Listen to the episode
h+h Americas Trade Show Recap – The Asian Sewist Collective Podcast
Links Mentioned
Resources
h+h Americas 2025
Loose Ends Project
Knit the Rainbow
Liberty Crochet Mural
Let’s Move the Needle, by Shannon Downey
Nicole Instagram Recap Post
Sewing Friends Mentioned:
Lisa Woolfork, Stitch Please Podcast, @BlackWomenStitch
Mister Larrie, @mister.larrie
Corin Purifoy, @i.knit.u.knot
Gowri, @bypaary
Shannon Downey, @badasscrossstitch
Jonah, @jonahhands
Transcript
Nicole
Some people DM’d me when they saw our stories and were like “oh it’s that guy” and I was like, don’t know who that is, I’m sorry.
Ada
Welcome to the Asian Sewist Collective Podcast. The Asian Sewist Collective is a group of Asian people from around the world brought together by our shared appreciation for fiber and textile arts and our desire to see more Asian representation in the sewing community.
Nicole
In this podcast we explore the intersection of identities and our shared sewing practice as we create a space for Asian Sewists and our allies.
Ada
I’m your co-host, Ada Chen, and I’m recording from Denver, Colorado. Denver is the traditional territory of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples. I’m a Taiwanese American marketer, turned entrepreneur, and these days you’ll find me running my natural skincare brand, Erleia. That’s E-R-L-E-I-A. Find us on social media at Erleia Skin. Most importantly for this podcast you can find my sewing at i.hope.sew on Instagram.
Nicole
And I’m your co-host, Nicole. I’m recording outside of Chicago, Illinois, the original homelands of the Council of the Three Fires, the Ojibwe, the Potawatomi, and the Odawa people. I’m a Philippine American lawyer who loves to sew and you can find me on Instagram at Nicoleangelinesews.
Ada
Okay, Nicole, have you been sewing anything lately? I know we were feeling not so much in the sewing zone recently.
Nicole
I have. I’m very excited.
Ada
Details.
Nicole
Yes. So something that we have talked about in the past as a motivating thing for me has been pattern testing. And so maybe a month ago, I started really looking to see if there were any patterns that were, you know, looking for testers. and I finished testing the Cortado vest from Double Ugly Studios. And probably by the time this comes out, the pattern will be live. I found the call for testers through our friend Gowri from @bypaary, And was like, this is really cute. It has multiple views, but the view that I made was a cropped, boxy, deep V-neck vest.
Nicole
I was like, oh it’s very early 90s to me, like that Clueless era with the sweater vest and the collar and all that. But, you know, a modernized shape. It makes me feel very chic when I wear it. It’s a knit pattern, but I was like, I don’t really have like a French terry or a sweatshirt fleece that was intended. And so I asked the designer if I could try this. And it was a thrifted, probably upholstery faux suede that had a black faux suede that had just like a tiny bit of stretch to it because the instructions say like a stable knit and wovens could work. And was like, I don’t think this is even woven technically, but can I try this? And the designer’s like, it’s not what I intended. However, I think it’d be great. Go for it. So I made it up and it actually I made it up in one afternoon evening.
Ada
Wha?
Nicole
Yeah, just cut from cutting using the projector, the test projector file to finishing and it turned out really cute and I wore it the next day but the weather in the Midwest has been weathering and it was so hot to be in a faux suede vest with a long sleeve button down shirt like while I was volunteering and I was feeling myself when I left the house and then I was just feeling the heat the rest of the day.
Nicole
But it’s been good. Like it felt really good to feel the flow state of sewing and then to be proud of something that I’ve made that I put on my own body. The last thing I made was the shirt that I had made for my grandma’s funeral. So It’s been six months-ish. And yeah, I’m looking forward to getting back into it. And we’ll see where this newfound energy takes me. And I know you’re always sewing. So what’s on your table now?
Ada
So I’m not going to name the pattern because it is not size inclusive, but I finished a toile of a corset bodice. This pattern has two views. It’s basically a corset or a corset with a kind of A-line pencil skirt-ish-esque dress or skirt on the dress.
Ada
I’m making the bodice only, for so the corset part, for the Beyonce concert. So I’m going to Cowboy Carter twice. Very lucky. I didn’t get to go to Renaissance because Ticketmaster really beat down my soul and like and I ended up being lucky enough to get two sets of tickets so we’re going I’m probably wearing the same outfit. Outfit repeating and I wanted to make a like a going out top that would work for not only this but if I went to let’s say like a wedding because I actually we’re in round two of engagements y’all
Nicole
Ooh. Ooh.
Ada
So when we have to go to those go out to events anymore, like I just wanted to make something fancy because it’s been a while since I’ve done that. yeah. I found at the Joann’s in Boulder, silver woven, literally silver. And I bought the whole like 2.3 yards of it off the bolt. This was like a few weeks ago, way before like the very end of the sale.
Ada
And the lovely store manager, Tanya, shout out to the whole Boulder team, was like, I was going to say, if you weren’t going to buy everything on this bolt, I was going to grab some too. was like the perils of working at the fabric counter. So I took the whole 2.3 yards. I actually did the toile out of, I deconstructed, I feel like you would be proud of me. I deconstructed a pair of hot pink linen pants I made years ago that I just, yeah, I didn’t end up, they didn’t end up really being suiting what I wanted them to suit.
Nicole
I know those pants.
Ada
And I wasn’t going to remake them because I just remade alterations on different pairs of pants. So they’ve been in my like WIP pile for a while and so has other thrifted linen pieces like this linen.
