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It is mid-August and that has me turning to thoughts of fall… I am excited to be returning to a classroom assistant position at an arts elementary school in Lowell. Last year when I embarked on this career pivot I wasn’t sure how it would go. While it was much harder than I ever imagined, especially with the dreaded Covid messing up routines on the daily, it was also incredibly fun and inspiring. I loved spending my days working with kids–creating, laughing and learning. And so it is that I plan to do the same this year.

If you’re reading this and hoping to collaborate on a costuming project, please reach out. While I am not taking on large-scale, design projects, I am continuing to freelance backstage doing some wardrobe and dressing, and continuing to do some custom sewing and alterations from my studio in Concord. You can find my contact info below.

This fall, I started working full time with kids at an elementary school in Lowell. It is my new, big adventure! One of the joys of the job was getting to start an afterschool costume club. Although I only had three sign ups, I was immensely proud of their work! They organized the racks for all 40+ kids; they created design boards; and they learned about wigs; among lots of other things.  It was great to be working on a show again and even greater to share that with kids! Even with their masks, their expressions radiated through. Kids are resilient. I learn that every day working with them. Big thanks to my friends at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston and Beaver Country Day School in Newton for loaning me so many great costume pieces.

This winter, I even had a teeny bit of wardrobe work, which was so much fun–a big fitting for an artist planning a nation-wide music tour. It was like playing dress up with a pile of the coolest clothes and shoes you’ve ever seen! Reminded me how much I miss working on costumes backstage for touring productions. But it was a step in the right direction… especially with all those fabulous shoes… pun intended.

Another sure sign that life might be returning to how I remember it before… last week, I got s script to read for a play. It’s a new work, but with some historical characters which, if you know me, you know I love to costume. It is exciting to take a deep dive in to the world of a new production and these wonderful characters from Boston’s history.

In fact, a few weeks ago, a friend invited me to UMass Lowell to give a talk on just that topic–Costuming Historical Characters. Here’s a write up about the talk. https://umlconnector.com/2022/02/from-page-to-stage-event-preview/  It was fun and an engaged audience. It was also great to have a reason to look back at shows I’ve worked on and loved.

Another Evening Sewing Class

For those who missed my fall sewing class, I’ll be teaching another class through Concord-Carlisle Community Education. The 6-week course starts in March and will be held on Thursday evenings. Here’s a link to the course description.https://ccace.asapconnected.com/?org=4701#CourseID=210973  We’ll be making pretty spring tops and I can’t wait… I am so sick of all my winter clothes; I can’t be alone in this feeling, am I???!!! Anyway, it will be fun to dream and create fashions for warmer weather. Join me!!!

Bowl cover sets made from recycled dishcloths

I’ve done a LOT of sewing during this pandemic. I wish I did a real tally, but something like 1,100 masks alone. I made pillows for every room in my house. I made pajamas for my daughter and clothes for myself. I made things for friends and lots of homemade Christmas presents. A LOT of sewing. It has kept me busy and  happy, which sewing almost always does.

So when folks at Concord Continuing Education asked if I could teach some sewing classes this fall, I happily agreed. If you’re in Greater Boston and wanting to either take a one night class– where you’ll learn about basic alterations and fixes to your clothing, or a longer class where you’ll be learning about your machine and making a few fun things– be sure and sign up. Space is open to all, but is limited by class size. Masks are required and I have been vaccinated.

These bowl covers look surprisingly a lot like mop caps!
#alwayscostuming

Here are the links to the classes:

Mend It, Fix It or Alter It

https://ccace.asapconnected.com/?org=4701#CourseID=216877

Rev Up Your Sewing Machine

https://ccace.asapconnected.com/?org=4701#CourseID=210973

My mom and I trying on the nun costumes for Front Porch Arts production of the “Three Musketeers” last year.

The other day I walked by a thrift store and started to cry. Grief is like that. One minute you’re looking for your car keys and the next your digging around for a Kleenex. It was the thrift store my mom and I loved going to.

“Send me your list!” she’d always exclaim right after I told her what show I was working on. For her, the hunt was on and the more whacky the costume piece or long the list, the better. (“Mom, I’m looking for a pink wool coat.” “Matching hat too?” she’d ask.) She loved a good challenge.

Before she struggled with falls and dementia, she’d tool around to all her favorite stores on her own. After she stopped driving, I’d drive her. We’d wander for hours and accumulate things that neither of us really needed, but for various reasons, we liked. And we’d get costume pieces of course, and I’d modify my designs on the fly based on my mother’s exclamations about how “fabulous” this or that was.

Our last outing together was to a fabric store where I needed like a half a yard of something to complete a costume; I don’t even remember what costume now. But what I do remember about that outing, is that my mother convinced me to buy yards of teal fabric for my bathroom. “Amanda, it is perfect, get it all.” And I did. That was February, and in March, my mom died.

I miss her. And I miss costume shopping. I miss going in to thrift stores and roaming aimlessly around. I miss making lists and running around on deadlines. I miss the theater and all my friends. Life is like that. Sometimes we don’t realize just how precious all those moments are until we’re standing on the sidewalk, tears streaming down our cheeks, digging around for a Kleenex in front of a thrift store.

