My love of sewing began over 30 years ago when I bought my first sewing machine (with my savings from collecting and recycling aluminum cans) at the Los Angeles County Fair.   My early projects were make-shift skirts, shirts, and wide-leg pants for the L.A. rave scene. 

Working in my college theater costume shops finally taught me precision and technique in both machine and hand sewing, which I have honed over the past 15 years. I now have adventures making garments of all kinds for my children and myself, improvisational quilts, accessories and home decor. 

Like with cooking, gardening, and really most pursuits in life, sewing is an exercise in patience, creativity, being okay with mistakes, experimentation, problem-solving, and joy.  I love teaching and supporting people in sewing as they build foundational skills, grow their confidence with the craft and start taking risks and creating beautiful objects.  I work to understand each sewer’s learning style and organize my teaching and coaching to meet their needs.  I am dedicated to creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment.  

The Studio is named after a beloved spot in my home town of Claremont, CA - the Grove House at Pitzer College. The Grove House is surrounded by sweet-smelling citrus trees, gorgeous succulents, a farm, and chickens, and it is the place where I fell in love with my husband. And then, many years later it was kneeling in the dirt of that special spot where he proposed marriage.

In honor of that place of growth, beauty, and so much FUN comes the Grove House Sewing Studio.

Welcome!