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.

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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.

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"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."

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- Kim

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