Hi, it's me, Lindsey Essary. I am the designer/owner of Ellie and Mac Sewing Patterns.
As you might have noticed by browsing my pattern store, I am all about encouraging girls and women to realize their true potential! I want women all around the world to know they are enough. They can do anything, they are creative, they are smart, they are beautiful, they are resourceful, they can start businesses, they can be successful! I want you to reach for whatever it is in life that makes you excited! I want you to live that crazy dream. The one that you would do if it weren't for those voices in your head telling you "This is unrealistic, it is silly for you to think that you could do this amazing thing." You CAN!
I am the biggest example of this! I do not have a fancy business degree or awesome fashion design training. That would be amazing, but it just isn't true!
I got married young and had my first sweet daughter before our first anniversary. It was my dream come true at the time. I wanted to be a wife and mother! I then struggled to have another child for 6 years. During that time, I found my love of designing. I taught myself to sew so that I could make my daughter all those adorable boutique clothes that I saw online. The ones that there was no way on this planet, that I could afford. I had no idea what I was starting.
I opened a boutique on eBay and Etsy and sold my clothing for far too little, because I didn't believe anyone would pay more than that for something I had made. I sold myself short and often spent more on fabric than I made on the finished projects. Something was beginning though. I was finding my passion and uncovering this part of me that was just waiting to be DISCOVERED!! Little by little, I started to see my own true worth. I started to OWN who I was and the fact that no one else in the ENTIRE WORLD saw it the way I did. Many people can make a dress, but no two of us will envision it the same way. That is the beauty of this gift we all have to offer this world!!
Some of my early designs I sold on Etsy.
Over the years, my skills have greatly improved. I began charging more for my designs and placing value on who I am and my artistic ability. I learned from others how to do things better and how to do new things. I allowed myself to evolve from one business to the next, as my passion shifted. I read books that empowered me to look inside at how totally amazing I really am (you are too!). I set some goals as suggested by these books, some seriously unimaginable financial and family life goals. Even when I didn't totally believe it could happen, I continued to tell myself it could. I continued to repeat those goals with confidence and would you believe, that a few years later, my husband left his day job behind and was able to be home with us to help me run my business! It happened! Little by little, we began to meet financial goals. We sold our house and set off to see this incredible world with our now four kids. These are all goals I made, because I DARED to dream that I was ENOUGH! You are too! So is every girl and woman out there.
My family at the Freak Lunchbox Candy Store - Halifax, Nova Scotia
Breathtaking sailing trip at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Citedel Historic Site, Halifax, Nova Scotia
One of the many beaches we have played in.
So, when you see my sewing pattern names: Be Free, Be Graceful, Be Unstoppable, this is why. This is my heart behind it all.
I want the same for boys and men too, as I have a wonderful son and husband and want the best for them as well! So, don't think I am forgetting the boys! It just seems so normal for men to be on the top of their game: CEO's and business owners. I want women to really see the possibilities of their dreams if they just start taking steps in that direction.
I hope that this exposes me a little bit for you, as I do try to be transparent.
I recently came across this organization and because it speaks to me so much, I want to share it with you! Let's get excited about what we can do to encourage women all around the world. Let's start by just believing in ourselves and then let that excitement trickle out all around you as you live your life. It is contagious! It shows.
Get started on your journey. Here are some amazing books I read, to get you heading down the right path.
