Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Catherine Costello.
Hi Sarah Catherine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Throughout my adult life, I had a certain set of expectations. They are very different from my life now. I always tested well and fell into the stem field in college, taking Anatomy & Physiology, Cell Biology, and the works! But at times in my college career, I wavered. My brain worked in science, but my heart loved language and creativity. For a while, baking when I should have been studying would satiate that crafty appetite. I would keep cruising along. Then the dissatisfaction would all boil over, and BAM! I would change my major to English and Spanish and forget all this science stuff.
Then a little voice in my head would talk me down.
“You are wasting your scholarship.”
“You can’t afford a post-secondary degree.”
“All you can do is teach with the Arts.”
And I would hop back on the stem train before falling behind in my credit hours. Fast forward to 2018, and I graduated college, proud of a BS in Animal Science. I had many expectations of continuing my education in the form of a Master’s degree in Reproductive Physiology or attending Veterinary School, but I also wanted to get married. We had a beautiful wedding in the Spring of 2019 and settled in the St. Louis area. I picked up a job in the veterinary field with my eyes on the big shining star of the Veterinary School.
Come Spring 2020, we welcomed our first daughter, and I promptly quit my job to give my daughter the love and attention she deserves and give her the life I enjoyed with my mother staying at home. This was quite an adjustment. I went straight from college, studying, academics, and the veterinary medical field, to being at home all day with my daughter. Parenthood is hard, but it is not necessarily intellectually challenging. I found myself bored and stressed at the same time. All of a sudden, I had created this beautiful miracle but, at the same time, failed all of my expectations that I had kept for years. Did I want the career, the higher academics, the “MS” or “DVM” by my name? Was I putting it off indefinitely, or was it just gone forever? Through some prayer and reflection, I discerned that it was the natural end of my hard work and life interests up until this point, but it wasn’t the only way to be fulfilled when I think about the nitty gritty and the day-to-day sacrifices. Mostly that of leaving my children; I don’t have the heart for a 9-5 career, at least now. Sewing, getting in touch with handwork, and creating something helped bring peace to my choice.
Heirloom sewing has been a Godsend to my new stage in life and an answered prayer to the loneliness of motherhood. It was the piece of the puzzle that I never realized was missing. All of those times spent rifling through my grandmother’s heirlooms, being interested in family heritage, and staring at those oil paintings! It was only natural that my saving grace as I raise my family is to delve into this sewing heritage!
I’m trying to bring Southern culture’s best to Missouri. As most Southern moms can relate, there is nothing like seeing your babies in a beautiful outfit with fabrics as delicate as angel wings, and my goodness, that lace sure makes them look like an angel! Not only that, but as I mentioned before, it becomes a part of your heritage that your mama’s heart longs to pass on! I hope to provide that piece of heritage for any family with precious new babies and growing children so they, too, can make the sweet memories I have already grown so fond of in my motherhood.
Since beginning this small business in 2021, I have been able to dress beautiful children in weddings, baptisms, and family portraits, and meet many sweet mamas who love their children and value their heritage, and a tasteful hand-sewn garment!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Certainly, anyone can attest that there will always be struggles and crosses to bear. My entire business is in memory of my late grandmother, Susan Stowe. She passed in 2017 before anyone was ready for her to go. My grandmother was unmatched in her loving qualities and skills. She sparked imagination in us as children so that she was right along with us in our make-believe. Every child-like discovery and wonderment of the world around us was turned into a tidbit of knowledge and learning. She was a gifted education and Spanish teacher by trade. She was a fabulous cook, and her stove was never empty!
For me, sewing was a saving grace that I happened upon by watching Youtube videos while recovering from an unplanned and difficult C-section. It saved my hopes and dreams while adjusting to the work of homemaking. I didn’t discover sewing until after my grandmother passed, but I think she inspired me to find it. After delving into the cotton, silks, laces, and all the other goodness of heirloom sewing for years, I made a discovery. My grandmother had a “sewing stash” of her own! Before I was even born, my grandmother was an avid seamstress, practicing the arts of French hand sewing, whitework, embroidery, and more. This is the exact niche of sewing that I was drawn towards, and now I know why. Through my work and preservation of these rare arts, I can help families create and preserve their heritages and stay close to my late grandmother and honor her legacy.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a childrenswear seamstress in classic styles, specializing in heirloom sewing. This is a niche of children’s sewing that utilizes cotton fabrics, laces, and certain sewing techniques to create ornate gowns, day gowns, button-on suits, and more. It is extremely popular in the South for making oil portraits, baptismal gowns, wedding party garments, and even daily wear. I enjoy bringing an air of formality back into life, helping others value their heritage by capturing special moments, such as welcoming a new baby, a baptism, or a holiday. I am most proud of maintaining a legacy in my family that my late grandmother started. I hope to set an example for my two daughters that family heritage and traditions are important values to keep.
The fact is that this art is a dying one, and there are very few people learning this craft to pass it on. As a young adult with fresh designs and interests, I can innovate in an old craft while retaining the knowledge of classic techniques. Moms who desire heirloom quality apparel for their children have different priorities than moms might have had many years ago, so I can anticipate their needs and design the perfect garment that is traditional with fashionable innovations.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
I have never been a risk taker. Impulsive, sure! Risk taker, not so much! I don’t think you can get very far in life, or at least gain success, without taking risks. The simple fact of the matter is that we can’t read the future and control our outcomes. Looking back at my early career as a young adult to where I am now, doing something I love every single day (well, every night after the kiddos are asleep!) without getting tired of it, I see where certain risks I took led to where I am. Whether I like it or not, I am led by my heart, and so when I am confronted with a decision, for example, the opportunity to pursue a master’s in the science field, I respond by what my heart tells me. I had no idea what I did want to do at that moment, but my heart knew it wasn’t that; it’s risks such as these that set the stage for me to discover my creative passion for sewing. If I had not made the difficult and “risky” decision to trade a career for the hidden life of homemaking, I would not have been in a position even to discover that I had a skill for sewing.
Pricing:
- A typical commission would start at $100 and increase from there depending on the garment and materials used. Commission inquiries are welcome, and free!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lalayetteheirlooms.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lalayetteheirlooms
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaLayetteHeirlooms
Image Credits
Margaret McCarty Photography Abby Little Jessup
