Carrie Colangelo

CarrieWhether it’s stitching images and words together into a beautiful graphic design, or sewing panels together into theatrical costumes, cushions, or flags, there’s a common thread to Carrie’s work.

“I was sewing before I even knew what design was,” says this West Irondequoit, NY, resident.

Carrie's client was looking for a purse with a fall theme. She created the fabric out of woven ribbon.“I come from a long line of sewers, and ever since I can remember, I had a strong urge to assemble fabric in interesting, useful, ways.”

She got her start in graphic design when she was very young, too.

“The creativity started blossoming in off-the-wall ideas, and then developed into applicable uses,” Carrie says.

Carrie got involved in her high school yearbook, and before long, she was editor in chief.

“I knew graphic design was what I wanted to spend my time doing,” Carrie says.

What inspires her?

“Everyone has a message to tell the world,” she says, “whether it's about a business, a cause, or perhaps educational.”

The same inspiration she applies to her graphic design clients goes into her sewing projects.

“What inspires me to sew is helping people feel good about themselves, usually through custom garments, but also through preserving their memories with a quilt of their old t-shirts or something similar,” Carrie says.

At the moment, Carrie is working on several integrated design projects for clients, involving a combination of logos, business cards, and sales collateral. One of those clients is a a disaster recovery consulting company. The other is a Rochester, NY, area Jazz musician.

This 48" x 48" quilt represents the memories and skills Carrie's grandmother passed on to her. "My grandmother taught me how to garment sew, then we learned how to quilt together," she says.Carrie is also in the midst of creating custom costumes for a local production of Patience.

And sometimes, her graphics business and her skill with fabrics come together for a single customer, like the local restaurant for whom she’s current designing a logo, menu, website. The same client hired her to design staff uniforms.

But it’s clearly more than just a job for Carrie.

“When I complete custom sewing jobs for my clients, it almost always proves to be something of a spiritual experience for me,” she says. “Most of the needs of my clients are emotional or highly creative in nature. Design and sewing are easy to do. But to do them in a relevant way while also doing something creative is much more challenging.”

“I like challenges,” she says.

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