:00] way that just works so perfectly.
[00:27:03] Li Li: Um, when I, with that particular dress, um, at the time I felt that my mixes were kind of doing the same thing. They were, you know, same color, um, big print, little print, and, um, I wanted something that was mixed, but not expected.
[00:27:25] Li Li: Um, yeah, I know that black and white goes with pretty much anything. Um, so I had loved the black and white print itself, and then I just happened to see this red and it has hints of black in it and yellow and white. And I was like,
[00:27:44] Li Li: I, because you always to wear a pop of red, you know, you tend to wear like a pop of red with black or pop of red with white. So I was like, you know what, um, this is it. This is what I'm gonna, I'm gonna do. And then when I, [00:28:00] I bought it from a, uh, Etsy shop, I don't know if she's still on there. That was a long time ago.
[00:28:05] Li Li: I have to look, but I bought it from a Etsy shop and she didn't know what I was doing with it. And then when I told her, she was like, oh, I was like, no, no, I'm mixing those. She thought I was gonna mix it where my traditional way, where part of it's this and part of it's that I'm like, no, the top is this.
[00:28:26] Li Li: The bottom is that, you know, which was unexpected. I actually love that dress. I still have that dress. I love that dress.
[00:28:35] Lisa Woolfork: I think there's a lot to love.
[00:28:37] Li Li: It's gorgeous. It's it's just Sherry. She has that dress. I love that dress.
[00:28:41] Lisa Woolfork: Yeah. I was gonna ask about that about like your celebrity sewing. Like, what was that like?
[00:28:47] Lisa Woolfork: So let's, we're gonna take a quick break. Uh, and when we come back, we'll continue talking with Malaysia Anderson, um, about sewing for Sherry shepherd, um, about the XY commercial that she [00:29:00] did. Um, and what she's working on next. So stay tuned.
[00:29:14] Li Li: Hey
[00:29:15] Lisa Woolfork: friends, you know, by now that I really appreciate a good milestone and we are about to hit a really good one black women's stitch is about to turn two years old. This is our second birthday coming up on July 19th. And we are just so delighted and so grateful for the growth of this community and for the flourishing of this podcast.
[00:29:36] Lisa Woolfork: So we wanna make a few more wish. If you can find out more about these wishes in the show notes, I'll list them there. But let me just share a couple ones that circulated around the number 50. Um, my 50th birthday was this year and like many people, the celebration was a bit muted because of the plans had been canceled.
[00:29:55] Lisa Woolfork: Um, but the number 50 is still my year and I am gonna [00:30:00] claim this year and here's a couple things else. I wanted to claim, um, 50 Patreon subscribers right now we have 26 and I would love to get to 50 by my birthday. We're already halfway there. Um, I'd love to get there by the stitch please birthday, which will be on July 19th.
[00:30:17] Lisa Woolfork: So we've got some days, um, at little $2 a month is really very. Oh, um, so thank you so much for considering it also 50,000 podcast downloads. We are very, very close to that way more than halfway there. Um, so I think it just takes a couple more little pushes and nudges, um, to share the podcast, to get us to that 50,000 mark.
[00:30:39] Lisa Woolfork: So thank you again for listening to this podcast. We never would've gotten to this point without you. Thank you for making that happen and do check the show notes for more details for some of our birthday wishes.[00:31:00]
[00:31:07] Lisa Woolfork: Welcome back everybody. You are listening to the stitch please podcast the official podcast of black women's stitch. And my guest today is Malaysia Anderson of Lil Lee's creations. And she's gonna talk about her celebrity sewing, um, that the, the, the, the signature dresses and the things that she does in terms of color combinations and work with African fabrics and the Afro bell dress is, um, it reached the eye of Sherry shepherd.
[00:31:35] Lisa Woolfork: Um, and so can you talk a bit about what that was like? I remember seeing her wearing that on TV, and I was like, I know the person that made that , uh, yeah. Was really exciting. So can you, it was exciting for me and I didn't even do it. So, can you talk about that process? Um,
[00:31:53] Li Li: it was actually, I, I, I never really actually looked for celebr, uh, you know, her or [00:32:00] any celebrity to, um, where my items, uh, she found me on Etsy.
[00:32:05] Li Li: Um, I actually didn't know it was her at first cuz she was buying under a, another name and then she told me, um, I'm not sure how she found me. I don't know if she found me. She, we do follow now. So I don't
[00:32:22] Lisa Woolfork: know if it I'm sorry. Could you, could you say that last part again? Did you say you do follow each other?