Ada
It has a birds of paradise print on it dress from Tommy Bahama. So those two linens, I just cut out the bodice pieces and because it has an outer and a lining, cut it out and then I whacked a zipper on it because I think the original corset is laced up. I didn’t do any boning on my toile, but I was just testing it for fit because it has the two, you know, princess seams in the front. And I just wanted to make sure it was going to fit on me size-wise. And miraculously, if you’ve followed me on Instagram, you’ve seen my other toiles, like the Inez dress from Just Patterns. That didn’t go so hot on the first one, so we’re going make toiles probably two and three. The first toile on this fit okay.
Nicole
Ey.
Ada
Hey, like so such a win. You know what wasn’t a win? not checking the zipper that I put in because it wasn’t one that you can take in and out. It was meant to be like a quarter zip, like on the top of it.
Nicole
So not a separating zipper.
Ada
No, not a separating zipper.
Nicole
Oh no.
Ada
And so I had to like seam rip myself out of the toile. Once I got it, basically like putting it on, I was like wiggling in,got it on. I was like, great fit. How do I get this off?
Nicole
I guess I just live here now.
Ada
Yeah, I was like, I seam ripped it apart. I might go back and finish it. I didn’t finish the bottom edge because pretty much I got to the point where I knew the top was going to fit and I was going to make two adjustments to the pattern before I make the final. So I’ve cut the final fabric with a different lining. I was going to put a cow print on the inside also from the Joann’s clearance sale or liquidation sale.
Nicole
Ooh.
Ada
And I decided to make a second toile. We’re in the era of toile-ing.
Nicole
Look at you.
Ada
Look at me coming so far in my sewing practice.
Nicole
Can I ask a question?
Ada
Yeah.
Nicole
How much of a panic soap is this?
Ada
Surprisingly, not that much because we are about one month out from the concert.
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
And so I am going a few days early because we’re going to the one in London. And I think I’m going to get through toile number two this weekend or next.
Ada
And then I think I’ll make the final. I think once I make toile number two, I’m going to decide if I want to make a top and a bottom or just the top and wear the jean shorts that I planned. The other cool kind of cowboy themed notion that I found was this denim ombre trim or not trim I guess it is a trim tassels that I was thinking would look cool on the back of a denim jacket so we might put some of the denim I’ve been hoarding like there is no other word for it besides hoarding at this point we might be putting that on so on a denim jacket and making that because I actually only own one denim jacket and I actually really like it. so i don’t want to alter it in any way. And this could be a great use for that and to make me finally use some of my stash. So we’re feeling good about our sewing process this year so far.
Nicole
Nice. You’re going to post pictures of you at the Beyonce concert wearing this outfit, right?
Ada
100,000% will have pictures. I might even, I have like about a month between the concerts to make any adjustments, to maybe make more pieces. I don’t know. We shall see. At a minimum, I just want to get the silver bodice done because I know I own bottoms that will work with it and I already own boots.
Nicole
Oh, I love that. It’s funny. It’s reminding me of an outfit that I wore in eighth grade. I remember this being a big thing. It was the eighth grade dance. And, you know, nobody asked me to go with them, but it’s also eighth grade. So whatever. But I remember I wore probably from like Charlotte Russe or something. So this would have been eighth grade is what, like 1998 or 1999. And I wore ah so like a sequined silver tube top with a floor length black satin with a slit skirt. So was like, I don’t know what I was doing as an eighth grader, but whatever. It’s fine. It’s reminding me of that. I’m hoping that’s what it looks like because that’s awesome.
Ada
I had platform satin, probably like two inch heels that I wore to some family friends’ weddings in middle school that are exactly spot on what you’re describing. But like a little bit later, it’s very like Mary-Kate and Ashley coded, I feel. Or this one came up recently, Hilary Duff in the Lizzie McGuire movie, Going to Rome.
Nicole
Hilary Duff is and Lizzie McGuire is a little bit past me just like a hair past my age group but we had a sleep, me and my girlfriends had to sleepover a couple months ago and you know we stayed up until 2am watching the Lizzie McGuire movie that I have never seen so.
Ada
I’m making my partner sit through that at some point soon. I can’t wait.
Nicole
It was cute. I’d also been drinking and it was late. Bbut it was really cute. But I’m like, yeah, Lizzie McGuire is just a hair, little bit like I missed it by like maybe a year or two. But it seemed cute. We love it.
Ada
We love it. We love a good 2000s style moment. It does make me feel a little old right now at listeners. I don’t know if you feel the same way about all the Gen Z folks and even Gen Alpha coming out with low-rise jeans again.
Nicole
Oh No, that’s a no for me.
Ada
But hey, those millennial statement necklaces might be coming back too. So…
Nicole
I’m into that. I never got rid of mine.
Ada
On to today’s topic then. It’s not 2000 fashions or even millennial statement necklaces. and Nicole, you recently went to a trade show.
Nicole
So at this point, it was last week, but it was the H&H Americas trade show, which is focused on fiber craft and fiber and arts, fiber craft and arts. And, you know, thank you so much to Lisa from Black Women Stitch, the Stitch Please podcast, who encouraged me to request a media pass. We’d actually previously been invited to this. It’s near where I live. But I couldn’t take the time off to attend at the time. I think it was in 2022 when we were previously invited. But I received a free pass to attend workshop events from Wednesday through Friday. And I don’t have my calendar up, but I want to say it was May 7th through May 9th 2025, for people who are listening to this in a year that is not 2025.
Nicole
I did not know what to expect. I literally showed up on the first day with an open mind, a full battery, and water. I didn’t bring coffee this day, but I did the subsequent days because that Starbucks line was ridiculous.
Nicole
But before we jump in, because this was an industry event and I didn’t know what a trade show was really, Ada, you live that trade show life for your day job. So can you tell our listeners, like, what is a trade show and maybe how this one fits into the sewing community or the knitting or crocheting or crafting community?
