Meet Shannon Allbright of Valley Village

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Allbright.

Hi Shannon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Seventeen years ago I started teaching children how to sew. I was a stay at home mother that had recently divorced and needed to support myself and young son. Before my son, I had a clothing company and was also writing. I had optioned a script but I needed a way to make money, be of service and still have time to raise my child, Presently we teach sewing to almost 500 children as after school enrichment and I just made a documentary film where I rode my motorcycle to Selma, Alabama, where I learned how to read and write to teach a sewing class. The film has been a return to not only to a place I love, Selma, but I’ve been able to write and ride, using hand sewing as a device to interview and document the needs of children. The film has won honorable mentions for Best Documentary in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Italy, India and Dubai. It won an award for best travel film in Paris and best first time filmmaker in London. My son who is now 22 years old composed the score for the film. Everything right now feels very full circle and precious to me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, we nearly went out of my business during the Covid shutdowns. The schools in California were closed for almost 2 years and we couldn’t teach. Parents of my students graciously invited me to their homes to teach pod groups. We made it through but I’ve only now been able to recover from the debt of not teaching in our 37 schools. Another difficulty is that some children are so addicted to their screens that it’s hard to get them to focus on a task. Behavior is also an issue.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love designing all of the hand sewing and embroidery projects that we offer to our students. I can design a dog knowing that 300 students may sew it. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the children not only sew but love their projects. I receive photos and emails from parents telling me that their children carry their dog everywhere. We sewed calico chickens one year and little kids had chickens under their arms all over Los Angeles. What sets us apart from others is that we are truly child centered. We start with the simplest task, like sewing a button onto felt and by the end of a session children as young as five years old are able to sew anything.

How do you think about happiness?
My happiness comes from teaching inner city youth or disadvantaged children how to sew. It’s a way out of sadness and despair. When you teach a child how to sew, it gives them power over their own creative lives. I’m always happy riding motorcycles also. I’ve been able to combine riding motorcycles with teaching sewing by making films, which as been the greatest adventure and reward.

Pricing:

• our sewing machine classes are $45
• our hand sewing classes at schools are $22

Contact Info:

• Website: https://missshannon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonallbright/
• Facebook: Shannon Allbright

Image Credits
Jesse Andrews