[00:32:26] Lisa Woolfork: Now we do
[00:32:27] Li Li: follow each other on Instagram now and from that point on, but I'm not sure if she found me through Instagram or if she did a search on Etsy and found me. uh, that way I'm not really sure which way. So it wasn't something that I, I, uh, like sought out or I, it wasn't that it was always just organic.
[00:32:51] Li Li: It, you know, it came to me and all of the, not that I have a massive amount, but the few that I have had the opportunity to make [00:33:00] things for, it's been very organic where they, where I'm approached with, with that, as opposed to me, um, doing some sort of special thing to make that happen. Um, and her first initial buy was, I believe like some bell skirt says I used to have a bells and I'd still do it from time to time, just not as much, um, where I have the matching Lily girl t-shirt and the skirt that, that goes t-shirt and skirts that I think that was her first one.
[00:33:31] Li Li: And then she bought, um, my eye address and. She has that that's, that dress is, uh, called the Makia bell dress, which is the red and white and black dress. Um, and what's beautiful about her. And my dresses is her shape is the perfect shape for that dress because I balance it balances her out. She's a she's, uh, broader.
[00:33:57] Li Li: And then she goes in and narrows out in the hip. [00:34:00] So a fuller skirt on her balances out her top, which makes her waist look smaller. So she picked one, you know, address like a high waist is good for her because it narrows her in and full fuller on the bottom, fills her out, cuz her, she doesn't have hips to fill her out and it gives her the perfect hour glass shape in the clothes.
[00:34:25] Li Li: Um, So it was just a very organic thing, super exciting, um, that she has a number of my pieces. She's really amazing person. Um, Felicia Leatherwood has some of my pieces who does hair for like isare and, um, she's an amazing natural hair designer. I, I I've always followed her, love her, so sweet. So very nice.
[00:34:52] Li Li: Um, Google Atkins, Erica Campbell's sister has a few of my pieces and it's always really organic. A [00:35:00] lot of it came through, uh, Instagram and Etsy. I've been on Etsy for, uh, since 2013. And that really was the only platform I sold at. So it made it easy for people to find you because there there's only one place to look.
[00:35:15] Li Li: I do have my own website now as well, but I've had that one thing for a long time, but that's, it was very, very organic and. I think that, you know, the Bible says your gift will make room for you and put you before great men, if you exercise that type of integrity and the things that, and the gift that you're using, then things like that will just happen.
[00:35:41] Li Li: You don't really have to manipulate it to happen. It, it just will happen on its own. And that gives it a sense of, uh, authenticity. And it's the same thing with the, uh, the Etsy commercials and that same thing, the Etsy commercial is hands down. The best thing [00:36:00] that's probably happened to me in a pandemic.
[00:36:05] Lisa Woolfork: So can you, can you talk about this? So I'm gonna include a link. To the Etsy commercial. Um, I, I, can we, is it, is it, is, is it clickable and linkable like
[00:36:15] Li Li: that? I definitely wanna see. Yes, it is. Let people, yes, it's on, um, it's on YouTube. Um, there's, there's a short version and a long version of the commercial.
[00:36:23] Li Li: Um, um, it's on their Etsy page. If you, if you, I can also give you the, the, the link for it. Perfect,
[00:36:30] Lisa Woolfork: perfect. Cause I think that I I'm gonna include all the, the links to things that we've been talking about here, um, in the show notes. So people can kind of mm-hmm, check it can follow up and, and see these things for yourself.
[00:36:42] Lisa Woolfork: But the exit commercial was it. I feel like I just learned so much about you. I thought it was just beautifully shot. I thought you looked amazing. Um, and the PA your passion for what you're doing really came through. Can you talk about how that came about? I know for example, I know you said you've been on Etsy since 2013, so [00:37:00] that's like seven years from now for, uh, seven years now.
[00:37:02] Lisa Woolfork: Mm-hmm , um, and some say that it can be really difficult to make yourself stand out on Etsy. Um, and you managed to do that. So can you talk about how that commercial came about?
[00:37:15] Li Li: Okay. Um, you're right. It is. I, I I've been on it for, uh, a long seven years. Yes. A long time. Um, I think that Etsy has it's evolved.