Ada
So a trade show is a big event, usually multi-day event. At a minimum, they’re mostly like one or two days, three or four if they’re bigger. And they usually take place in a convention center or a hotel. And they’re typically split into like kind of a few sections. There’s usually like a booth section where businesses have booths where they can advertise or sell product. Whether this is similar to like when you walk your farmer’s market and the gutter and window people are always there, or it’s like at H&H where you have different vendors of different brands, right?
Nicole
Mm-hmm.
Ada
For Sewing brands, fiber craft, fiber art brands, or even smaller businesses selling to other businesses or even selling one-offs to you as a consumer. so that’s usually what’s called the show floor.
And then there is sometimes a like education section. So workshops and panels, basically like think of it as continuing education. So a lot of the time, if you work in a job where you might be able to attend a trade show for your learning and development budget, for example, I’ve been to some before ah where they’re like marketing themed. Those events and those panels might be themed around like a specific part of your job or a specific technique or tool. Usually those can be like presentations by an individual or a group or a company or a panel of folks talking about a certain topic.
Ada
And they can run with multiple tracks, one track, they can split it up. It’s kind of all over the place, depending on the trade show and what their focus is. And then usually there’s some like networking area, kind of like a downtime area, I would say. This has been more popular, I want to say in the last like four or five years, basically since trade shows came back after lockdown, more and more I’ve seen them come up with these like lounge areas where people can take a break from walking the show floor because so show floors can sometimes be very, very large and very overwhelming.
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
It is sensory overload for sure. And you can usually like sit down on couches or like side tables. You can even have meetings there, find people there and connect. But those are usually kind of the three buckets of things that you do at a trade show besides like meeting tons of people and learning more about other businesses and people in that industry. Not necessarily, I would say H&H isn’t necessarily for your average sewist, knitter, crocheter, right? It’s more for folks who are like us, technically media, covering events like this, or learning about other businesses in that industry. So businesses we could partner with, creators we could partner with.
It’s usually, if you think about it, someone who owns like an independent fabric shop, independent local yarn store might go to one of these events to source product, for example, for their store. So I’ve exhibited for my business at similar shows where it’s a selling show, right? You’re exhibiting your products and your wares and you’re trying to get all these business owners to place an order.
So they will place a bulk wholesale order and they will become a stockist, right? So a lot of those types of folks will come to these shows or if you are a brand that sells to those stores or a brand that licenses to those stores, you would go to the show to exhibit, right? To bring in new business.
Do you think I hit everything, Nicole?
Nicole
Yeah, I think you did. and And it took me a minute to after I got there to realize that it is the format that you said in terms of the show floor. It was huge. I looked at the numbers after and there were 558 exhibitors. So like vendors on the show floor from 27 different countries around the world. That’s a lot. And I was tired and overwhelmed. I didn’t see everything. Like I had meant to drop by certain places and then it didn’t occur to me. And then something else took my attention and then this and this and this.
Nicole
But yeah, so all of the folks there, they were selling wholesale. They were looking to get into people’s businesses, in a good way. They’re trying to get into their business. Normally, I don’t like when people are in my business. But anyway, segue to that. But it was really big and really overwhelming. And the first day I was there, I walked a lot. And also because I went back to my car to like sit. Just to sit and like be in the quiet because it is a sensory overload. But almost everyone I talked to, I did you know stop into booths and spoke with folks. I let them know immediately I was like, oh, I’m a member of a podcast. We’re not buying wholesale. I’m here to just find out more because I didn’t want them to waste.
I don’t want to waste their time. I know that they’re there trying to get business. But then Lisa was like, no, they want your business. They want to reach your audience. And so start to think about talking to people in that mindset. And so it changed for day two for me. But day one, I was like, ah, so many things happening.
Nicole
And almost everyone I spoke to that I didn’t already know that I’d met for were there for the first time. And afterward, I read on the press release following the trade show that 40% of the exhibitors were first time exhibitors.
Ada
Wow.
Nicole
And yeah, talking to folks that had been there before said that like it feels twice as big this year and it’s getting bigger. And if we had gone in 2022, think it would have been a quarter of the size. Like it was a massive thing. And it took place in Rosemont. So just outside the Chicago, like you can take the blue line from O’Hare Airport to get there, which I know a lot of people probably did. And it the Donald E. Stevenson Convention Center is gigantic. And I have been there for nerd cons. That’s what I’ve been there for. And it’s Anime Central this weekend there because one of the folks who works for a company that does cosplay patterns, he’s like, are you going to be there next weekend? No, maybe, maybe next time.
Ada
But if it’s big enough for nerdcon and anime like that’s that’s a big convention center i don’t know if people know what the scale is of these convention centers because I feel like for the last two years, I’ve been at the Javits Center in New York a whole bunch of times. And then also in different Pier 36 in New York, as well as some places in San Francisco and Denver. And these spaces that they use are like tens of thousands of square feet. And they’re meant to be like, so, so large. So like 500 plus exhibitors can fit. And usually exhibitors get anywhere from like a 10 by 10 space to even bigger than that. And it depends on how much They’re paying, obviously, to be there, right? Like a smaller booth is less money, bigger booth, more money.
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
It also depends on like how elaborate your booth is and all that stuff. But I’m curious outside of how the numbers and it being gigantically overwhelming, any first impressions on the people that you met or some of the businesses that you met?
Nicole
So separate from people I met, businesses I met, you know, I got there on Wednesday and I got registered when it was still pretty quiet and before the exhibit hall opened. So people were starting to filter in and then kind of like lining up to get into the exhibit hall.
But the first thing I noticed was that the attendees were overwhelmingly white. I was like… a little bit overwhelmed by that. I’ve spent a lot of my life in white spaces. Like this is just the nature of where I live, what I do. And, um, but to be like, to, to feel like you’re the only person of color in a room that it has at least 300 people milling about is like, it’s not super like it’s not a great feeling. And I bet a lot of our listeners have been there. You know, I bet that it’s like it’s large scale, small scale sort of being the only one that, you know, as the event went on, like I saw some diversity, but it’s kind of like.
