“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” ~ Confucius. 

These words couldn't be more true than in the case of Ludmila. Having carved a successful career as a designer in leading clothing labels such as Dilly & Carlo, Kelly Felder and Avirate, this passionate youngster decided to do what she really loved - and be more involved in dressmaking. "Being a commercial designer was not fulfilling for the crafter in me, I missed the hands on process of making clothes" she enthused, adding "I have always loved the technicality involved in patternmaking and dressmaking, and I started re-learning while also having my day job and enjoyed every step of it and I finally came to a point to take the leap and follow my passion into this wonderful journey of sewing." 

Emerging from a family who loved sewing and creating their own clothes, Ludmila was bitten by the fashion bug, and by age 13 already knew what she wanted to do with her life. Upon leaving St. Bridget's Convent, she joined the Academy of Design where she completed her degree in fashion design. Since then, she has embarked on a journey filled with grit and determination to follow her true passion. Ludmila spoke to Daily Mirror Life about following dreams, challenges and future plans. 

Tell us about Ruby & Violet Studio and what you do? 

Ruby and Violet Studio was the answer to my passion to teach the modern woman how to sew. I noticed an alarming rate of women who had no idea about sewing, not even how to mend their own clothes. Home sewing has become a dead industry in our country and I am yet to meet a young woman who proudly claims that she makes her own clothes. 

Ruby and Violet are my paternal and maternal grandmothers and I was lucky to be brought up seeing them creating magic with their sewing machines and I named my company in honour of the two women who instilled in me the love for sewing. 

At the studio we make sewing easy for the modern woman – we teach simple methods to create their own clothes while we also conduct the traditional dressmaking lessons for the ones who are interested in committing time to master this craft. We also offer sewing lessons for kids and teens because we believe that the love/hate relationship with any craft starts at the tender ages, thus we strive to make the craft of sewing thoroughly enjoyable for them so they will make it a lifetime hobby or even think of pursuing it as a career one day. 

What are the challenges you faced, if any when starting up your own studio? 

Challenges were many. From self-doubt to finances, everything that led up to starting the studio was nervewrecking. Out of them, the most challenging was the decision to free myself from a well-paid, comfortable, and a very chic job as a Senior Fashion Designer at a leading company. The bondages of corporate slavery was very tight, but the finances kept it attractive. The decision to leave a job that offered a hefty sum in exchange of an uncertain future as an entrepreneur to give life to a dying industry was the toughest and the most difficult decision I made, and today I am proud of myself for doing so! 

Home sewing has become a lost art, to be honest. What made you want to re-introduce it? 

We are a generation that has evolved with mass production. We don’t treasure our clothes, we don’t have heirlooms to pass on nor do we have successful hobbies. Hemming and even attaching a button have become detested household chores for some. The sewing machines that we inherited from our mothers or grand-mothers are dusting away in storage while we depend on tailors to even hem our clothes. 

I believe sewing is a life skill, an art that can manipulate love into a piece of clothing or home wear. A craft that can be used to represent a person’s creativity in this world. And a skill that can create things to be cherished over several generations and sewing your own clothes gives the kind of self-confidence and significance in a world full of unethically manufactured mass clothing and duplicates. 

Sewing has been a revolutionary movement of humanity since the stone ages. I believe that a mother should have the ability to make clothes for her baby, I believe a girl should be able to ask her mother to make a dress for her doll, I believe schools should teach sewing well into the teen years of a girl, and I believe a home is complete with a functional sewing machine in it, thus I started this journey to pump life into the dying industry of home sewing. 

Do you think that home sewing is something that will catch on, especially with the younger demographic? 

It is a challenge. Home sewing requires a complete mindset change especially with Gen X, because now they are reluctant to commit themselves to learn a new craft. But it’s an exciting concept for the millennial and the post-millennial. They are the ones who are trapped in technology and the ones who never got to taste the fulfillment of real hobbies. Reaching their attention is the challenging task but I believe when we do, they would accept the adventures of sewing. 

The US and the UK are already well ahead of us in reviving the art of sewing and I am sure, when done it right, we will also be able to cultivate a revolution through home sewing in our country as well. 

Was it difficult, especially being a young female, to get the support and backing required? 

Moral support and monetary support are the two most important backing for any business venture and I would say I was blessed to have a supportive family and a friend who was there with me behind all my decisions and the money I saved while working helped out a lot in the initial formation of the studio. 

What advice would you give any youngsters hoping to one day kick start their own venture? 

Listen to your calling 

If you feel like you have a calling, listen to it – work on it- and follow it. I always knew I wasn’t going to be in the majority, but it took me several years to release me from the ordinary, and that is all right. I believe everything has a time and a moment. But don’t idle while you wait, educate yourself, replace expectations with experiences and prepare yourself for that moment because when opportunity arises you should be prepared. That is called Luck! Luck happens when opportunity meets preparation. 

Find mentors 

Look up to people who have made a difference. Read about them, learn from them, emulate their strengths and benchmark them and one day you will become that. We are who we aspire to be. 

Read voraciously 

This is the biggest source of inspiration and motivation behind me. I have a daily habit of reading about successful people, startups that have made billions and everything that involves about my industry. Reading helps us to learn from the best and avoid the same mistakes, so our failures are not repetitive but authentic. Two books changed my life – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I think those two must be recommended reading for any aspiring entrepreneur. 

What’s next for you and the studio? 

The future seems very bright from my end although I am aware that it will take some time. My mission is to spread the love for sewing and to be a part of the global maker movement as an entire community and to infuse the home sewing industry of Sri Lanka. 

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/rubyandvioletstudio 

Interviewed by Rihaab Mowlana