[00:37:27] Li Li: Um, I think it is definitely, probably harder now, um, than when I first did it. And I feel like Instagram was easier as well. I feel that part of my build was I built through social media. Um, so I drove, uh, the traffic too, my se shop through social media. So it's a 50, 50 foot, 50% came from Etsy and my 50% came from me and consistency.
[00:37:58] Li Li: So that was a big part. [00:38:00] The se commercial itself was. Really derived from a seller story that was done on me, um, right after my 50th birthday. Um, and they came to my house and we shot the seller story inside of my room where I actually sold. Um, you couldn't shoot there now. Cause it looks like a disaster but then it was picture perfect.
[00:38:32] Li Li: And so they took, um, clips of that seller story and they put it, um, in the commercial. So it, when the seller story came out, I think the first thing that I actually really noticed, I was like, this looks like a commercial before it was ever even a commercial. Just the way it, it just was done the interview process, [00:39:00] um, and just certain aspects of it.
[00:39:02] Li Li: The editing of it was just, it was amazing. Um, and so while a coup a couple of weeks ago, um, they reached out to me and said, you know, we want, they were doing, uh, a Etsy commercial, and they wanted to use, you know, part of my story in the commercial. Who's turning that down. I'm not turning that great. You don't know what, how it's gonna be used.
[00:39:29] Li Li: You don't know how much of right they're going to use. You don't know anything like that because it has, they have used clips of my story over the years. He, um, the CEO spoke about me, um, in a CNBC interview, as an example, you just don't know. The impact that you're gonna make. I've been to Etsy a couple times.
[00:39:56] Li Li: I've done events at Etsy through, um, [00:40:00] their, um, their bridge organization, which bridge actually focuses on the African American sellers that are on Etsy. Um, really? Yes. So Etsy is very, has some very unique aesthetics to it and things that you don't realize until you actually get to see some of it in person, uh, you know, and that's kind of how the commercial came about.
[00:40:25] Li Li: And I had no idea, really, absolutely no idea that they were gonna use so much of me, which was like amazing. I thought, oh, that use a hand you
[00:40:37] Lisa Woolfork: machine the back of my
[00:40:38] Li Li: head, like a blurb. Like I thought it would just be like, I really didn't know was gonna be which those two aspects. Were kind of like my favorite, one of my favorite parts of the story is when, you know, you know, I fan out the fabric and I'm actually looking, I'm fluffing a [00:41:00] customer's dress where you see me bend down and I smile.
[00:41:02] Li Li: I'm really fluffing the dress while they're shooting it. And it was a real customer's customer address. It was her, her that was Melanie's. Melanie will be excited when she hears this interview. It was Melanie's dress in that, uh, in that story. And then the fabric, um, that I'm fanning is from house of mommy water, which is a Etsy seller.
[00:41:23] Li Li: I love her she's I
[00:41:25] Lisa Woolfork: know her I've, um, used her fabric as well. I she's so sweet too. She's just a nice person.
[00:41:30] Li Li: Yes, yes. So, and I think the, the reason why my story tends to get embraced so much by Etsy is because I'm an Etsy seller and I'm an Etsy Byer. And not everyone does that. I buy and I sell in the platform that I sell on.
[00:41:53] Li Li: So I utilize other SC sellers through my whole building of, [00:42:00] you know, what I do from anything. It could be a pattern. It could be the labels that I make that I put inside my clothes, those originated from my Ethel. So every aspect of what I do at some point has a woman involved or a small brand involved, whether it be my jewelry, a fascinator is at some point in any design or styling that I do.
[00:42:31] Li Li: It's. Uh, a woman or a very small business. So being involved in that commercial or, and seeing it come like that was just really, you know, I was, I was crazy. Like everybody else, like, oh my God, I can't believe it. Cause I really thought they was just gonna use a hand. I, I had no idea. They don't tell you, they just say we going to use you.
[00:42:53] Li Li: And then you just, you don't know how it's gonna be. So it was, it was definitely, um, it was amazing that it's almost [00:43:00] like you're taking your customers and the people you work with with you in this moment because they're in it too. That's her fabric. That's my customer stress. You know what I mean? So it's just, it, it was, it's definitely, it was definitely amazing, but that's really how it came about it.
[00:43:15] Li Li: It started from a seller story that was done a couple of years ago, and then they just as amazing as editing is. And then they, they created this commercial and used clips of my story inside of it. And that's kind of how that came to be.
