Tour a Seamstress and Vintage Collector's Retro Tennessee Home and Creative Space

When it comes to our homes, our clothing and even hobbies we choose to take on, so many of us often overthink and talk ourselves out of taking risks. We choose not to move ahead if there isn’t a very clear and visible path, we decide something isn’t doable before we even do it and we rationalize our way out of experimentation. But when it comes to Serena's (known to her followers as SewRena) love for vintage, she operates at direct odds with that ideology — she’s a “go first, ask questions later” kind of gal. When she decides she wants to try something, she dives all the way in, headfirst, and figures it out along the way. And, for her, it’s paid off in spades.

She has turned what began as an aesthetic and a practical love for vintage into a thriving self-run business and an online community. A self-taught home seamstress, she proudly dons her own vintage-inspired clothing creations that she crafts using a combination of vintage patterns and vintage or modern fabrics. And as an avid collector of vintage appliances and decor, she has cultivated a community of followers who look to her for tips and inspiration not just in regard to clothing but in living a vintage-inspired life.

Below, Serena speaks on the passion, purpose and artistry behind her journey as she tackles entrepreneurship and content creation while inspiring a community of like-minded enthusiasts from her Chattanooga, Tennessee, home.

What draws you to the vintage lifestyle, and when did that love first begin?

I have always been in love with vintage design. Old cartoons shaped my childhood, like Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, so midcentury design also brings a certain level of nostalgia and comfort. As an adult, I find the quality and cost appealing, as well as the design. Vintage allows me to have a unique and futuristic space without having to break my budget or compromise on quality.

What have been some of the small wins and challenges you've come across as a self-taught home seamstress making your own creations? How have you overcome those challenges?

One of the challenges of being a self-taught seamstress is, "You don't know what you don't know." I think without the formality of a class or lessons, you are left having to figure everything out even when you don't know what exactly [it is] you need to be figuring out. While this is a challenge, it has allowed me to be very fearless when it comes to taking on advanced projects, because how would I know a technique is difficult if I don't even know what's going on to begin with? The small win in this is that I've learned to always "try" before deciding something is too hard and I can't do it. With sewing, you can always go back and take note of your errors. Most of the time, you can rip stitches out and make corrections, or you can just make a practice garment before working with your final draft.

My community plays a major factor in my growth. I surround myself with the most talented and skilled artists so I don't feel pressure to know everything. I can always reach out for help and guidance.

Could you describe your process when creating a new piece?

My process is not very fancy. I create mostly from a feeling. I also get inspiration from anywhere and anything. Something as simple as a meal could result in a dress, like my shrimp cocktail outfit. Or the weather. Once the feeling is locked in, I start thinking about shapes and colors. With that locked in, I search for fabrics. With the fabric, colors and textures, I am able to search my extensive vintage pattern collection for the perfect pattern to pull the idea together. It's not always in that order or even that simple. Sometimes I have to search beyond my collection for the right pattern. Then, there are times I want to work with a pattern so bad I work in reverse.

What are your favorite tools or materials that you can't work without?

I consider myself to be very resourceful, so I can work with most tools and materials or I'll figure it out. However, I've learned that I absolutely love sewing with my vintage Kenmore 158.17200 sewing machine. I collect so many machines, but I feel the most comfortable and connected with that one. It's more sentimental than anything, but without my first machine, I don't know if there would be a SewRena.

You mentioned you collect vintage sewing machines. How many do you have now and how did that collection start? When you see one, what makes you decide to take it home?

I have about 11 machines. My collecting began when my mom saw a beautiful vintage Good Housekeeper machine at a thrift store and surprised me with it. I was so amazed with its beauty and it was still running. We cleaned it up and then I felt like it was my mission to save all the machines. I don’t rescue machines as much as I used to, because I don’t want to have more than I can realistically use. To keep them in the best shape they need to be used from time to time, but I think a fun, rare colorway and the machine being all metal at a great price is all it takes for me to pack it up and bring it home.

What have been some of the special moments and challenges associated with the rapid growth of your brand and channels?

Connecting with people who feel inspired to lean into your hobbies and passions because they see that I'm all in. Through my content, I am able to remind other people of their happy childhood moments and that's really special to me because I never considered that I would have that effect on people. A challenge is navigating the flood of feelings and opinions when your content goes beyond your niche.

