Cranford College Student Launches Sewing Company

After learning how to sew from her grandmother and Cranford High School teacher, Mrs. Narus, Meg Sawyer, 20, developed a love for sewing. When she was younger she would visit her grandmother and make handbags out of old jeans and browsed through the fabrics, where she fell in love quilting, but it was not until high school that she made her first quilt.

Since then, she said it has become an addiction.

Sawyer started out creating zipper pouches and accessories and has branched out to create new projects, including custom orders. Her company is simply called, “Sawyer Sewing.” 

Sawyer is a student at Kean University where she is studying to be a speech language pathologist.  She graduated from Cranford High School in 2011 and went on to attend Stockton College, but moved back to Cranford to attend Kean due to health reasons.

She explained that sewing has always been a sort of therapy for her, where it always seems to calm her down.

It wasn’t until early 2013 when Sawyer Sewing and Etsy became a part of Sawyer’s life.

“I was skeptical about opening up my own shop, but was always reminded by family members and close friends that my projects were good enough to sell.” She said.

In addition to selling online at Etsy.com, Sawyer also sells eco-friendly pouches at Southside Roast on Centennial Avenue. Owner of SoRo, Ann Dooley, approached Sawyer about creating tote bags from the coffee bean bags and Sawyer has been creating them since. Also, she has reached out to owner of Artemisia, Wendy Ramirez, to sell cute fabric wristlet zipper pouches and other accessories.

“Having this chance to get my "feet in the water" is a great experience.” Sawyer explained. “I love what I do and try to have products that meet every type of audience/style.”

She added that picking out fabrics is always fun and she chooses a lot of different, eclectic patterns. Recently, Sawyer has begun to take custom orders, which she finds to be a new challenge.

Sawyer will be attending craft fairs throughout Union County to sell her merchandise, including Cranford’s Spring Street Fair.

To see more of Sawyer’s products, visit Sawyer Sewing on Etsy.