[00:43:31] Lisa Woolfork: That is re that really is fantastic. That is such a, and the way that you talk about it as a way to bring your customers with you and to bring your suppliers with you, and that you have this kind of really comprehensive approach to your brand.
[00:43:49] Lisa Woolfork: Um, that you know, that you, you, like you said, you sell on Etsy, but you also buy your things from Etsy. And so you are supporting small businesses, even as you are [00:44:00] building, um, different collections over the years and things like that. Um, and I definitely see that, like some of the collections, like the names of your collections, um, that you really are very interested in this kind of communal community spirit mm-hmm
[00:44:16] Lisa Woolfork: Um, and so I wondered if you could talk a bit about what does it mean to build a collection? How do you, um, transition from year to year or season to season? Are you interested? Like, I know you were saying before how you start with the fabric and let the fabric tell the story, but over the years you've made, like you had so many different collections mm-hmm do you have.
[00:44:41] Lisa Woolfork: A favorite. Do you have, um, you know, I don't know. I just, I don't know if that's possible for a designer to say, I like this one thing I've done more than another thing that I've done. How do you, I can say that. Oh yeah.
[00:44:56] Li Li: Um, I think my dresses are my favorite. Now. I [00:45:00] do have some dresses. I have one dress that I'm just, I, I don't know.
[00:45:03] Li Li: I just feel dreamy and it is, and that's my, uh, MK bell dress, which means wife and, uh, that particular dress is, is made out of that Starburst dashiki fabric. It's got open back. It has a lace. The skirt is just dumb, big. It's just bigger than big it's I don't know. It's just that dress is just everything to me.
[00:45:26] Li Li: And that was like a, my 20 out of my 2016 ball collection. I, it just dreamy when you put it on, it's just dreamy and that's the only way I can describe it. I, you just, you just like go like, oh, African queen in it and. So, yeah, I, I do have favorites. I think every collection, I have a piece that I love, uh, last Springs collection was my kimono.
[00:45:50] Li Li: I love that thing. I love it. I love the way it was shot. I love the colors, I just love the whole thing. Uh, and then I, and then my, I [00:46:00] had, I think last spring, my polka dot, uh, jumpsuit, the most fabulous, comfortable. I mean, you could go shopping in that thing. You, you can go to brunch in that thing. Like, it was just comfortable.
[00:46:14] Li Li: The, the pants leg is all super wide, so you're not constricted, but you throw it on and you look like you done, you know, took a million hours to get ready. You did nothing to put it on. Um,
[00:46:28] Lisa Woolfork: and I'm looking at the, the, the polka.now. Um, I think this is a photo shoot and you're sitting in, um, in a red. Yes.
[00:46:37] Lisa Woolfork: That's the one that's the one. Yeah. Can we talk a bit about your photography? And you said that your photographer is a wizard, um, because he makes you look really tall. And so yes, that is, he definitely does make you look tall because I am learn, I am now today years old, learning that you are not tall . Um, and, uh, but like this it's so many [00:47:00] different.
[00:47:01] Lisa Woolfork: I always know that it's you, you know, whether you are wearing like this, um, pant, uh, mix, this pant blouse mix, and you have like, you're, you're standing on a ladder mm-hmm, , it's kind of really industrial or, um, it could be really kind of organic where you're out, like standing on a, a bridge or sitting on a bench or in a car.
[00:47:19] Lisa Woolfork: Like, how do you, like, what is your philosophy around your photo shoots or how you are expressing, um, all these looks through photography. Well,
[00:47:33] Li Li: early on, um, when I first got started, um, my coworker modeled some of my pieces and, uh, she had one of her photographers, uh, Eric Levine, who's based out of Massachusetts, um, shoot me as a, pay it forward type of thing.
[00:47:50] Li Li: And so when he did that, um, I realized how important photography was because every single item that he had shot, he did three pieces, two dresses, and a skirt [00:48:00] that sold out. And that's kind of what made me say I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna have to invest in like real photography. Um, but I, you know, I was a little brand.
[00:48:12] Li Li: It's not like I felt like I couldn't afford a model. And so I, I figured I'll use myself. I'm always available and I'm free.
