Hi my name is Amy and I am the owner of ViennasGrace. I will be celebrating 11 years as a vintage pattern seller on Etsy. I am married, my husband Jim and I share the love of all things vintage. From classic cars to furniture, we love it all! My obsession is, you guessed it, sewing patterns! We have two kids, Tanner our son is 15, and Vienna, my shop’s name sake, is 17. I never planned on naming my shop after my daughter, it just happened and stuck. We just moved down to the flat lands of the beautiful Clovis, California in The Central Valley. Known for it's agriculture, antique shops, and a great way of family living, Clovis was an easy choice for our family, saying goodbye to the mountain life after 12 years in Squaw Valley, California.
I have been sewing since the 4th Grade, a country girl and member of 4-H. I continued to sew as a teenager in the 1980’s I found that having the ability to sew could come in handy. I could buy the boring clothes off the rack and alter them to mimic Seventeen Magazine and fashions from MTV. I used every tool available to me to make my clothing unique. I used bleach, fabric dyes, and of course my sewing machine. My mother stood watching shaking her head and dismayed at my choice of alterations. Even today, in my 40’s, I still use my sewing skills and love of vintage to create a mix of vintage and modern fashions for my daily wardrobe.
When my grandparent’s home was being cleaned out after they had both passed, I found a box of my grandmother’s sewing patterns in the dumpster. They were patterns dating from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. I rescued that box and my collection was started. I saw in vintage patterns so many possibilities of glamour and high fashion. My love affair with vintage fashion had begun. My collection continued to grow as did my desire to share them with others. I wanted to inspire others to create their own personal style.
When people ask me about my job, I say, “Oh this is never a job, it is something I treasure. I enjoy every minute.” I do truly enjoy and love what I do. The whole process of finding, researching, and even checking to make sure that each pattern has all of its pieces. Every pattern I pick up and hold in my hands has a history. My goal is to make sure it has a future. I enjoy the patterns so much that that sometimes I forget to take the time to create fashions for myself. I think that every era of fashion has value. I don’t have an era that I focus on. Right now I’m drawn to the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Someone once said that my personal style was an even mix of Jimi Hendrix and Veronica Lake.
I enjoy what I do and will always be available for any questions or helping on the pattern hunt for my customers. Happy Sewing!