Nicole
It was wonderful to talk to people, you know, but it was like, you know, you see what, like seeing one person, another person in a sea of a thousand or like a dozen in a sea of a thousand doesn’t like necessarily make you feel better. It kind of almost exacerbates the, like it makes the problem even like more out there. You know, the exhibitors, they don’t have control over who buys the tickets, not the exhibitors, the people, the conference folks.
I did get the sense that H&H was trying to be more inclusive and bring more diversity to the show. And as a business, you know, if they run the trade show, then they’re selling, you know, they they want businesses to come exhibit and they don’t, you know, but they don’t know who’s going to buy the tickets to come participate and buy these products wholesale. I’m not giving anyone a pass. I’m just kind of rationalizing like how, how this all works. And, you know, i did feel like there, there were more efforts to bring diversity. There were some programming that I was pleasantly surprised to see there, you know, and Lisa has spoken with the folks, Lisa from Stitch Please. And she also says that they’re they’re trying, you know, like it’s, they’re trying, they want more ideas. They want to grow. They want to be more inclusive. They want to get more people there, reach more businesses that are owned by underrepresented folks.
And, you know, that their hope is to change the demographic, you know, because there’s like, because everyone like wants, there’s just plenty of business, like people are going to want to buy. It’s, you know, how are you creating a space where businesses from underrepresented populations want to be at this trade show and buy from other businesses so I was just kind of standing there Wednesday morning like, okay, this is what we’re gonna have for the rest of the time.
Ada
And it’s also like, ah who can afford to attend this trade show? Because if you’re not local, right, it involves a flight to that show, hotels for the multiple days, and then having the budget to buy the products that you see, you or at least like, you know, buy the products that you see or want to bring into your store at some point down the line. And I know that right now, like that expense as a business owner, especially if you are from an underrepresented group, can be high, right? And so the barrier to entry to getting to these trade shows, especially when a lot of stuff is available online right now.
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
Like that’s, it’s, you know, weighs back and forth pros and cons. I’ve seen it also like within the industry that I work in who goes to these trade shows, the people who have the means to go to these trade shows. And so full disclosure, right? Like we did get this pass for free for you to attend as part of the media.
Nicole
Mmm hmm. Yup.
Ada
And so we’ll give them credit for giving us that media pass to share a bit more about this experience with you all. It’s not sponsored. We were not paid to make this episode. ah We just felt like it would be an interesting topic to cover because I think it is a part of the crafting and sewing world. So we don’t necessarily talk about a lot because it is a business, right? Like we spend our money where we want to.A nd how are those people finding those products? They’re going to shows like this, right?
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
And so if the people that we want to spend our money with can’t go to shows like this or can’t find those brands, then there is a fundamental disconnect within the sewing and crafting industry, especially now that we’re not going to have Joann’s anymore.
Nicole
Yeah. Yeah.
Ada
Right?
Nicole
Nobody’s really talked about that. I mean, why would they at the trade show? But like, I think there was this underlying current of things are going to shift.
Ada
I think so.
Nicole
Like these businesses that are shopping for better, I mean, it is what they’re doing, right? Shopping at this trade show, like they’re going to need to fill a hole in their community. um And one of the big pushes that was there was and like promotion of their cosplay stuff. And so this is part of what I thought, what I observed was, you know, an effort to be more inclusive. So the show itself, the theme for the show was called It’s For You.
Nicole
“You” is all capitalized and exclamation point, little aggressive, but okay. Yeah. And but like, you know, one thing is the cosplay program. So cosplay is an incredibly can be like a really diverse set of practitioners like sewists and metallurgists, crafters. Like there were 3D printing and resin mold elements to their costumes and ah people of all sizes, different demographics. And so the the cosplay competition, i think it’s only the second year that they’ve done it, but the trade show organizers were so excited to have it there because you’re bringing in a whole new segment of people that are going to buy this stuff. There was a cosplay entry that was an entirely crocheted octopus outfit.
Nicole
It wasn’t an octopus, but it was like some sort of Lovecraftian monster looking entirely crochet. that person has to buy the crochet, the yarn that’s to buy, you know, the hooks and all that kind of stuff. So, you know, they’re trying to reach and also a younger audience, you know, with cosplay, it it’s not exclusively young, but it’s seen as like a kind of a younger craft, which is, of course not true but it’s just another way to reach a new generation of sewists. And they were you know really excited about it they had a panel of cosplayers that was giving a talk on how to reach cosplayers as customers and I was like great we are thinking of expanding who we serve as we as in like you know sewing businesses or craft businesses fiber businesses like you know, thinking about reaching folks that you wouldn’t have thought of before instead of like your average, you know, middle to boomer aged white woman who wants to, you know, work on guilds or like do guilds.And no shade to those people. Wonderful stuff. Shade to the people that only want to work with them, though. Like there’s so many people that want to be a part of the craft space. And I do think that, you know, they were trying with some of the programming. So there was a lot of programming.
So we talked about the show floor, right? And you’d mentioned that some of these trade shows have programming for businesses. And I know that the day before I got there, there was a Creator summit that was specific. I don’t know why I didn’t go to the creators. Oh no, you know what? It was my sister’s birthday and I had friends over. That’s why.
But the creator summit was like a full day program to work with folks who content create around fiber and textile arts. And it was about creating videos and marketing to your audience and all that. And so there was that. And then there were panels throughout the sessions. They were in different locations. They were on different topics.
Nicole
And one of the you know. I couldn’t attend to everything. I probably self-selected the panels where the people were of diverse identities. But you know the keynote for Thursday was Mr. Larrie. Do you know Mr. Larrie?