[00:48:22] Lisa Woolfork: That's right. That's
[00:48:24] Li Li: so that's kinda how that part of it. Um, I used to use another photographer named Ricky Allen in my beginning days. Um, amazing photographer as well. Amazing. Um, and now I use, uh, addon mother SI they're both on Instagram, so you can always follow them, check out their work.
[00:48:44] Li Li: Um, but with AddRan, uh, we I'm usually the thinker. I'm always like, where can I shoot? Where can I shoot? Where can I shoot type of thing? Um, so I'm always grinding on where are we gonna do on my next [00:49:00] photo shoot? Where is it gonna be? I did kind of feel, I don't really like, or I don't, I don't feel as comfortable shooting inside on flat backgrounds.
[00:49:09] Li Li: It just feels very weird to me. Um, okay. So I tend to like to be outside. I like to be in parks and bridges and. And things like that, that my last spring shoot was actually in a, B, B in Brooklyn. Yes. You would never know that. Oh wow. You would never think that was in Brooklyn. So I rented the, the B B um, with approval from the owner and I, I did my photo shoot and it was, I loved it.
[00:49:36] Li Li: It was very first all I stayed in the B B after, so that was great. And, but it had a, a working vacation. Yes, I needed it. it has such a, a lifestyle feel. I feel like I, I like that blogger look that lifestyle blogger. Look, I really like that look. Oh, I just, something about that, look that I feel just [00:50:00] gives the clothes a more real life approach to it, which is probably why I don't particularly feel comfortable in like flat background.
[00:50:11] Li Li: I feel like my clothes just tend to do more. Like, I feel like if I was in that kimono, standing on a white background, you'd have been like, okay, but yet I'm in the kimono and I'm sitting on the steps or I'm in the kimono and I'm sitting on the bed. I dunno. It just made more sense to me. It just interprets better to me.
[00:50:34] Li Li: Um, and aand, he does make me look tall. He actually does make me do things that I'm like, what? I'm not what I gotta sit on that ledge. Yeah. I gotta stand on the edge of the rock thing by the waterfall. Listen, you know, he, yeah. And, and then they laugh because I, I, I wanna [00:51:00] squat down first and then stand up.
[00:51:01] Li Li: Cause I feel like that's gonna create some level of balance for me. Um, he, he definitely has pushed me and I guess because I have been using him for so long. I'm so comfortable around him that now I don't, it's not, I don't think as heavy about it as I did when I, when I first, uh, started out. Cause, and you have a found a found appreciation for, for people who do this as a living, because it's a lot of work and, um, just standing and changing clothes and, you know, I have great makeup artist, my makeup artist, Vanessa.
[00:51:41] Li Li: Um, she, I use her now. She always makes me look extra pretty. I'm like, Hey, you know, um, I drag my friends into it from time to time to help dress me. So I don't end up rumpled. Um, right. It's it's it's because I'm not I'm the model. I [00:52:00] can't stand back and look like that's right. The designers will. So it's almost like I, I rely on the photographer a lot more because he almost has to be my eyes and his eyes too.
[00:52:12] Li Li: At the same time. Right. And, um, so we just kind of go from there. I do pick out the shoots. Um, my last shoot fall shoot was at, um, Eisenhower park, which is in, um, min, um, E east meadow, uh, long island. Sometimes I, I drag them out my way. Most times I'm shooting in Jersey every once in a while I rebel and drag them my way.
[00:52:37] Lisa Woolfork: Oh. And they have to come out to
[00:52:38] Li Li: Roosevelt island. Yeah. Yes. And I did actually in 2016, I did actually shoot in my room at my house, by my house and around my house. Um, and that vintage car that you referred to was my daddy's caddy. That was my father's. Oh, my word. Yeah. So, which [00:53:00] I will forever love that shoot because it was like a year before he passed and he actually got to see me shoot.
[00:53:05] Li Li: Cause usually I leave. No one sees it, you know, then I come home and then they see the pictures afterwards, but they actually got to watch the, the whole process. And, and that was pretty amazing. So it, it is just a combination of, uh, looking at the clothes and just wanting to be outside and, um, and kind of going from there.
[00:53:33] Li Li: So every place is different. There's only one time we've maybe shot in the same place, maybe twice. Other than add is someplace different. All the time.
[00:53:42] Lisa Woolfork: Everything looks very different. It all looks very, you know, broad and beautiful and, um, really just a, a wonderful sense of style. Now, can you tell us, um, any advice for any emerging designers, people who, um, [00:54:00] might not, you know, like might wanna know like how to get started and do they need to go to school?
