By Liv handmade
About You:
Frontman/Frontwoman: Liv Reinertson
Location: Brooklyn NY
Mornings or evenings: Evenings
Chocolate or Vanille: Chocolate!
Your happy place: My happy place is my storefront studio on a warm summer day. The door is wide open, Margo Guryan’s “Someone I Know” is playing in the background. I’m fully immersed in a sewing project, sitting at my sewing machine right next to the window display. I can hear birds chirping and it’s about 3pm so all of the children are heading home from school, passing by the shop to say a quick hello to our shop pup Lexi. And most importantly, I have an iced Latte with extra sugar from the Italian pastry shop that sits next door to us. This is where I feel the happiest.
About Brand:
Name comes from: When I was teaching I used to do a little demo of each project we would complete as a class, I would always sign them at the end “By Liv”. This is another one of my projects, so I signed it accordingly!
Inspired by: I am inspired by the materials and fabrics I use. There is never a plan when I begin sewing, I feel these materials know what they want to be before I begin.
Why you started: I began making my own clothing because I couldn’t find practical pieces to wear in the classroom. I was teaching lots of art, so I was constantly destroying my clothing or it was inhibiting me from moving in a class full of young ones. At first I had no intention of selling these pieces, but the demand was there and so was the appreciation for my creations, so I began to create for others and it felt very good.
Where you are heading: I want to head in the same direction that I’m going, where I can keep creating in my shop each and every day, and keep having people love what I create! Hopefully there are children and baby clothes in the future, as well as home textiles, but that all depends on whether inspiration strikes there or not. But I have faith that I will end up wherever I need to be.
Explain to your grandma what you do: I take old tablecloths and other things that you use around the house and give them new life by turning them into beautiful dresses and things that make people happy! (True story- I once took all of my grandmothers handkerchiefs and made her a lap quilt with them, she was confused at first but she ended up loving it!)
About Life:
Bored if: It’s cold and dreary outside- I’m like a houseplant, I thrive in sunshine!
Feel like dancing if: Anything by ABBA begins to play
Hungry for: Clementines. Always. My partner always knows where in the house I’ve been hanging out because I leave behind a pile of clementine peels!
Excited when: I get the most excited when my dog makes a friend at the dog park. Seeing her run around like a maniac makes my entire week.
Quote: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” My mother used to say this to me all of the time, and it really stuck with me.
www.bylivhandmade.com