Ada
I feel like some of Mr. Larrie’s reels have come up on my feed.
Nicole
Yeah, he is a wonderful human being, colorful, joyful, um so, so much fun. And he was the keynote on Thursday and his talk was called Unicorns on the Conference Call, Living an Authentically Creative Life as an Adult. And he was engaging and funny and thought provoking. And it turns out he’s a college professor for a while. And this is why I love these types of panels. I go to panels at cons, like I’m that nerd that’s like, yes, tell me about the psychology of this thing, you know? But, you know, I only know Mr. Larry from Instagram, but I got to know about his background, about his journey and craft, why he does what he does and how important it is to be authentic as an adult and tapping in, making the child you proud of who you are.
Nicole
And we also got to speak with them in their podcast booth, um which was really cool. It was a self-contained podcast recording studio. So it was like felt really professional. It felt pretty cool. We did have some technical difficulties with it. and With the recording, there was some crackling that there was no way for us to know whether it would come out in the recording. So we just went with it and it did come out in the recording. So we’ll figure out how, if you know, how we can post the conversation, but it was a lot of fun to learn, get to know him. And a couple of the other things, you know, I talked about cosplay. That was a cosplay competition and then meet the cosplayer afterwards, plus panels to like promote, to let businesses know that, you know, hey, there are these people out there that you can reach.
And there’s one on craftivism. So for listeners, if you’ve not heard the term, it’s activism and crafting together. And it was really neat to learn. So it was a panel led by Shannon from Badass Cross Stitch, who you might know from the interwebs, and a panel of four folks who have turned or used their craft to help their communities and to make a statement about what their values are in the communities.
Nicole
So the I’ll just name the four projects now. Please look them up. They’re really cool. ah One is Loose Ends Project. The other is Knit the Rainbow. And then Liberty Crochet Mural. And then I’ll have to put them all in the show notes. But the person, I don’t think it was a particular program, but this person did… did the Breonna Taylor postcard program after she died. She was murdered and, you know, put pressure on the attorney general. And it was really insightful and uplifting to see how people are using their craft and kind of got to ask yourself, like, well, what does this have to do with running a business, right?
It doesn’t necessarily, but I appreciate how the trade show, you know, the trade show folks felt like this was an important topic to include for people who do want to, you know, engage in these types of activities and show people in the community what their values are. So I thought that was really cool. And then there was a student day there, too. Sorry. Go ahead.
Ada
I was going to ask, is Loose Ends project the one where they finish projects for folks who might have passed or who are unable to finish the project, like a quilt, for example?
Nicole
Yeah, they’re the folks that will match people who are unable to finish their products their projects, you know, due to the death of the maker or like incapacity or disability. And it’s really beautiful.
Ada
I’ve read about that one. Yeah, that one, for obvious reasons, i was like, oh, that one hits home. But I think these are all great. And all business is political. So really at the end of the day, who you buy from matters and where the money goes matters. So I think weaving it into the programming, especially right now with sewing and crafting in general, like makes a lot of sense, right? Like we talk about it all the time, um but it is easy to forget as you’re just scrolling your feed. Yeah.
Nicole
Yeah. And there were people in the audience asking questions, you know, trying to get ideas for how to incorporate these types of initiatives. You know, one of the suggestions was to put a box out in your store for people to donate knit materials to knit the rainbow, you know, or host a crafting night where you do one panel for the Liberty Crochet mural, something like that. It was encouraging to see that, number one, this panel existed at all. And then number two, like the albeit small, smaller audience, you know, than others, there are people out there who want to do good on top of, you know, running their business. So that was pretty cool.
Nicole
Ooh, okay. So something else I learned, which was really neat, is about knitting. I don’t knit. Let’s get that out there. Right. um I met a knitter and crocheter, also a designer on Instagram. She’s i.knit.u.knot, I think. We’ll put a link in the show notes. She’s a wonderful woman. And we walked to the show floor together after one of the panels because we were going to head in the same direction. And she’d stopped to check out this knitting needle company and she tested out knitting needles that are square. Have you seen these?
Ada
You mean the whole thing is square?
Nicole
It’s like, you know, OK, you have your pencil and the pencil can either be round or hexagonal.
Ada
Oh yeah, yeah, I’ve seen those.
Nicole
The knitting needles that are square and instead of round and i was just passively watching learning this is what i do and this is not what i do so you know knitting so i was like okay i’m listening to the conversation and the the person that i that i i met uh mentioned like told me that she had some chronic pain and so she was talking about to the person about how it how it feels like the knit the needles felt a little bit and she said like a little blocky, but you can get used to them. And the person showed how you can change the bottom of the needle to put it in a base that will rotate like with you.
Ada
Oh, an ergonomic grip kind of.
Nicole
Yes. Yeah. And an attachment. And so she said, I think this is really cool. The person was talking about sending her a pair to try before they’re launched because they haven’t launched yet. And so as we were walking to our next one, I said, can you tell me about like why a square knitting needle is,what’s the difference between sewing with us knitting with a square needle versus a round one. She was telling me that people who struggle with like tiredness and pain in the hands, it’s harder to hold the rounded needles, the round, like round pencil needles. And the the square shape provides more grip.
And I was like, oh I didn’t, you know, hadn’t thought about it in that way. I just assumed that like everyone just did knitting needles that way. And so it kind of opened up my brain to, you know, the importance of accessibility. And I and I think, I like to think that I’m probably more conscious of that than your average person. But with knitting, I didn’t even think about that. So I thought that was really neat. And then she was telling me the pivot point at the bottom can help with the small movements that you need to do. And it makes it more comfortable because you don’t have to hold, you don’t have to kind of like slightly turn the needle in any way. You can just knit and have it go. And I was like, wow, I think if there’s anything I learned at this trade show, I think that was like hugely valuable. Am I going to knit? Maybe. I did tell my friend to teach me how to knit. But I thought it was, you know, that’s the stuff that you want to look for in an exhibitor. That’s who I want to look for. The people that are thinking about, okay, well, how can we make our craft as accessible as possible to others? So I don’t know if you have any thoughts. I know you knit a little bit. You knit me a hat, though. That was awesome.