You have so many amazing vintage finds in your home — from furniture and to appliances to decor. How do you go about scouring for such amazing pieces?

I am an internet thrifter. I love searching far and wide from the comfort of my home. Facebook Marketplace has played a major role in my collecting. This does mean most of my large finds are local, but for the smaller, easier-to-ship pieces, I look to eBay. Antique stores are usually my last resort. They are a wonderful resource for those perfect finishing pieces. Professional thrifters go through the trouble of searching, acquiring and cleaning wonderful pieces, resulting in a necessary markup, so I save those shops for my must-haves.

What is your favorite vintage piece in your home and why?

This has to be one of the hardest questions for me. I have so many cool, unique and hard-to-find pieces — to choose one feels impossible. If I had to choose, maybe the Nutone Food Center. I picked this appliance because it’s the appliance I searched for the longest. Even when I didn’t know the name, I knew it existed, and after figuring out the name, I spent months and years locating all the attachments.

Can you tell us the story behind your wallpapers? What drew you to them?

The story behind my wallpaper begins with someone who truly struggles with decorating on a large scale. I saw wallpaper as a way around having to find the perfect wall decor because wallpaper is the art. It also allows me to have the art of small artists in an affordable way. Much like my design process, I [decide] on my wallpaper based on how I want the space to feel. Then, I search for hours until I find something that fits that feeling. One of my favorite wallpapers is the tipsy pink elephants. They genuinely make me smile and I want to share that with anyone who visits, so it’s in my dining room.

For my sewing room, I wanted something that was loud, vibrant and sparked creativity but also honored the version of me that first loved vintage. When I was a child in the late '60s and '70s, flower power was my intro to vintage. To make it fit for a sewing room, I had line drawings of my favorite machines added to it.

What was your design process when designing your amazing kitchen?

My kitchen was the least serious place when it came to design. I absolutely hated the kitchen in this house. It was one of the only rooms to be updated and it was so sad and “blah.” I knew that one day in the faraway future I wanted to restore it, but until then I figured I would play around with what I had. The vintage Barbie deluxe kitchen playset caught my eye and I always wondered what it would look like on a life-size scale. So with a kitchen I hated, I decided to just paint everything and see.

The plan was/is to renovate, so I didn’t have anything to lose, plus I was already collecting my dream appliances and needed a place to store them. So, what you see today is more of a draft. The appliances will stay, but the cabinets, counters and flooring will be switched to true vintage, and I’m still on the hunt for my perfect fridge.

What advice would you give to beginners interested in vintage sewing? What is something you wish you knew early on as you were first starting out?

My advice to beginners is to try. Do not ask or even inquire about difficulty — jump right in. The opinions of others can hold you back and sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

Something I wish I knew when I first started out is that undergarments are important. These patterns and styles were drafted to be worn over these period undergarments, so if you are having fit issues, it’s probably not you, it’s your undergarments. I started out thinking that the undergarments were optional — and technically they are — but not wearing them can cause fit issues that will have you thinking your sewing is off. And, chances are, it’s not you.

What has been your most rewarding project to date and why?

Another impossible question. I love them all and I’ve been so busy this year. I made a beautiful midcentury dress set from the '60s. The coat is a bright, color-shifting orange. Then, I made a dress with the most beautiful orange abstract print and used the dress fabric to make the coat. It is one of the most bold outfits in my wardrobe.

I also made my own breeze blocks and had them installed in my patio. I’m so proud of making my own bricks and having them on display for everyone to see.

Can you share what you have in store? Any exciting collaborations or projects that we should be watching out for?

I bought a 1962 Chevy Corvair Monza a few years ago. I have been slowly restoring this car and now I’m so close to putting it back together. You should look forward to the day I crank her up again and all the adventures I plan on taking. I have hopes of car shows, car meets, cruising and, of course, matching outfits because I’m SewRena.

You can purchase SewRena’s work at ShopSewrena on Etsy, and follow along with her journey at @sewrena_ on Instagram and @sewrena on YouTube and TikTok.

Serena's responses have been edited for grammar and clarity.