Katrina Stockton

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING YOUR AGE?
The ability to retire at 62 to travel around the US, Europe, and the Orient. The enjoyment of watching my grandchildren grow up to be successful contributors to society, and my young great-grandchildren, begin their journeys.

DO YOU LIKE BEING 40+?
Yes, I enjoy being 73 and watching the world of fashion change and grow, and sometimes reverting back to clothing styles of the past years.

WHEN IN YOUR LIFE, SO FAR, HAVE YOU FELT MOST CONFIDENT, AND WHY?
When I researched the possibility of opening a sewing history museum, I was encouraged by those older and younger than me to bring my lifelong dream to fruition. I was empowered by their assessment of my vast knowledge in the Art of Sewing, the history of sewing machines, and the strong desire to enrich the lives of children and adults through the museum.

I received my first adult sewing machine, a used Sewmor, made in Japan, from my dad, who sold them at Sewmor Sewing Machines and Vacuum in downtown St Paul, Minnesota, in 3rd grade. The grandiose clothing designers influenced my vision to design and make my own clothes from the 4th grade onward. My legacy began when I was born in 1952 in Wichita, Kansas, and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1968, while attending Mt. Carmel Academy in Wichita, I entered the Sears Sewing Contest. The outfit I designed won the local contest and received an honorable mention at the National Contest in New York. Two years later, in 1970, I started my first tailoring job at Kerns Menswear in Parklane Shopping Center. I realized my love of sewing would only intensify. In 1972, at age 20, I opened the first storefront alteration shop, The Alteration Shoppe, in Clifton Square Shopping Center in Wichita, where I did custom sewing and tailoring for men’s and women’s clothing until my retirement in 2015. During retirement, David’s Bridal offered me the position of Alterations Manager. I have always dreamed of having a sewing history museum where I could pass on my knowledge of sewing, tailoring, making, and designing clothes through sewing classes for younger generations, 8-80. As a thank-you for supporting me and my children for 50 years as a tailor/seamstress in Wichita, I decided, in 2021, to collect, for display, close to 1,000 antique and vintage sewing machines and their ephemera; hence, the Sewing History Museum was born.

WHAT BRINGS YOU THE MOST JOY AT THIS AGE?
The ability to see the children, 8-80, remember their past, and their desire to make a future in the Art of Sewing, and to help them envision and accomplish all the possibilities of what they dream of doing.

WHAT IS YOUR SUPERPOWER?
I have a strong Catholic faith that empowers me to do extraordinary things. I help others realize their potential and assist them in harnessing their dreams.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?
My dreams becoming a reality. First, the opening of The Alteration Shoppe for 50 years and the blessing of having my children close to me from 6 weeks to 12 years old throughout its operation. Second, opening the Sewing History Museum, which has amassed close to a thousand sewing machines dating from 1850 to 2018 from many manufacturers that made sewing machines during that time frame.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
The ability to design and sew the wedding dress of my dreams and getting married in Maui.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
My 1926 Model T Ford that had my father awestruck, which we shared the love of old antique cars, and I recognized that same awe in my son, who will inherit the car.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING YOU HAVE CHECKED OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST?
The opportunity to visit France, Italy, and Venice, where I walked through the Louvre, riding in a gondola, visiting famous designers’ flagship stores in Paris, and seeing the Apostolic Palace and the Pope, in Rome.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF PERFECT HAPPINESS?
The ability to enjoy life with family and whatever life brings.

WHAT IS A TRAIT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
Conceptualizing the similarity of my interest in sewing and sewing machines, and my father also being in the business.

WHAT HARDSHIPS HAVE YOU ENDURED THAT YOU FEEL HAVE MADE YOU STRONGER?
The bias I faced towards me at 20, by men not believing that I had my own tailor shop and possessed the same caliber and expertise as my male counterparts. When I divorced in 1987 and the effects it had on my children and life.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
Be more outgoing, positive, and less shy. Be proud of who you are and don’t work so hard to make a living; instead, work hard at living and enjoy it.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR YOUNGER WOMEN?
As a young woman, you have limited boundaries on what you would like to do. If you enjoy sewing, pursue it, become a tailor, seamstress, designer, or incorporate sewing into your homemaking, and be confident to become more individualized.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO OR FAVORITE QUOTE?
Slow down and smell the Roses, appreciate today, don’t live in the past or plan so far in the future that the present is compromised.

WHAT DO YOU MOST VALUE IN YOUR FRIENDS?
Being able to relax and enjoy their company without any expectations.

HOW DID YOU CHANGE OVER THE YEARS?
I shrank, I’m 1 ½ inches shorter. I became a stronger woman, got wrinkles, continued to inspire others, and am now embracing the years I have left.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To be softer, not as strict, nurture the loving, caring side of me, find my voice earlier in life, and not be afraid to be loud.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS?
That all generations make the time, spend the energy, and develop a way to stop and smell the roses while they dare to dream big. I wish they would learn the values of their predecessors and icons, that they should not be constrained by their genders; girls can have boys’ professions and dreams, and boys can have girls’ professions and dreams.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
If you have a dream, go for it; you have nothing to lose but time.

As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.
~ Katherine Hepburn