Ada
I knit you the hat from Tina and Priya’s episode. Go way back in our archives for that. I also knit myself a hat, which I did a few extra rows on because I can’t count. So I totally get the grip-ability, if that’s a word making sense. For me, it brings up two things. One is chopstick shape because it’s definitely like a factor when I have bought them for myself at home. I think when we grew up, we had square or round shaped ones, like, you know, all sorts of different ones. But like, if you look at the Korean style of flat chopsticks, they’re usually like a way flatter metal press. If you go to like a Korean restaurant, for example, I cannot grip those for my life. I trust me, I know how to use chopsticks. I’m not the best at it, let’s be honest. But the flat ones, oh, wow, I am, I just feel like woefully inadequate at grabbing anything. So I can totally see how with knitting and even maybe crochet, right? Cause you’re going to be doing repetitive hand motions and rotations, how that actually makes a really big difference.
And then my second thought was with the knee lift. We talked about this a little bit in our sewing machines episode, but with knee lifts, right? Like then you can lift your presser foot without needing your hand to go back behind your machine to lift it, right? Because you can just kick that. Obviously right now for me, using my right knee to do that, a little difficult, post-op.
Nicole
Yeah.
Ada
But if you can use your knee and don’t have to use your hand for that, that is one other way of making machines slightly more accessible and easier to use, right? As we’re considering who is sewing and who needs different accommodations, or even just like, how do we design this machine to be more accessible for people? Because let’s be honest, sewing machine design hasn’t really changed much in the past Under 200 years.
Nicole
No.
Ada
So we could definitely be doing a lot more, I think, for a lot more people. But I’m so glad you got to see that in person. That’s pretty cool. And to hear it from somebody who knits and who would benefit from that in person is pretty legit.
Nicole
Yeah, I thought it was cool.
Nicole
So have you ever been in an audience and, like was not, wanted to ask a question, but was like, i don’t know if I want to do this. I don’t know if I want to be the person to ask this, but then you do it anyway.
Ada
I did this on Thursday and the VC’s response was sometimes founders don’t know when to fire themselves. And I was like, ooh, ooh, me. What if I want to fire myself from part of my job right now? Like I need help and I know I’m not good at this. And she’s like, do it now.
Nicole
Perfect.
Ada
I was like, I’m glad I asked it, but also it was very weird to ask. Yes. So yes, I get it.
00:31.72
Nicole
So there was a panel that I attended at the H&H Americas in 2025. And it was a panel of four folks from different sewing companies, like sewing related companies, and a moderator.
And we got to the end and nobody asked this question. And I looked around and I’m like, oh, god, there are a lot of white folks here. And I’m like, you know, overall, the conference, of the trade show was heavily attended by white folks.
And so I’m like, okay, all right, here we go. Raise my hand. I said, hi Nicole from the Asian Sewers Collective podcast, where we focus on uplifting stories from Asian Sewers from around the world. Can you tell me about your company’s commitment to working with diverse people?
Ada
Get it. Yeah. Because you know they weren’t going to ask that.
Nicole
Right. And I was like, okay, fine, fine. I’ll ask it. And then um one person jumped in right away and was like, I can tell you, you know, who we work with. I can take this is what he said. And he’s the person I had a conversation with after. And he said, he had talked about how their company, part of me doesn’t want to name it because I’m like, no free ads, but u but we give free ads all the time. We always talk about stuff.
But for these folks, you know, he said that we’re heavy in the cosplay community. You know, we’re trying to break into that market because we know that they use our stuff and they sponsored the cosplay contest and he said that that has been a really great way to work with all sorts of different people, all sorts ages. People have their interests, races, sizes. Like it’s just for him, the company recognized that this is an important market to tap into. And that has exposed them to a lot of different people of different backgrounds, which enriches, you know, Of course, I say, of course, because we get it. But like, you know, enriches their business. I gave the other and everyone on that panel, except for possibly the person answered the question, because I don’t know, he might be white passing, but, you know, we’re white.
So I was like, OK, here we go. We’re going to do it. Everyone else, I felt like kind of gave a canned answer and they were not prepared to talk about it. But I just thought I won’t forgive myself if I don’t ask this question because, we’re going to be the ones that are coming for you, like coming, wanting to work with you. And I want to know, like, do you even care? Do you even know what to say? And another person.
Ada
Do these brands actually want our money as consumers?
Nicole
Right, exactly. And, you know, one person said You know, actually, she’s like, the company that I work with, I am one of the, like, few white folks in the office. And she said that. And that, to me, has been really valuable. And I know that guilds, she said this, sewing guilds, knitting guilds, are often not seen as places that are welcoming and inclusive. And so whenever I get invited to go somewhere and talk to these guilds, I always tell them, Make space for everybody, invite everybody in. This should be for everyone. And I was like, I like you. I need to, I have the, they kind of all ran after, after the presentation. that Maybe they saw me coming they’re like, Oh God, it’s the diversity girl. And left.
But ah no, the person from the other company spoke with me and then someone said, at a different company, two or two people from different companies came up to me afterward because they appreciated the question. And one of them, hopefully we can be on their podcast, which I think would be really cool for the future. But yeah, that’s that’s my, you know.
