Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Frances Erwin.
Elizabeth, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Elizabeth Erwin and I am from Cedartown, a small, countryside town in Georgia with a population of only 9,900. I’m an only child, so I’ve always found amusement in spending time at my grandmother’s, Vera Odom. She’s the town’s seamstress and began teaching me to sew at age seven. I enjoyed making myself skirts, small handbags and pillows then. When I was 10, I started helping with her orders such as making prom dresses, curtains and developing patterns. It was my junior year of high school that I started selling custom pocket tees. In my senior year I took a business class and was given an opportunity to be the only high school student to join a business development course offered out of school at Cedartown City Hall by Georgia Northwestern Technical College called BizBuilders. It was a five month long course, alongside ten other participants, where I developed a business plan for a customized clothing store. At the end of the course, the town voted on the best business to develop. My business development plan gained nearly double than my competitor and I was awarded the People’s Choice Award, receiving a $1,000 prize. The first step of my plan was to attend college, so I used this money to secure my enrollment at The Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, to major in fashion design. I moved to Atlanta soon after and began discovering who I am as a designer right away. I have now lived in Atlanta for four years, I’ve learned so much and have met people from all over the world, who have made this journey of mine monumental.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I never would have thought I’d move to Atlanta just two months after graduating high school to follow my passion for design. Making the decision to leave my hometown and family was difficult, but it has been so worth it. I am no longer fearful of traveling and excited to go wherever the future may take me. Overcoming my fear has opened so many doors, learning the various positions and lifestyles in fashion.
Please tell us about your work.
When I’m not in school, I am working at Our House Thrift Store, a non-profit organization for the battered women shelter of Cedartown. Before I started working about five years ago, I would shop there for vintage garments to upcycle as a high schooler. Now, as a senior in college, I’ve now learned the impact fashion has on the world and just how important this part of my process is. In my designs I now limit myself to only use fabric, closures, and trims that come from second hand garments.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Coming from a town so small that there are no highways wider than two lanes and everyone knows everybody, I find the small things most inspiring and amusing. Passing road signs, birthdays gatherings, and church on Sundays are all things that no matter how many times they’ve passed, I will always anticipate. They all hold an opportunity for new experiences ahead, new memories to be made and a new way to see your everyday life. The sense of expectation in all of these events is what makes me who I am but the unexpected bound to exist is what excites me as a designer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eerwin.myportfolio.com
- Email: eerwin2020@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethfranceserwin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001224405783
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-frances-erwin-5a3324160/
Image Credit:
Nora Benjamin, Becca Antrim, Jaylon White, Samaria Bahena
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