[00:54:05] Lisa Woolfork: Do they need to, like, what do you think people need, um, to get started along the same kind of path toward designing and building a brand? And I mean, I think that you have such a, a story of, um, grit and determination, um, as well as just remarkable skills and creativity. So like what, what would you imagine you could pass on to someone who is, you know, is where you were, you know, maybe 20 years ago,
[00:54:39] Li Li: I think, um, the biggest thing is to, is to remain focused.
[00:54:46] Li Li: Um, I know across the years I would focus on it and not focus on it, leave it, put it down, pick it back up, that kind of thing. Um, so I think that if you know that it's something that you love, [00:55:00] definitely focus on it, even if it's just a little bit every day, uh, don't be afraid to hone your skills and practice the things that you're not that great at.
[00:55:11] Li Li: Um, because the more you do the better, um, you will be, stay more true to your yourself. I didn't ever try to be something else. I just kind of stayed true to the things that I liked the most, um, and kind of went from there and it, I feel like that organic love for it. is what helps other people love it.
[00:55:35] Li Li: And they see that authenticity. I, I think that's really a big thing. Um, follow people that, you know, you, you admire cuz they can, whether they are able to give an encouraging word or they're able to, even in just them sharing themselves to their followers. There's things that you can learn. Uh, consistency is really, really important, [00:56:00] whether it's consistently sewing or consistently posting or create, create things that will, you know, calendars for yourself.
[00:56:08] Li Li: Like, uh, if, if every Tuesday you wanna be able to reach out to your followers and you feel like you wanna say something, create a special day to do certain things so that you're able to be consistent. I know, I wanna wear a head wrap on Wednesday for rapid Wednesday. So I'm consistent. I like to do talk Tuesday and just share something that might motivate somebody, you know, or on a Monday or Thursdays or throwbacks, you know, and so on Friday, you know, so if you do things that are consistent, what you wanna present, you are able to build a, a cohesiveness.
[00:56:42] Li Li: And I think that that, that is definitely important, especially with how everything the algorithms are so difficult. Now, it was probably a lot easier when I started than they are now, but that consistency that I built then helps. Now, if I, if you don't start that way, you're not gonna [00:57:00] finish that way. So those are the, the things that I think are the most, um, important, and be careful who you share, you know, your dream with, you know, be mindful.
[00:57:12] Li Li: If don't share, don't share everything with someone who you know, is not gonna encourage you, keep it to your chest. Because it's your gift. And the guy gives each of us a gift. It's our more responsibility to him to use it. So don't treat it like, eh, you know, treat it like the prize that it is because he can take that and then turn it into something you never would've imagined.
[00:57:38] Li Li: I didn't jump into, I'm gonna be an entrepreneur that wasn't, I, I didn't think that it just happened that way. And sometimes that's how maybe that's how it should be. Or you would talk yourself out of it, you know, you know, I'm not doing that. So don't be afraid, you know, stay that. There's gonna be things that [00:58:00] are scary.
[00:58:00] Li Li: There's gonna be things that you, you can't control. There're gonna be times where you're gonna wanna cry. They're gonna be highs. They're gonna be lows. You're gonna wanna quit facts. You're gonna wanna quit. I, I, I, I can tell you how many times I want to quit. I can tell you how many times I want to close my Etsy shop.
[00:58:18] Li Li: I can taste to quit. Don't quit. If I quit, I wouldn't have been in the Etsy commercial. I wouldn't have had my Etsy shop cause I would've closed it. Cause I felt like quitting and I was tired. And here we are. You see? So just when it feels, sometimes Twitter can feel so tangible that you will quit. Don't quit anyway.
[00:58:46] Li Li: And that's the best advice I can say cuz you there's gonna be times that you could taste it. You could taste it. You could envision. Okay. If I stop, this is what I'll be doing. Don't stop. Cause you [00:59:00] just don't know when the corner is going to turn. That's right. We're in the middle of a pandemic. I wanted to quit six months ago, three months ago.
[00:59:13] Li Li: And I have made more money in the pandemic than I made all of last year. What if I quit? Wow. Wow. So, and I wanted to quit I'm no lies told I was just gonna be like, you know what I'm done. That's it. That's it that's it I'll just so for myself, I don't have time for this. I just, I, you know, it's not going the way I want.
