Meet Elsie of ErinElsie

Elsie Naquin, my grandmother.

My grandmother's birthday recently passed and it leaves me with bittersweet emotions. I miss her very much, but I am also filled with joy in the many memories I have of her and growing up in southern Louisiana. She was a kind, warm lady who spoke French and never let you leave her house hungry. I was lucky to grow up 5 minutes from her house. As a child, she would make the best, saltiest, homemade French fries just for me and my brother after school. When my mom came to pick us up after work, my grandmother would tell us not to tell her we ate so much, so we'd only mention an apple... I think my mom figured it out when we weren't always hungry for dinner. She threw together the best veggie soup, and would bring me containers of it because she knew I loved it. She made awesome homemade pickles, banana bread, fried bologna sandwiches(I know what you're thinking, but fried bologna sandwiches are so much better than they sound). She also had the biggest, old coffee pot, and I can still remember the smell of coffee at her house with all of the family visiting. I used that coffee pot in my first solo apartment until it puckered out.

I have been sewing since I was 6. My mom taught me the fundamentals and I was overwhelmed with this power to create. My grandmother, my mom, and her sisters were all avid sewers and made most of their own clothes as they were growing up. When visiting my grandmother as a child, I loved to dig through her closet of vintage fabric and clothing. As I grew up she started to pass pieces of her fabric/trims down to me. When she passed away, I inherited the rest of her fabric along with her closet. In mourning her death, I reworked some of her old clothes so that I could wear them in a modern way. This is what influenced and inspired the unique pieces I make today. It also heavily influenced the the process of finding the materials I work with. I keep her memory alive in ErinElsie. She is the motivation for me to work hard in pursuing my dreams and I hope to make her and my family proud.

Happy Birthday Ma-ma! I miss you, Erin