Last year, my friend Eneida and I taught sewing at Rosie’s Place in Boston. We had a student from Africa who LOVED to sew. She made my heart happy every week with her creations. She would always begin class with a big hug and greeting of “Hi Amanda.” But when she was deep in a sewing project, she would always say “Teacher, can you help me?” Somehow, I was “Amanda” her friend but “Teacher” when she needed to figure something out. I felt honored to hold both titles, but I’m not gonna lie, I loved when she called me Teacher. And I’m not sure I can 100% articulate why.

Teaching is not always easy and it can test one’s patience. But it is also so inspiring. Teaching sewing makes me want to sew more! It makes me want to create more and learn more so that I can share more. While I love the title “Teacher” I am a “Student” too. And while I’d love to be “Expert” I think I need to own the fact that I will always be “Student”! There’s just too much to master in this world of fiber arts! But what I’ve learned, I’ve loved to share and what I’ve realized is that in the sharing, I have learned more.

I have learned that: Even the most planned out lesson plans, never go as planned.
Stitch-rippers fix almost every sewing problem.
Pretzel nuggets don’t stain fabrics.
Consistently dropping the presser foot is one of the hardest sewing skills to master.
Students have boundless creativity.
No two projects are ever the same… even if they are the same… with the same pattern!
I hate taking up lined sleeves.
I love sewing on cotton, mainly because I hardly ever do with costumes! And when I do it always seems so lovely and civilized. Take that, pleather!

I could go on, I’ve learned a lot and there’s still more to learn. And for sure more important stuff than my silly list above. So I’ll keep on teaching AND taking classes. And I’ll keep sewing AND creating. If you’re in the Greater Boston area this winter, look for my classes at Pinecones and Needles in Belmont and through Concord/Carlisle Community Education.

Amanda Mujica Design has new studio space west of Boston. Here are some BEFORE and AFTER shots! I employ local, female seamstresses to create custom costumes and clothing as well provide alterations for all types of garments!

I love this custom made doggie bed that I found on Etsy! Made by Resist Fashion, it’s so cute and washable too! My little dog Tully loves it.

So I was joking with a costumer friend the other day that she hadn’t updated her website and then I was like, well, actually I shouldn’t be busting on anybody but myself…
And it’s not like I haven’t had news.
My big news is that I moved and I am renovating a new studio for myself. I am so excited to have more space for me and my clients. Moving is exciting and stressful and exhausting and stimulating and well, you get the picture. Speaking of pictures, I’m going to post some before and afters of my new workspace, stay tuned.
My season ahead is mixed… I am designing some shows, working wardrobe on a few shows and hopefully costume shop managing a show. In between, I am doing a variety of client alterations and custom garments. (I also have been really inspired by the natural space of my new place and want to make time to play around with natural dyes and fibers and am dreaming up some new textiles.)
When designing, it’s fun to work with the same team on more than one project. There’s a familiarity with each other and our work and that’s the case with The Wolves at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston. A. Nora Long is directing, Shelley Barrish is designing the sets and Elizabeth Cahill is designing the sound. We’ve all worked together before and we’re joined by Karen Perlow rounding out the design team on lights. It’s written by Sarah DeLappe and it is funny and poignant and as the mother of a teen, so right on.

Next year, A Nora, Shelley and I are also heading north to Kittery and working together on The Roomate at Threshold Theater. Again, new play, well-written, funny, but not at all fluff. Full of so much to think about. Plus Kittery is cool, an hour from Boston, with some yummy restaurants! (I’m just sayin’)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Company/Threshold-Stage-Company-1552629178319608/
My final news is that I am going to better about news…so stay tuned… more news to come ;)

Nearly two years ago now, I saw an image of Alan Kurdi in his little red tee-shirt and his blue shorts lying face down on a beach. The image of that Syrian child made me weep. Somehow all the statistics and news reports of millions and millions of refugees had an image and it was brutal. But I could not look away and instead it propelled me toward the volunteer work I do today with numerous recently resettled refugees in Greater Boston and Lowell.

They have come so far and braved so much. They are fearless and funny and now many I call, friends. But my work with refugees has always been separate from my work as a costume designer. While we’ve shared meals and laughs and afternoons, the worlds of my work–both paid and unpaid–had remained apart until recently.

Last month I received a request to create a costume for a wearable arts show in Gloucester, MA. The request came from Jewelry Designer Sonja Gronstad whose work is inspired by the sea… by objects found along the shore in particular. The more we talked and the more she showed me seaweed that she was casting silver, the more a creation made of seaweed came in to view. But the garment also had to showcase and not overpower her delicate jewelry. So I envisioned and created a bustle made of three types of seaweed. (Sonja was the master-mind behind dipping it in rubber and spraying it with silver!)

But who to wear it? The answer to me was so obvious, someone who had braved oceans to be in America. Someone beautiful and strong, but maybe a little vulnerable too. Someone like my friend Sandra Kalambayi. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she and her family had fled her native country after her father was killed. They ended up in Uganda and in 2016 were relocated to Lowell, MA. She was the perfect choice for this unique piece of wearable art.

I remember when I first decided to volunteer with refugees, filling out the volunteer application… Do I fluently speak another language? No. Have I worked with refugees before? No. Have I worked in a third world country? No. What I didn’t know then is that those questions didn’t really matter. What mattered was, Can you be open minded? Can you listen and help? And I guess, can you sew with seaweed and guide a nervous model? On that day, how could I ever have imagined how my worlds would collide? And on a beach no less. The same place that compelled me to volunteer in the first place.