Hi, this is Laura Wirkkala,
I now live 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. 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 suits 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 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.
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. I know that there are quite a few people in Ashland who are not vaccinated. I ask that if you are not, that you wear a mask during class. The same applies if you are recovering from a cold. Please respect that. 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
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.
