Hi, this is Laura Wirkkala.
I have arrived in Ashland, WI, after spending several decades in the Massachusetts.
I have loved living in Arlington, MA. I've have met so many wonderful people from teaching in this community. Unfortunately, I can no longer afford to live in the Greater Boston area. So, I have returned to my home town of Ashland, Wisconsin. (I arrived on April 2nd, exactly 34 years from when I arrived in Boston.)
I still have a good number of friends/connections here, on the south shore of Lake Superior. And, it was through a friend, that I found my new storefront!!!
The new address is 400 Main St W, Ashland WI 54806. It was occupied by Solstice Clothing for the past 12 years. They own a building down on the lake, west of town, and will have that as their Primary location.
My new space is wide open, light, airy and well lit. It will suit my purposes very well. I have a lot of plans to offer even more things than I did in Boston. I will keep people up to date through my newsletter, as well as on my Facebook page.
I can start moving in on June 1st. And, will try to open for classes as soon as possible. I will have an Open House to give people a chance to see the space and meet me.
I have put the address down below, and will try to get the map link to work better. Good thing my sister was a web designer. She gets me out of technical trouble. I will set up online teaching as soon as I can. And, together, we will find a format that works for us.
I will miss being in New England. Yet, it is nice to be much closer to my family. Please check the Facebook page for updates. Thank you.
If you'd like to take a tour of new space, I have made a video so you can see the changes to the school.
In person classes will be limited to Adults and youth who have can show proof of vaccination against Covid.
You may ask why so limited? Laura has an autoimmune disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis. To control the condition, she takes a number of immune suppressant medications. This puts her at high risk during the pandemic. This is a non-negotiable situation. Please respect that and we appreciate your understanding.
We are going to try to offer instruction to those who cannot attend in person classes.
Laura has a YouTube channel called SewInGenius
A good number of videos on how to make PPE are already loaded on the channel.
We are trying to upload videos on a regular basis, now that we are resuming classes.
These videos are a way to communicate basic sewing techniques. The following are already uploaded and available to watch:
- How to wind a bobbin
- How to thread a sewing machine
- How to clean out the fuzz under your throat plate, and oil the bobbin area
- How to sew a pillow cover with an invisible zipper
And, there are more, but this is just a little teaser.
We are exploring formats, such as Zoom, Livestreaming, and Pantheon or Vimeo. We will send out announcements of our offerings via email and on our Facebook page.
