moe erin donnelly’s sew moe

Over Yonder is a delightful shared studio in the River Arts district of Asheville, North Carolina.  The building itself is a converted warehouse, called the Phil Mechanic, and is shared by many of Asheville’s local artists.  The building hosts a variety of disciplines, such as ceramics, glass blowing, painting, sewing, even a hair salon and our local bio-fuels facility.  My studio-mate, the lovely Hannah Dansie of Two of Hearts, spends most of her days painting, while I am most often found making my sewing machines chatter for my Sew Moe handmade original clothing. We keep to our sides for the most part, except for the occasional food fight or arm wrestling match. (We don’t really do that, but I think we might start.)  Lately I’ve been working on my next seasonal collection, and having Hannah around for feedback has been really helpful.  Before I moved in here, sewing was kind of a lonely experience.  I was based out of home, and that had its perks–but now there are few places I would rather be than Over Yonder! Having a great partner in art, to give feedback and support, is an amazing experience.  When I moved in we employed a friend to build a loft over half of our studio.  I have a cutting table on one side with an impressive amount of space for all my bolts/boxes of fabric.  This is a luxury I had never been used to before and, I must say, it’s awesome.  The other side hosts our computer/stereo station.  We listen to our music loud Over Yonder.  Somedays it’s our Lil Wayne Pandora station and those are always the best days if you ask me.  Hannah constructed her first wooden ladder for our loft.  She’s quite industrious.  I mention this because climbing up and down her ladder has actually lessened my fear of heights–which of course just makes me love our studio more.  Seasonally, the River Arts district hosts a Studio Stroll here in West Asheville.  This brings in lots of smiling faces and art fans–and a chance for us to share what we do.   We have a small shoppe set up front stocked with Hannah’s paintings, cards, buttons, and some of my one-of-a-kinds and catalog samples.  I think Hannah might get mad at me for calling it a ‘shoppe,’ but luckily she loves me enough to forgive my kitschiness… – Moe Erin Donnelly