Home > The Storque > This Handmade Life > Handmade Portraits: Built by Wendy

THIS HANDMADE LIFE
Recent comments
wow such a surprise!! thank you for all you two ...
by MissKnits
on A Fond Farewell...

Good luck! Etsy will definitely miss you both. Thanks for ...
by Needlings
on A Fond Farewell...

Congrats everyone -- see you there!
by UglyBaby
on Etsy in Action: Upco...

Thank you for all that you both have done. All ...
by AardvArt
on A Fond Farewell...

WHAT??! No more pics of flaming Haim...I was always holding ...
by organicmetallurgy
on A Fond Farewell...

We are all sad to see you go! Thank you ...
by tjtunraveled
on A Fond Farewell...

I wish I had a bigger kitchen!
by JackRabbit
on Decorating Ideas for...
Handmade Portraits: Built by Wendy
Article Header Image
Story by weirdwolf
Published on July 18, 2008 in This Handmade Life 		Photo by Melodie McDaniel

Without role models to guide her, self-taught fashion designer Wendy Mullin of Built By Wendy went from selling her handmade dresses in her front yard to owning four stores across the U.S., running a successful clothing label, collaborating on pattern designs for Simplicity and authoring the Sew U book series. As part of Etsy's Handmade Portrait series, Wendy took time out of her busy schedule to talk with us about how she's built her business from scratch. Her sense of style and process are rooted in making garments by hand, and though she's not an Etsy seller, Wendy's beginnings are similar to many handmade clothing makers getting their feet wet in businesses on Etsy. Her passion, hard work and drive got her where she is today.

 

 

MP4 | Youtube | Blip.tv | Subscribe in iTunes

(Music by Jukeboxer & Lineland)

Wendy did a lot of drawing, arts and crafts as a kid living in the Chicago suburbs. Her mom, a seamstress, saw that she had an artistic tendency and encouraged her to explore. In high school she focused her creative energy toward photography and video, but with a sewing room back at home, she always found herself making things. During college in Kansas in 1989, Wendy started selling her handmade clothing in record shops where she worked.

After moving to Manhattan and showing her work at Steven Alan's showroom, Wendy got quite a bit of press for her clothing and guitar straps. She now has shops in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. If you like clean lines with a bit of fun nostalgia, you should have a look at her collection at Built By Wendy.

You can watch more of our Handmade Video Portraits, and we'd be so thrilled if you'd subscribe to our free Etsy iTunes podcast.

If you're into how-to books, join us on Monday, July 21, 2008 in the Virtual Labs to meet Crafty Mama author Abby Pecoriello. More details here.



Related Items
This article was reported by:
Etsy Admin weirdwolf
shop . profile . contact

tags Tags Annabel Mehran, Built By Wendy, business, clothing, design, fashion, Handmade Video Portraits, Jukeboxer, Lineland, Melodie Mc Daniel, Sameena Ahmad, sew u, tara young, THIS HANDMADE LIFE, video, Wendy Mullin
All articles in This Handmade Life
Email to a friend | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this
26 comments     Login to add your own!
Etsy Admin TeenAngster says:

I LOVE Built by Wendy. Her clothes are so amazing! What a great behind-the-scenes look at her process and where she came from. Great video.


7/18/08 at 2:10p.m.
Etsy Admin Chillionaire says:

So inspiring! Her designs are awesome and the Manhattan store is sooo cute

Fabulous video!


7/18/08 at 2:31p.m.
pookeh says:

i ADORE built by wendy. thank you so much for this video. you made my friday!


7/18/08 at 2:53p.m.
papermenagerie says:

Built by Wendy is the best, and I so love her patterns and "Sew U" book. It's great that she hasn't lost touch with her handmade roots.


7/18/08 at 4:18p.m.
MissDandy says:

This was a real treat to watch - I admire Built By Wendy so much! Truly inspiring!


7/18/08 at 4:23p.m.
jamieribisi says:

Very interesting. I loved hearing her story.


7/18/08 at 4:38p.m.
shopgoodgrace says:

I love Built By Wendy & have many of her patterns. So thrilled to see this Etsy article about her. :)


7/18/08 at 5:08p.m.
ledthread says:

Ah yeah cool. I used to live around the corner from her LA shop. Wendy is definitely an inspiration. And thanks for including my stuff in your Related Items!


7/18/08 at 5:46p.m.
Schmutzerland says:

I really really really love that she used her gambling money to buy craft supplies! What an inspiring story!


7/18/08 at 7:46p.m.
littlehabanero says:

love! built by wendy,i was really excited to see this.


7/18/08 at 9:02p.m.
MissCrowland says:

That was really inspiring.


7/19/08 at 8:51a.m.
ZuliDesigns says:

This was an awesome video and story. I love to hear about self made successes! Wendy seems down to earth and definately creative! Makes me love her clothes even more!!


7/19/08 at 10:57a.m.
reiter8 says:

Thanks so much for this great video portrait! I have been a fan for some time and it's great to hear how it all started.

She's so calm for having 3 stores, books, and seasonal lines!

A real inspiration!


7/19/08 at 4:08p.m.
voudrais says:

I love built by wendy! This story and video was so inspiring because my dream has always been to design and make fashion happen with my hands.. and it's so so inspiring to hear that someone made it that far without big name schools like Parsons or FIT, etc..

(her fall winter collection's inspiration was soo cute too!)


7/19/08 at 10:19p.m.
thetinies says:

Love love LOVE her clothes, and I've got a couple of her patterns that I can't wait to get started on.


7/20/08 at 10:35a.m.
sparklinglotusdesign says:

What a great story..would love to check out one of her shops! Thanks for the video!


7/20/08 at 2:36p.m.
leolucaescobar says:

Thank you for this. So inspiring!


7/20/08 at 5:39p.m.
catecorcoran says:

Yay, Wendy Mullin! Thank you so much for this video interview. What a great idea.


7/21/08 at 2:17p.m.
lovemaryxoxo says:

Encouraging story.


7/21/08 at 3:38p.m.
fernfiddlehead says:

This was super-fantastic. Wow. I am in awe.


7/21/08 at 7:51p.m.
yellowspringscrochet says:

What an inspiration!! Thanks!!


7/22/08 at 11:14a.m.
SusyJack says:

This was great. Whenever I get down, I'm gonna think of Wendy, out on her front lawn, doing her thing.


7/22/08 at 12:58p.m.
emilyfrances says:

Many congrats to Wendy for making her dream come true. I have so many exciting thoughts in my head now (and I can't wait to get back in my sewing room!)

Also - a broken spoke's trench coat is quite amazing.


7/23/08 at 12:58a.m.
LittleSparrowNest says:

Wow!!!!
Such an awesomely inspiring short..
This one really struck a chord with me..
Her story is the epitome of what you get when you don't give up and go for it all the way..
thank You for this!
xoxo
gsg
the Sparrows Nest


7/23/08 at 1:55a.m.
topsyturvydesign says:

Rad portrait!
Wendy is a Dynamo!


7/24/08 at 10:13p.m.
purlhandknits says:

This one was so interesting! Thanks for the great portrait Etsy!


7/27/08 at 1:27p.m.
Previous Page | Next Page
RSS feed for This Handmade Life
RSS for comments in this article
view all the Storque's RSS feeds