This month I met with my friend and founder/owner of SMJ Studio. Sara is one of the hardest working peole I know. Her energy and enthusiasm for her business is inspiring. The work they do is beautiful.
What is the history of your business? How did you start it and why? Your motivation/ dream for it?
We are starting our 30th year in the fall of 2021. Before my business, I was a buyer at Nordstrom. My dream was to work in product development. I went to the Apparel Design program at Seattle Central Collage while I was managing at Nordstrom so I would be qualified to work in the PD department. This did not come to be and when I left Nordstrom, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. During the time of discovery, I was able to work with my great aunt make Jockey silks and blankets for the original horse racing community. It was very fun and a great opportunity to see the production side of sewing. While working with my aunt, I connected with a school mate who then connected me with a company that made bed linens. My company produced her line for 5 years while I was connecting with the interior design community. I have also produced over 9 lines of bed linens over the years and still produce two of them today. Once I connected with the design community, I was able to become the largest sewing workroom in the area for interior design focusing in the commercial side of the industry.
What is your top seller? We sell Drapery, cushions, pillows and shades with drapery being the largest seller.
What is your favorite part of running this business? Being able to see our work in the space and what an impact it has on the finishing and completion of the design.
How has COVID impacted your business? Being closed during the state lockdown had an impact. We couldn’t work for several weeks. I did design and produce a mask that we sold to the essential work forces as well as to the general public. I was able to repurpose the bed sheet fabric into a design of mask that is both very protective and comfortable to wear. This was a great way to keep things running. Some of my team was able to come back sooner than the rest. The other way it affected us was in projects. We were under contract to work on 5 hotels that could not move forward. We think a few will come back eventually.
www.smjstudio.com/