Last Wednesday, after much
scheduling-tag, I was able to drive a couple hours to track down
Hannah Coker, the dynamic energy behind Hannah Everly Designs, and
interview her in-studio.
I pull into the
rocky, uphill driveway and follow its arc into a lot carved from the
middle of the pine-woods. Just as I turn off the car, my phone lights
up with a text from Hannah, telling me not to mind the German
Shepherd; to come straight to the door. I grab the sloshy, melted frappe with her name on it and the Grinch-spirited dollop of whipped
cream which, at this stage in my journey, looks half-hearted at best.
The nearest Starbucks is a solid twenty minutes from her rural home
and the ginger-haired barista made it soupy to begin with.
Hannah opens the
front door with her signature smile. “Hi! I'm Hannah!”
I laugh and
introduce myself likewise because, though we've connected online, we
haven't met in person till this minute. Formalities over, you'd think
we were old friends meeting again for the first time in a year or
two. Handing off the melted frappe, I am invited into her quiet,
spacious home decorated for Christmas. A plate of chocolate chip
cookies, just out of the oven, waits on the counter. Another round is
still on the tray.
“I've been
trying to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe,” Hannah informs
me, swinging a spatula like Rapunzel swings her frying pan. Hannah
wears a red crepe skirt (“Not my design,” she says with a wry
face) and slim gold belt, a black top, red lipstick and bare feet.
In a few moments,
Hannah has led me into her studio just off the kitchen. She sets the
cookies on a fold-up table scattered with scissors, measuring tapes,
and other accouterments of her trade and gives me a tour of the
studio: the rack loaded with finished skirts, the shelves holding
paper, ribbons, and boxes for shipping. The watercolors of her
designs sketched by a friend; the Paris, New York, Rome prints
representing three places dear to her heart. The yellow-striped
accent wall, the gold foil stars and her pleasantly-cluttered
inspiration board. Last up is Imogen, her faithful mannequin and
studio companion.
“If you're going
to take pictures of Imogen, I need to dress her up.” Hannah
vanishes, leaving me in the bright studio, and returns a moment later
with several necklaces which she fastens around the bust's neck. We
pull Imogen in front of the heavy Asian dressing-screen which Hannah,
with youthful glee, tells me almost killed her when it fell onto the
ironing table a few nights prior. “There,” she says, and pats
Imogen on her cloth shoulder.
It's this mix of
capability and girlishness that characterizes Hannah and her designs.
Classic, playful, practical, and streamlined, skirts from Hannah
Everly seem to capture the heart of their designer. At eighteen,
Hannah is already a seasoned business owner of four years. After a
few months of sewing lessons and bothering around with a couple of
other business ideas, Hannah began to sew skirts for herself. When
friends saw her designs, they asked her to make a copy for them. When
their friends began to ask where they got their skirts, Hannah
knew she had a market. She launched Hannah Everly Designs in 2012 and
since then, has watched her business grow from sewing for friends of
friends to gathering a knot of fans which include a star of The
Bachelorette and well-known style-bloggers as well as some small
shops and boutiques which want to sell her skirts in-store.
“I've been asked
to do wedding gowns before,” she says, a mischievous gleam in her
brown eyes, “but I'd totally ruin it. I'm too terrified.” I press
her to give me a dream design project. She tosses her long brown
hair, laughing. “I'd like to make something for Taylor Swift...if
we're talking ultimate goals here.” If she went into gowns, Hannah
also mentions, she'd love to dress someone for a red carpet awards
ceremony. And with discussions open with Nickelodeon and Disney
show-costumers, that bucket-list item might not be out of reach.
Further goals from
the girl who isn't afraid to dream include plans to hire a few
employees this year, open a store-front in Richmond in her early
twenties and even, if business is steady, in Washington D.C. By her
late twenties, Hannah hopes to open a store-front in New York City,
where her factory will also be located. As I talk with Hannah – her
enthusiasm and love for her work almost palpable – I understand the
key to her success: this young designer is not afraid to take risks
to stay aligned with her vision. A point clearly made earlier this
year when Hannah chose to deactivate one of her best-selling designs
because it no longer represented her style and the direction toward
which her shop has headed.
“It was hard for
me because that design was still doing well – people were still
buying it. But I had to make the choice to do what was right for my
business in the long run.”
When I ask how
Hannah drafts her patterns, she laughs again. “I don't even use one
anymore for the double-pleated bow skirt. I've made almost a
thousand. I know what I have to do.” She explains methods used for
her other designs, including techniques learned while taking a course
from a fashion school in Milan.
Though Hannah's
Etsy shop currently boasts only two designs, they are available in
various colors and prints. Never fear: more ideas are in the works.
Hannah's favorite idea is a peplum pencil skirt she made her for her
personal collection which is currently undergoing strenuous testing
for a fitting strategy that satisfies Hannah's desire to have each
skirt fit its client to perfection.
She rolls her
eyes. “Some people have butts, some people have no butts. It's hard
to find a formula that works for everyone.”
We both laugh.
Fitting challenges are just a small obstacle to a girl with Hannah's
determination.
As our interview
winds down, I find myself reluctant to get out of Hannah's beloved,
ugly couch-chair. As a method of stalling, I ask one last,
slightly-unrelated question:
“What item in
your closet, besides your own designs, is your favorite?”
My question sets
off a flurry of answers. Hannah can't choose just one thing. She
raves about her black leather jacket and finishes by strapping on her
favorite lemon-yellow satin Michael Kors high-sandals which, for some
reason, are tucked under the wrapping-shelf as if she wears the
four-inch heels daily. She poses for me, showing herself quite as
adept at showing off fashion as she is at designing it, and I snap a
few more pictures. It's time to leave the studio. I've got a long
drive home and food to be brilliant with for a party at home. Hannah
shoves the majority of the chocolate chip cookies into a Ziploc bag
and hands it to me. “Here, take these to eat on your way home.”
Who could refuse?
I leave the studio – a surprising oasis of sartorial bliss in the
middle of the Virginia pine-woods – and start my drive home. And as
I pull back out of the driveway to the soundtrack of her German
Shepherd, I can't wait to order a skirt. Even if the holidays and
those blasted cookies make it necessary to size-up and test her
curve-tailoring prowess. I'm not worried. Hannah Everly Designs is up
for the challenge.
This is the best!! Such a great interview, Rachel! =)
ReplyDeleteThat was really inspiring to read.
ReplyDeleteWow, I love making things too . . . I hope to one day have a buisness of my own! Very inspiring! Thank you, Rachel - and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, I'm so in love with that skirt...
ReplyDelete