Ada
I love that. I love that you asked it because I recently took a survey, I think this past week, for a sewing machine company since one of our last episodes was sewing machines. And they were definitely like asking, how do you feel about the economy? Are you going to buy a new machine soon? What machines you already own? And then they had this category of questions in the survey that was like, what do you use your machine for? And then it was like types of sewing and like is this applicable like on a scale of one to five? Totally me, not totally me. And I remember one of the questions was like, I sew a lot for my children. And I was like, excuse you, who put this on here? What kind of demographic you think are actually sewing, what? Who have you been on Sewstagram lately? Or even sewing Reddit. Like, where are you getting these? It is 2025, whoever wrote this survey.
Ada
So I think they like had a, I think I wrote like not applicable whatsoever. and then I just like rage filled out the rest and filled out the demographics. And I was just like, this data better be useful.
Nicole
Yeah, pay attention to it.
Ada
I’m telling you that like you are marketing this completely wrong.
Nicole
Yeah. Yeah, there are many more people out there with different life circumstances besides I sew for my own kids. Which plenty do also, but come on.
Ada
Yeah, not shaming that whatsoever. Good for you. Tiny seams, faster. Totally get it.
Nicole
Less fabric? We love it.
Ada
Less fabric. We love it. We love a good mini sew, tiny sew, fast sew. We don’t appreciate that being like one of the top questions. And it came up a few times in the survey and I was just like, yeah.
Nicole
It’s so presumptive.
Ada
What kind of market demographics are we doing here?
Nicole
Yeah then they don’t want my money. I’m not sewing for my kids. Cause I don’t have any.
Ada
Right? I was like what if I try to make another dog outfit?
Nicole
Yeah, I still don’t think they’re your people though.
Ada
Nope, that’s not what they meant. It would have been funny if i had checked it off been like my child is a dog he has four legs.
Nicole
Oh, doggos.
Ada
I know you mentioned you got to see Lisa, our favorite, in real life. Who else did you get to see or meet? I know it was like, it kind of feels like now that I’m looking back at everyone’s posts, a lot of sewing businesses and brands were there. So if you’ve been scrolling your feed recently and it’s just like someone mentioning this show, that’s what they were doing all week. But who did you meet? Who can we have a preview of maybe coming up on the podcast?
Nicole
Well, we you know there there was Lisa, of course, from the Stitch Please podcast, Mr. Larrie, wonderful folks. I met more new people, I think, because most of our sewing friends aren’t business owners that would be at the trade show. And, you know, of course, Lisa was there covering and doing an awesome job marketing her podcast. I stood there while she was talking to someone in a booth, absorbing how she was talking to that person about her podcast and coming up with ideas, live, on how they might be able to collaborate, really leveraging like the purpose of the podcast. Lisa is, of course, a ah ah brilliant human being who I wish to emulate in so many ways. And so that was like day one. And then day two, I’m like, OK, I’m going to be Lisa. So that’s always, it’s always fun. And I got to spend a lot of time with her.
I met our friends at LDH, um the scissors and cutting tools company. They were the ones that sponsored a giveaway for us a while back. And hopefully we can get them on to talk about scissor maintenance because I took a really cool scissor maintenance class that was there. And it was hosted by an influencer, Cornelius Quiring, I think his name is. He is very nice. I’m doing a lot of things wrong.
And, you know, ah the story of LDH, I don’t want to give anything away now because I would love to have them on the pod. It’s interesting. And it was founded in China by a small business. So I would love to have Roy.
And you know Cornelius, he’s an influencer. And I told him to his face I didn’t know who he was. And I was like, “Sorry, I don’t know who you are”. It’s just like and And I felt bad. I mean, he was cool about it, of course, because most normal people would be cool about it. But I was like, I’m so sorry. I don’t know you and he’s like “oh it’s okay it’s no problem” but he has a good connection to me and I hope you know i get to run into him at some point in the future. Some people DM’d me when they saw our stories and were like “oh it’s that guy” and I was like “I don’t know who that is I’m sorry.”
Ada
We can’t possibly be across all corners of the crafting and sewing internet. There’s two of us and like a team of volunteers. We all do different things. We’re all touching different things. We’re not all on sewing Instagram all the time.
Nicole
Much as I would be.
Ada
So I don’t I wouldn’t feel bad.
Nicole
Yeah, though it was just, it was slightly embarrassing, but I think I’m also just too old to be that kind of embarrassed. I’m like, it’s fine. It also made me feel older too, where I’m like, “I don’t know who these young influencer folks are.” No, it was cool. I think it would be good to talk about how we maintain our cutting implements. You too will find out you’re not doing it right if you’re like me.
But yeah, hopefully we can have them on. I met Shannon Downey, Shannon who I mentioned earlier of Badass Cross Stitch. I had not realized that they were based in Chicago. So I’m gonna take a look at their events if I don’t cross stitch, but if there’s some opportunity to poorly hand embroider or just to hang out, you know I’m in.
She gave me a copy of her book called Let’s Move the Needle and it’s about craftivism. So she was the panel list host. I’m looking forward to reading that. And she wants to you know collaborate with us just kind of have to think about how we can make that happen. So I’m looking forward to you know growing that relationship there. And then the cosplay competition, I mentioned a few times. One of the hosts was the intrepid Yaya Han, who you may heard of, listeners, if even if you’re not a cosplayer, you probably saw some of her fabric and stuff in Joann Fabrics.
She is of Chinese descent, and I know this just because she told me. I told her about the podcast. I caught her after the show. And, you know, I told her we just kind of love to hear her story, which is what we do here, right? And then she’s interested, maybe hopefully in coming on. So listeners, let us know if you want to hear from Yaya Han.
Also, the runner-up of the cosplay competition was a cosplayer – um competes under the name Arinico, A-R-I-N-I-C-O. And her cosplay was based on a character from my favorite TV show of all time, Avatar The Last Airbender. She was a runner up and it was really, she’s really kind. I would love to, you know, maybe have her on to talk about, you know, competing. Because the world of cosplay is not just, it’s so general. It’s like the word cosplay, it’s a thing, but there’s so many facets to it. So I think it would be cool to hear from her.
