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What started as a sewing space in her son’s bedroom has grown into a thriving Adelaide business, a team of 16 and a customer base that travels across the city for Connie Morganella’s expert alterations.
Now, almost four decades after she first picked up her sewing machine, Connie is being recognised as a finalist in the Retail Business Award at the AusMumpreneur Awards.
For Connie, the journey began when she was just 22 and pregnant with her first child.
After working in an office, she decided she didn’t want to return to the workforce after maternity leave, but still wanted to contribute to her family’s income.
“I always loved sewing, so while my beautiful parents and in-laws took turns in looking after my two children, I went to study sewing and patternmaking as a full-time course for two years,” shared Connie.
She then worked for a small business during school hours to gain experience before eventually setting up a tiny sewing section at home.
The original studio was actually in her son’s bedroom because the family was living in a small house.
“I remember that as I was studying at TAFE during the day, any sewing needed to be done at home in the bedroom.”
Her days were a constant juggle of study, school pick-ups, dinner, reading with her children, bedtime and housework, followed by hours at the sewing machine.
“When my son fell asleep, I would quietly go into the bedroom and sew while he slept near me.”
Even when the family temporarily moved in with Connie’s in-laws while building their new home, her parents helped create a dedicated sewing space for her at their house.
“I always had incredible support from both sides of the family.”
Once the family moved into their new home, Connie finally had a dedicated sewing room, but she could never have imagined where the business would eventually take her.
As demand grew, she employed her first sewer and found herself working well into the night, sometimes until midnight or 1am, before getting up to repeat the cycle the next morning. It was when Connie realised her real strength was alterations rather than made-to-measure work that the business really began to take off.
Eventually, the home studio was too small. Connie and her then-husband opened a shopfront, employed more staff and continued to grow, before moving into larger premises several times. Along the way, the business expanded to include fabrics, workwear and haberdashery.
Today, The Sewing Boutique has survived three location changes, a divorce and a name change, and Connie says it is busier than ever.
What sets the business apart is the experience and expertise of its team, with staff from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and skills across alterations, sewing, fabrics and haberdashery.
The services range from sewing on a button to creating wedding dresses, with Connie often becoming the person customers turn to when they aren’t sure whether a garment can be saved.
“A lot of my customers tell sales assistants, ‘Don’t worry, Connie will fix it’.”
Over the years, the team has taken on some seriously unusual jobs. They have made a cover for a stretch limousine, 1,000 small pillows to protect costumes during transport and 2,000 large red Christmas bows for a council to sell and use for decorating trees throughout its suburbs.
But some jobs have carried much more emotional weight. One particularly memorable project involved making a special silk pillow for a couple to bury their stillborn baby.
“That job was treated with the utmost respect and love,” said Connie.
It is those moments that have helped Connie realise the business is about much more than simply making or altering clothes. For years, she says, she thought she was simply doing a job she loved and earning an income.
“I am learning that I am not just doing a job but that what I do and what my staff do is important and extremely rewarding. Our job revolves around making others feel good. And I realise that I am good at what I do and am not afraid to say so.”
Her growing confidence is part of what makes her AusMumpreneur nomination particularly meaningful.
Connie was nominated by a friend, whose words in the nomination deeply touched her.
“It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve started recognising my worth and to hear those words were very humbling. I had to accept the nomination, answer a whole lot of questions and then when I found out I was shortlisted, it was the most exciting thing and just reminded me that all the hard work and long hours I put into this venture meant something.”
Today, Connie is trying to find a better balance after years of putting the business first. Even until around a year ago, working late into the night was still part of her routine, and she says it wasn’t unusual to cancel family plans to keep working.
Now, with the help of a business adviser, she is making a conscious effort to leave work at a reasonable hour. She has dinner with her children once a week and a regular movie-and-popcorn night at her daughter’s house.
And after years of building her business, Connie has plenty to be proud of.
She has employed 16 people over the years, built a customer base that travels from distant suburbs to see her, and even has fellow dressmakers seeking her advice when they come across a tricky garment.
Some customers come in simply to ask whether an outfit is worth spending money on in the first place.
“I will tell them the truth and won’t let them spend their hard-earned money on alterations if I don’t think I can make them look better.”
For her regular customers, the relationship has also become much more personal.
“I am proud that my regulars see me as a friend rather than a salesperson.”
Now nearing 60, Connie says she isn’t looking to expand the business any further.
Instead, she wants to continue providing the same level of service to her customers across her two locations. But that doesn’t mean she is slowing down.
“I still have the energy. The sky’s the limit, as far as I’m concerned.”
And whether or not she takes home the national AusMumpreneur Award, Connie has already achieved something pretty remarkable, turning a sewing machine in her son’s bedroom into a business built on skill, trust, family and decades of hard work.
The Sewing Boutique
Where: 87 Unley Rd, Parkside SA 5063
For more information, click here.
