MY STORY

My name is Jessica Braun. I am a wife and mom of 2 beautiful children, Inez (5) and Drezden (2). I was raised in rural Pennsylvania where I became a master behind my sewing machine and found myself on a career path in the fashion world. After finishing top of my class at Rhode Island School of Design, where I won Maybelline’s “Fashion Next” award and was featured in Elle Magazine and NYC fashion week, it was on to New York to continue my dream of fashion stardom.

At 24 years old, being extremely family oriented, I did not hesitate to put my dreams on hold in order to take care of my parents, Don and Betsy, when they became terminally ill within a short time of one another. I did a lot of maturing over the next few years and although my passion for designing clothes did not diminish, my longing for the big city lights did.

While living back at home in those years taking care of my parents, I met my now husband, Derrick, and the two of us were destined to start a new life together. His crunchy seed-sewing lifestyle with a focus on sustainability, along with my DIY skills and creative genius certainly made for a dynamic duo.

Derrick proposed and I immediately knew what I had to do… get my mother’s wedding dress down from the attic and re-purpose it to create my own wedding dress. As I got to work on the dress we picked a date. June 30, 2018 would be our wedding date. It was also my parents wedding date. We were married June 30, 1984. Upcycling my mother’s wedding dress and sharing the same wedding date was a meaningful way to have part of my parents there with me and made it an even more memorable day. See before and after photos below!

So it was no wonder once our first child, Inez, came into the world we would do what ever we could to CREATE the best life possible for her. And that is when Sewn Anew came to be.

I took many of my parents belongings’ with me to our new home, and much of the clothing that was tied to so many of my memories were sent to the attic to collect dust (where my mother’s wedding dress used to be!) When I was looking for fabric to make Inez a new onesie, it dawned on me that I has a plethora of my parents’ clothes at my disposal. Not only would I be able to make my daughter a beautiful piece of clothing (clean out the attic at the same time!), but my daughter, Inez could have a piece of her grandparents with her when ever she wore it.

BEFORE: My Mother’s Wedding Dress c. 1984

AFTER: My Upcycled Wedding Dress c. 2018

Thank You!