Cameron Washington

She carefully made the adjustments to the roughly drawn sketch.

Polishing the little details of the skirt and the embellishments on the sleeve, Cameron Washington perfected the finishing touches of the design.

As she gathers the fabric to bring her design to life, Cameron Washington continues on with a tradition carried on throughout generations of her family.

“My great grandmother taught me how to sew,” Washington said. “Many of the women in my family sew, we all have such a close bond even though we’re all different people of different ages. Sewing is the biggest passion we all share.”

Before sewing, Washington discovered her love clothing in kindergarten, keeping the first clothing sketch she ever created.

“I remember drawing a dress for my teacher,” Washington said. “When I gave her the drawing, I told her I was going to make her that dress. From that moment on I knew that I wanted to become a designer, I just didn’t know what it was called.”

Having created several of her own lines of clothing, it’s not the potential financial reward that has kept Washington coming back to the long hours behind a sewing machine, but the satisfaction of creating art for someone else.

“It’s that bubbly feeling that I feel in my stomach,” Washington said. “Once you give them the finished product, the look on their faces is the best feeling. Being able to give something you created to someone else and have them absolutely love it is indescribable. I can express myself through the clothing, I’m giving someone else a piece of myself.”

Creating her own website and advertising through social media, Washington has worked to create a name for herself.
“It’s mainly financial,” she said. “I work at a fabric store, so I’ll be able to get discounts and have access to a lot of different material. In the fashion industry, a lot of fabric goes to waste which encourages me to use a lot of recycled material as well.”

Washington hopes to one day create a name for herself in the world of big fashion.

“I’m going to Mars Hill University this fall. My ultimate goal is to become global. I want to have stores all over and have a brand name,” Washington said. “It will be a lot of work, but that’s the dream.”