Happy 2021!  Hope you all are well and looking forward to this New Year.

2020 definitely was a challenging year in many ways, but there were also many positive things that we would like to make note of:

Our anniversary:  SK Designs celebrated 25 years in business in October!  We were so busy we didn't even have time to recognize this milestone on social media, or send a newsletter, or update our blog!

Our office space:  we updated, expanded, organized and brightened our office exterior and interior.

Website: we are in the process of updating our website right now, and expect it to go "live" within a week or so.  Can't wait to show it to you!

We will be sharing these things and more in more detail with you this year.

Our first share is the revitalized exterior of our studio. Last year we added a bright and festive yellow and white exterior rug, which I loved.  Recently I made and added the black and white scallopped awnings to the entrance doors.  As we all know, one thing leads to another.  I loved the high contrast of the black and white, but now I wanted to paint the white office doors.

Since yellow is my favorite color, I painted the door pale yellow, but it faded away.  The new black and white rug really grounded the entry and demanded a stronger color.  I tried a few shades of turquoise/teal, which coordinate with my logo and also the butterfly bench.  Love it!  

My husband also ripped down the old and tacky carport near the office entrance.  It had protected his beloved barbecue smoker, which is why we kept the carport for so long. That item has now been moved to another protected area, which meant the carport's time to depart had arrived at last! While the carport did provide some protective covering while walking from the house to the studio, it was dark underneath and felt claustrophobic. 

The photo collage shows the evolution of the entry door.  I also added the embroidery hoop "Welcome" decor (thank you, Etsy!) and the wrought iron piece featuring scissors as the centerpiece, which had been on the wall in my office.  

It is fun to walk into my studio with the new bright and happy entrance.

Thank you for supporting SK Designs and being part of our exciting journey of growth.  We love our clients and are honored to have assisted so many Houston area homeowners with their window treatment and bedding projects.

Susan Kostelecky, Owner

SK Designs - 2019 UPDATE!

SO very much has been happening with SK Designs this year - here's a long overdue update!

Awards & More:

SK Designs received the Best of Houzz 2019 Service award - we are excited!

Our area neighborhood newspaper, The Leader,  presents annual awards to area businesses.  These awards are voted on in various categories (restaurants, service providers, shops, and more) by area residents, which makes this awards very special and appreciated.  Our area neighbors and clients voted SK Designs the 1st Place Award Winner for our category! 

In the window treatment fabrication industry, the CWC (Custom Workroom Conference) event is THE event dedicated to businesses like mine who fabricate custom fabric treatments (including slipcovers and upholstery).  I have happily attended two of the past events, and it is a great format geared specifically to workrooms, and the camaraderie and friendships and fun are an added bonus to the classes which are taught by industry leaders.  The showroom floor features plenty of vendors and suppliers to keep us up to date with the latest products, machines and supplies that will benefit us in our daily work. 

I am thrilled, honored and humbled to have been selected as the

Keynote Speaker for the September 2019 event in North Carolina! I will be speaking about teaching sewing to the new younger generation (children) in an effort to promote sewing skills for our future workrooms.  As many of you know (and as shown below), I have taught a free after school Sewing Club class at an area Title 1 school (and sponsor the same class at another area school), and have given Sewing Camp classes to neighborhood kids in my area on occasion also.  I can't wait to share my experiences with the 200+ attendees at this fabulous event!


Getting ready for the CWC event's marketing materials meant it was time for an updated headshot (long overdue for my website also!) and as usual, my favorite professional photographer came to my rescue and took photos in my studio.  If you need a great photographer for events, family photos, headshots, mini-sessions,  newborn photographs, etc., I highly recommend Brandy Stoesz Photography at www.brandystoesz.com. I really dislike getting headshots done and she made it painless and stress free! www.brandystoesz.com

Besides all of the above exciting news, SK Designs has completed numerous fun and gorgeous client projects.  This casual and relaxed slipcover for a settee is just one of them. We left the arms and legs bare to showcase the pretty wood frame.

 This soft functioning London Shade has deep folds with a soft curving hem and short tails on the sides.

 This stationary (non-functioning) London shade has soft curves.  The fabric is actually turned sideways from the standard direction, so that we could utilize the pattern better.  I pinned it in place in a couple of directions for the client to choose from.  Sometimes the fabric tells you what it needs and this worked out great.  The horizontal stripes at the folds and sides reminds me of epaulets on a soldier's uniform.  The symmetry is great and I love this completed treatment. This fabric is from Anthony George Home.






Okay, I know that this is a long blog post! But I have to share a few more things with you, including a sampling of new fabric books and a pair of fabrics for an upcoming order.  These embroidered fabrics with a pop of color are awesome together!

We finished our fourth year of Sewing Club at Stevens Elementary.  The students were so awesome (as usual).  We had our graduation party in late May and the students received two sewing books, some sewing materials (zippers, fabric, batting, ribbon and more).  But the gift they all liked the best was the custom Shutterfly book which included photos of them and their projects throughout the year.  The Leader newspaper also featured a story about the kids this year (thank you Elizabeth Villareal!) and they just loved the attention and were so excited to be "famous"!









It is always bittersweet to end the
year of Sewing Club (but I am happy to get my Tuesday afternoons back for client work!) after such a successful term with the kids.  Here are a couple of photos of our group at the end of the year (missing one student) and a photo of the reaction of the kids when they reviewed their custom photo book.  SO CUTE!

I did hold one Sewing Camp this summer for some returning students (these students have now taken 2, 3 and 4 Sewing Camps).  We had a blast with these new projects: a bean bag chair, a zippered cell phone wristlet, and two cell phone charger pockets (one to keep and one to give!)  They were terrific, fun, focused and excited to learn more about sewing.  Great job, girls!

If you have made it this far in the blog post, then you get a virtual cookie!  But even better than a virtual cookie are these awesomely decorated and also delicious custom cookies made for me by my super talented neighbor, Barbara Ballance.  Her cookies are legendary in Garden Oaks!  She made some cookies for my Sewing Club students and they were so fun and creative, and the pins in the pincushion cookies looked real! 


The photo below shows a sample of the SK Designs "Thank You" cookies she made for me recently.  I LOVE THEM!

Want some of these cookies?  You have two great ways to get some:  1) contact Barbara at ballancehousecookies@gmail.com (no website yet).  I give her free reign and they always exceed expectations) or 2) contact me at SK Designs to schedule your in-home consultation and I will bring you some cookies at our appointment!



Thank you for reading!  Hope you enjoyed this long overdue update!!

Susan