Deborah Silva

I’ve been sewing since the 7th grade. My first project was a wraparound denim skirt…..very popular in the 70s. People around me…..my mother, grandmother and great Aunt Gilda were always sewing.

I didn’t really sew with passion until I got a job in the financial district of Boston in the early 1980s. I didn’t have a lot of money for wardrobe, so I started making my own clothes. I’d sew all night and then wear it to work in the morning! In the 1990s I started making quilts and table toppers/runners. Aunt Gilda would often stay at my house for the weekend and we would sew together all night and drink tea! I miss her. She passed over 20 years ago now. I moved to Los Angeles in 2009 and really hadn’t sewn at all, until 2022. I mainly was finishing up projects that I’d started 20 years ago and never finished. It felt good to finish them!

Then one day, I had a pretty fabric with daisies and thought what a cute bag it would make and found a pattern for a cross body bag and it came out great! My first bag ever! Shortly thereafter, Jim had a pair of denim jeans that were all ripped and I grabbed them and tried my hand at cutting them and making a purse……been addicted to denim bags ever since! I don’t use patterns……I also don’t use recipes when I cook! I imagine, cut and sew. It doesn’t always work out as planned, but even mistakes can be salvaged. I have a serious day job in financial services, but late at night I pour my heart and soul into these denim bags! One day I’ll retire from the day job and be able to pursue my passion full time!