My Story
Eliza Foster began sewing in 1959, making dolls’ clothes. Her mother was a dressmaker, and at age 12, Eliza was often asked to thread the sewing machine needle. By age 13, she was actively helping her mother after school, who would sew garments for an entire wedding: Bride, Bridesmaids, Flower-girls, Mother-of-the-Bride, exposing her to the most beautiful fine fabrics. Eliza would hand-sew all the invisible hems.
As a teenager, Eliza made her own clothes. Her mother taught her to make patterns, enabling her to both design her own and to copy the latest trends.
Eliza works from home, but often sets up her sewing machine at Made in Mansfield when she is on duty at the shop. Now at retirement age, she enjoys creating useful small items by up-cycling textiles destined for landfill. Valuable resources go into making textiles, so it makes Eliza happy to see them re-purposed into something useful rather than discarded into landfill.
Inspiration comes from the textiles themselves. Eliza is often gifted items that are “too good” to discard. She also collects upholsterers’ scraps. Fabrics are pure silk, tapestry, or beautiful textiles that are no longer made. The items are washed, deconstructed, pressed, and then given a new life.
