When NYC fashion designer Liesl Gibson wanted to start sewing for her daughter, it seemed a simple enough endeavor. But when she found herself disappointed by the lack of good design, great fit and interesting details available in existing patterns, she knew it was time to create her own. When people started noticing her designs, this incidental market research told her she was onto something. So began her successful and thriving pattern company, Oliver & S.
I always like to ask how, when and where did you start sewing?
LG: I didn’t start sewing until I was in high school, but I watched my Mom sew for most of my life. I have four younger sisters, and Mom sewed most of our clothes. As I got older she let me select patterns and fabric, so I had a lot of say in what she made, and I think those experiences helped me to learn about fabric and silhouette. I spent lot of time with Mom in fabric stores and watching her construct the clothes she made us, but I refused to let her formally teach me anything. I finally made myself a dress one summer when my family was on vacation and I stayed home for a summer job. I knew exactly what to do from all those years of watching and asking questions, and I’ve been sewing ever since.
Today’s economy is shaky at best. What are some of the challenges of running a sewing-related business in an unstable economy?
LG: We were fortunate to launch Oliver + S before the economy really nose-dived, and the timing proved to be perfect because so many people were re-discovering the pleasures of sewing. Since we’re still a small company, our business has continued to grow despite the challenges presented by the times. And to some degree, sewing tends to be less affected by financial pressures. When times are tough people stay home, and sewing helps them to feel industrious and handy. On the other hand, like any small business our budget is tight and remaining profitable is always a challenge.
What is your design and pattern-making background?
LG: I studied traditional patternmaking, draping, and tailoring techniques for a degree in fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I was also fortunate enough to work for a Seventh Avenue designer who had his own sample room, which is a tremendous luxury today with all the overseas sourcing that has become the norm. That experience proved invaluable for my business, since it gave me a solid understanding of fit and applied patternmaking. 
Your designs are contemporary with a hint of sweet innocence and nostalgia mixed in. Where do you find your inspiration?
LG: Most of my inspiration comes from my own daughter, who is the S of Oliver + S. But I’m also influenced by people I see here in New York City (where we live), who are such a fashionable and varied lot. I love to reinterpret current fashion trends and strive to develop patterns that are contemporary but also timeless.
You have found the perfect collaboration in working with such an immensely talented artist for your illustration and graphics work as Dan Andreasen. How important is “image” to a business like yours?
LG: I adore Dan’s work, and it’s a pleasure to collaborate with him on the paper dolls. Brooke Reynolds (who is the brains and talent behind our identity and branding) and I agree that identity is extremely important for a company like ours and we’ve worked hard to make sure that we have a unique identity that people can relate to. But identity, branding, and marketing doesn’t make up for content, and we do everything we can to ensure that the patterns are the best, most high quality patterns in the market. We put an immense amount of effort into ensure that each one is technically correct, that the fit is accurate, and that the instructions are as clear and detailed as possible. The combination of our brand identity and the high quality of our content together is what, I think, has made our company successful.
You’ve come up with a very unique marketing idea – your Boutique Sewer Program. It sounds like a win-win situation for you and your sewers. How did this approach evolve?
LG: When we first launched Oliver + S, we had so many requests for permission to make and sell clothing from our patterns that we knew we needed to provide something that would work for both us and our customers. In this industry there have historically been two extremes: designers who prohibit all use of their patterns for commercial purposes and designers who allow anyone to use their patterns with no restrictions and no respect for the intellectual property they have invested in developing. Neither of those extremes felt right for us. We wanted to allow people to use our patterns to express their creativity and to generate income for themselves, but we also needed to find a way —if people were going to be making money from our design and pattern making work—to help offset the tremendous dollar investment we make in developing a new pattern. We think this program has struck a fair and mutually beneficial balance for us and for our program’s participants. If we can allow people to use our work to generate income for themselves while also providing us a small amount of revenue to continue developing new products we think everyone wins. Today I think there is a great deal of misunderstanding about intellectual property, and we still struggle to educate many people about these issues.
The Spring 2009 Quilt Market in Pittsburgh just wound up. Although it’s “work” for you, it just sounds like so much “fun”! What are some of the other pleasant (and maybe not so pleasant) realities of owning your own sewing-related business?
LG: Truthfully? Owning even a small company like ours is an incredible amount of hard work. The hours are very long, and it can be difficult to put down your work at the end of the day because the To Do list is never ending. I couldn’t do it unless I absolutely loved it, and fortunately I really do adore what I do. But difficult decisions are a regular part of the job, and you need to be simultaneously creative, business savvy, and incredibly productive in order to make it all work. It’s a constant challenge, and some days all I want to do is stay home and read or knit. When you start a business like ours, you don’t have that luxury anymore. It’s not nearly as romantic and thrilling as it might sound, even if it looks that way at Quilt Market! The rewarding side, however, is seeing all the wonderful things our customers make from the patterns and hearing their very enthusiastic feedback. That makes it all worthwhile. 
What words of encouragement can you offer others who are contemplating taking their dream and making it their living?
LG: I think there are several reasons we’ve been successful in our business. The first bit of advice I would give someone is that you absolutely need to write a detailed business plan, complete with lots of market research. Without that I would be writing a completely different email to you.
The second thing isn’t so simple: our timing was right. I could tell, as I wrote the business plan, that if I wanted to launch the company it had to happen immediately. Ideally, I would have preferred to wait a couple of years until our daughter was in school and life had settled down a bit. But sewing was just starting to experience a resurgence of interest, quilt shops were looking for ways to appeal to a younger customer, and the lack of patterns for children’s clothing was glaringly obvious. We were fortunate. Right time, right place, and a bit of business savvy made it all come together.
I’m in the process of designing my “dream” sewing studio. What do you (or would you) include in yours?
LG: I’m not really a gadget girl, and I don’t even own a serger so my craft needs tend to be fairly simple. I like to have a large cutting table and plenty of shelving for supplies. I prefer a neutral space without lots of color or distraction and with good light. Beyond that I think it’s really about knowing your own working style and designing something that works accordingly.
Please share a sewing hint that has saved you time, money or supplies.
LG: I believe that you should buy the best supplies you can afford. Buy fewer things, but when you do buy things make sure they are of the highest quality you can afford. If you’re investing time in doing something you love, you should use the highest quality materials you can get your hands on so the entire experience will be a pleasure. That’s not to say you should go broke doing it, but where is the joy in sewing with stiff, coarse fabric when you’ll be disappointed with the end results? Keep in mind that best quality doesn’t necessarily mean most expensive, too.
Simultaneously, I’m not a big believer in “time-saving” gadgets. I enjoy the process of sewing and don’t feel the need for special tools to make the job easier. Plus, the fewer items you have around you, the less “stuff” you have to store! Save your valuable space for fabric, I say!
Thank you, Liesl!
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Liesl Gibson’s design work has caught the eye of such publications as Threads, Sew Beautiful, Sew Simple, Country Living and many others.
Keep up with Liesl and enjoy free tutorials and patterns at the
Oliver & S blog and at Liesl's own blog, distressed.
Follow Liesl at Twitter and Facebook.
See how other creative souls are using
Liesl’s patterns at the Oliver & S Flickr photo pool.
Contact JoAnn at: joann@gardenofdaisies.com or www.gardenofdaisies.com
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