And yeah, I met a young man called Jonah. I don’t remember what his last name is, but he is the sort of world famous crocheter. I think he was crocheting since he was five. And now he’s so old and he’s 17. And I think he’s graduating from high school now, but really talented, really nice young man. Hearing about, you know, his story after his panel was really neat. He’s an adoptee and he you know talks about his family and, and then like how he learned to crochet. And I just spoke with him afterward, let him know like, Hey, you’re, really cool. Like, I think yeah you’re you’ve already done a lot of great things. And um it’s been really neat to get to know more about you. And it’s just like, oh, you know, thank you. Being the very self-aware young man that he is for apparently friends with Drew Barrymore. Like went on her show for the pilot. And then like, he’s a correspondent for her every once in a while. And I’m like, oh that’s cool. You’re only 17. What was I doing in 17? It’s fine.
Ada
I love that.
Nicole
But yeah, I met a lot of really cool people. And I met folks at booths as well once I got the courage from Lisa to talk to folks about, you know, like our podcast and giving them my contact information and, you know, hopefully making more connections that way.
Ada
I love that you met people and I’m very proud of you for going up to those booths because I know from both sides it’s nerve-wracking both to like be in your own booth and like be on the whole day for multiple days but also to be walking and just wanting to see and then having to engage. Like it is, trade shows are a lot, especially if you are not like a hundred percent an extrovert. Like I think for ambiverts and introverts, it’s a lot and sensory overload for sure with all the noise and the people and the things that you’re seeing.
But I think if you haven’t seen Nicole’s kind of recap post on her Instagram, definitely go check out those pictures. Those were amazing. You can also probably find the tags of the show if you want to see some other cool projects that were exhibited at the show.
And if you’re seeing these, if you are a business owner, might be a good opportunity for you to check out for future shows. We, I don’t know, can’t tell you because we don’t run a sewing business. Or a crafting business. But I’m really glad that you went, Nicole. Any final thoughts for our listeners?
Nicole
Oh, I’m also glad I went to and I hope to be back next year. I think it would be nice to be there in a more official like embedded capacity. Lisa floated the idea that we could just cover, do podcasts while we’re there and like that’ll be what we do. And I love that idea. The booth was there, you know so call ahead of time. Tell people, hey, you want to come by schedule time for us to talk in the booth? And then voila. But I’d like to go again next year. you know i also believe that next year they’re doing a consumer-facing fiber and textile fair. h+h Americas is doing that. So there was some information for exhibitors about going there, selling directly to consumers.
Ada
Given some quilt con its run for its money.
Nicole
Mm-hmm. But there was a there was a lot of quilt. i think I think it was quilt heavy, but they also had they very few garments. I don’t think I saw a single garment sewing fabric place.
Ada
I do think there are different trade shows for that as far as know.
Nicole
Okay.
Ada
I think Sandeep, past guest from Sister Mintaka, has shared. I visited her when she was at a trade show for those types of fabrics, obviously in the UK. But I believe there are separate trade shows specifically for fabric buying.
Nicole
Mm-hmm.
Ada
And given the current climate, all of all our fabric, the majority of our fabric comes from outside of North America.
Nicole
Yes.
Ada
So given the current climate and tariffs, y’all fabrics are going to get expensive.
Nicole
Yes. I think we’ll start thinking about you know reusing and trading and selling and buying secondhand. I’m down with that, and sort of the antithesis of what the trade show is going for. But yeah, it was a lot of quilting, a lot of notions, machines, kits, lots of kits, like DIY kits. Embroidery, cross stitch, quilting kits for sale, and punch needle. I punch needled for the first time.
There was an entire section that I just didn’t visit. And by the time I realized it was there, it was the spinning and weaving section where they had demos.
Ada
Oh, dangerous.
Nicole
Yeah, like you you could see people spinning, could see them weaving on different looms and all that. and there was a beading section as well, B-E-A-D section. And did I spell bead, right? B-E-A-D. Yes.
Ada
Yeah
Nicole
Okay. It’s… Okay, great. And the beading section, you know, all the major… The majors, you know, don’t even have to say their names, the sewing machine manufacturers, major notions, but then, you know, your local ones and knitting and crocheting and yarn.
So it’s like all encompassing. And I hope to go back. I do hope to go back next year. I feel like as a representing us as a podcast, I feel more secure and like how I would approach conversations. But I think, you know, for us, I got a lot out of it. And I think that, you know, hopefully we can get guests or new partnerships over the next 12 months that would be good trial runs for us to see how we can partner and grow.
Ada
I love it. Thanks for spending your week there, basically, and reporting back for everyone. Listeners, check out the show notes for all of the links to all the folks that Nicole met and all of the cool things that she saw. We’ll be on our Instagram and stay tuned for our next episode.
Ada
Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of the Asian Sewist Collective podcast. If you like our show, please consider supporting us on coffee by becoming a one-time or monthly supporter or by buying our sewing labels. Your financial support helps us with our overhead expenses. The link to our Ko-fi page is KO-FI .com slash Asian Sewist Collective and you can find the link in our show notes on our website and on our Instagram account. Check us out on Instagram @asiansewistcollective. That’s one word AsianSewistCollective. You can also help us out by spreading the word and telling your friends We would also appreciate it if you could rate review and subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast
Nicole
All of the links and resources mentioned in today’s episode will be in the show notes on our website That’s AsianSewistCollective.com and we’d love to hear from you. Email us with your questions, comments or even voice messages if you want to be featured on future episodes at AsianSewistCollective@gmail.com. Thank you so much to the other members of our collective who made this episode a reality. This is the Asian Sewist Collective podcast and we’ll see you next time.