About Sew Happy
The vision...
Building confidence and character in children and adults while inspiring creativity.... one stitch at a time.
Who we are...
Sew Happy is a woman owned business located in Mamaroneck, NY which provides programs that teach hand sewing, machine sewing and other fibre arts to children and adults in an environment that is FUN, SUPPORTIVE and NURTURING.
But we offer more than just sewing skills. Sew Happy encourages skills in problem solving and STEM while allowing children and adults to express their individual creativity. Our studios are a place where students are able to mentally unwind, and satisfy a need to use their hands to do something other than push a button. We support sustainability by engendering a philosophy of repurposing and by offering recycled materials during programs and project creation.
Our mission...
To provide children and adults with a life-long skill in sewing that fosters patience, persistence and self-esteem.
About Kim...
Sew Happy is owned by Kim Mulcahy, originally from the UK and who lives in Rye with her husband, daughter and dog. Kim has hand-selected a group of passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic women to teach her program to kids and adults, and Kim’s goal is for her studios to become a creative, fun and energetic hub in the community, where sewing is modern and relevant in today's world.
Kim is passionate about hand sewing and she feels that it's important that every Sew Happy student is able to thread a needle and tie a knot, which is, ultimately, the life skill of sewing. Kim believes that once a student understands the concept of threading a needle, tying a knot and making a stitch they can begin a lifelong journey of making and creating, unlocking unlimited amounts of satisfaction and happiness.
"I love color and things that make me feel happy, energised and creative, and my home, studio and projects reflect this. I enjoy living a simple but fulfilled life surrounded by important people and natural beauty, and my most happy place is my home and garden. I’m conscious of doing my part to look after our planet and with sustainability and repurposing in mind I love to move things around to give them a new energy or to change things up with a new found piece of furniture or plant.
As a child, I watched my Mom and my Grandma sewing clothes, making alterations, sewing on a button, mending and extending the life of things to pass them along to younger sisters (when I look back at photos I can spot the contrasting fabric hems added to pants to accommodate a growth spurt!). It was second nature to follow in their footsteps and I had a keen interest and a desire to use my hands to make and create items. From a young age I had a “Maybe I can do it myself” attitude and I could be found sewing clothes for dolls and teddy bears, mending a puncture in my bike tire, building a treehouse or making a pulley system for my bedroom curtains!
My natural inclination to problem solve has helped me to design a well thought out program, with tried and tested projects that encourage kids to think, design, count, plan, and construct beautiful pieces of work. I hope to inspire self-sufficiency in students by encouraging them to come up with solutions to problems and to apply these skills to other areas of their lives.
One of the most satisfying parts of the business is seeing a student’s joy and satisfaction when accomplishing a new skill, like threading a needle or tying a knot. The student may not be aware but I know that this seed will grow and develop into bigger skills. Another thing I like to witness is the calm that embodies a student who has found Sew Happy to be their “sew happy” place.
My goal is to use my knowledge of sewing along with my entrepreneurial skills to create a widely available program for kids to learn how to sew."
- Kim
Here's what happened...
A group of friends asked Kim to teach them how to sew...
Kim began teaching a sewing club at Milton School in Rye....
April 2011
Where it all started....
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4
2015
15 Schools
Sew Happy After School Program now in 15 schools and being taught by 5 teachers
Gaby joins Sew Happy as a teacher and designer
2012
Sew Happy Sewing, Inc.
Sew Happy becomes incorporated
Kim teaches the After School Program at Osborn, Heathcote and Cos Cob elementary schools
April 2014
Sew Happy grows...
Vanessa joins Sew Happy as a sewing instructor, teaching the After School Program
Summer Camp at Wainwright House, Rye, NY
8 Schools now running the Sew Happy After School Program (Milton, Osborn, Greenwich Academy, Cos Cob, Heathcote, Midland, Resurrection & Old Greenwich)
2016
First Sewing Kit
First sewing kit, the Happy Fox is made in the USA by Haan Crafts using recycled materials
Tina joins Sew Happy
Sew Happy After School Program is in over 25 schools and being taught by 12 instructors
5
August 2017
Sew Happy After School Program now being offered to over 60 schools as far as 50 miles away!
We now have 20 instructors!
We have 3 After School Club programs in New York City!
Sew Happy Sewing Machine School is running for the third time.
4 Instructors are teaching private lessons
In addition to the Happy Fox we have developed the following projects for after school clubs:
Ice Cream
Emoji Pillow
18" Doll Dress & Vest
Daxie Days
Hello Tote Bag & iPhone Wallet
We are offering 4 Sewing Machine Schools in Rye, Scarsdale & Mount Kisco!
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December 2019
Sew Happy moved in to a new office/studio in Mamaroneck, yay! The admin team is SEW happy to have it's own space. We offer sewing classes and birthday parties in our cute studio too.
Our After School Program is now being offered to over 70 schools in Westchester, Connecticut, New York City, Brooklyn and Long Island and we now have 25 instructors!
In addition to our own camps our sewing programs are being offered at private camps including Scarsdale JCC, Greenwich Academy and Hackley School.
Our new kits which we offer at all our after school clubs are Llama Drama, Hedgehog House and Narwhal Bunting. They are adorable!
We started sewing machine programs at Greenwich Academy and Greenwich Country Day School - SEW FAR SEW GOOD!
....follow us on social media to see where we go next.... so much has happened since Covid... we are now based at our brand new studio in Mamaroneck! Update coming soon...