[00:59:42] Li Li: I'm tired. You know, everybody's buying clothes for $5. They, they think my clothes should be $5. It's not possible. I can't do that. You know,
[00:59:54] Lisa Woolfork: it turns out you don't have to, and you
[00:59:56] Li Li: don't have to. Right. Right. But you feel so [01:00:00] frustrated that you are, you are almost like you're losing control. It's almost like, I, I really felt like I was watching it die in front of me.
[01:00:09] Li Li: And that was just so painful. That I was like, I'm just gonna quit. Cause I, I can't, I can't watch it. I just can't watch it just decline and die in front of me. Like, it's almost like a baby, like I'm doing everything I can to, to resuscitate the baby to care for the baby to nurture the baby. But the baby's still getting sick and the baby's still dying and I'm like, well, I I'm just gonna quit, but I didn't.
[01:00:34] Li Li: So the best advice I I could give is is, is that, and wow, pray because entrepreneurship, without some sort of spiritual SU you will quit. because you gotta have something outside of yourself. That's going to pull you along, pull you along. Other than that, I mean, the ride is [01:01:00] just like the top of the roller coaster and you keep hitting the top and dropping.
[01:01:06] Li Li: At 85, 90 miles an hour and you ain't got no control. So, wow. That
[01:01:11] Lisa Woolfork: would be my best. Well, on that note, I just wanna thank you so much for this conversation. And I mean, I feel like this has been quite a word, um, especially about hanging in there about consistency, about surrounding yourself, with people who aren't going to, um, push you down when you already feel down mm-hmm , um, you know, having people that are gonna help to, to lift you up and also just believing in yourself mm-hmm um, and not quitting, even when you can taste it, that when you said I could taste the quit, I was like, oh my gosh, I have been there.
[01:01:44] Lisa Woolfork: Um, and I'm sure many people have. And so thank you so much for this. Now tell us where we can find you on the socials. So people who are not yet following can follow you.
[01:01:55] Li Li: Okay. On Instagram, my Instagram is. [01:02:00] Lee's creation. That's L I L I S creations underscore L I L I 804. Um, on Facebook it's Lee's, uh, creative design and I'm on Etsy, which is www dot L I, I creations S on the end.etsy.com.
[01:02:29] Li Li: And I also have my own website, which is www do L I L I hyphen.com. And that's where you can follow me, shot with me. Find me. I try to be as very responsive. You can always hit me up in my DM. If you have questions, um, I'm available.
[01:02:58] Lisa Woolfork: thank you so [01:03:00] much. This has been really great. Thank you
[01:03:03] Li Li: so much. Thank you for having me.
[01:03:05] Li Li: It's been an absolute joy to Michael.
[01:03:15] Lisa Woolfork: Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of the stitch. Please podcast the official podcast of black women's stitch, the sewing group, where black lives matter. There are a variety of ways that you can support the program and you're doing it right now by listening to the pro by listening to the podcast.
[01:03:34] Lisa Woolfork: It does help us grow another way to do that is to rate the podcast, review it, subscribe to it. All of these things are ways that you can support the podcast without having to spend any money at all. If you would like to spend some money to support us, there are ways to do that as well. You can make direct donations to our Patreon site for monthly contributions, as well as one time contributions to PayPal cash [01:04:00] app or Venmo.
[01:04:01] Lisa Woolfork: And finally, we have another cute, very adorable way for you to support the black women's stitch project. It's a pin, a P I N enamel lapel pin. That's very cute. It's about two inches wide and one and a half inch tall. And it's of the black women's stitch logo. And that is $15 with free shipping to the us.
[01:04:24] Lisa Woolfork: And so if you drop $15 in the PayPal, Venmo or cash app accounts, and then send me your email. No, not email. You send me your mailing address to my email either@blackwomenstitchatgmail.com. Or you send me a direct message on the black women's stitch Instagram page. We will put the pin in the mail to you.
[01:04:49] Lisa Woolfork: Um, again, free shipping, $15 for the pin, and all of this goes to support the black women's stitch project. Thank you again for joining us this week. Come back next week [01:05:00] and we will help you get your stitch together.

Hosted by Lisa Woolfork

Lisa is a fourth-generation sewing enthusiast who learned to sew while earning a PhD in African American literature and culture. She has been sewing for more than twenty years while also teaching, researching, and publishing in Black American literature and culture.

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