Today we’d like to introduce you to Monde Mutumba Chisenga.
Monde, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started sewing as stress and anxiety management from a job that I thought was a dream job but was eating my soul away. I would come home from work sew and dread going back to work the next week.
As I kept sewing pieces for myself, I would wear some to church and people started to ask where I got my clothes from and I would say ‘I made them.” Eventually, people started to ask me to make pieces for them but I would decline because I didn’t believe my work was good enough for other people.
The stress at my job became unbearable but it was a “God nudge” I needed to quit. I then took up sewing full time and decided to say yes to taking orders from people. The work poured in and I made a variety of things from prom dresses, wedding dresses, birthday and special occasion outfits and so much more.
Being hit by the pandemic as everyone else, I shifted into making face masks and Bow turban headwraps which were a hit for bad hair days and zoom calls and coming out of the pandemic, I have now pivoted into alterations and teaching sewing to others
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t think anything in life has been smooth but sewing is worthwhile because it is something I love to do. You know that question they ask: What would you do forever even if you weren’t paid for it?” That is sewing for me.
The biggest struggle with doing custom work is that it is very taxing on my body and can take long hours and so that is why I have made the pivot to alterations and teaching. Still very rewarding for me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently known for doing custom clothing pieces, alterations, and most recently offering beginner sewing lessons.
I am proud of most of my work but mostly when a client walks away happy and excited about their custom piece. My proudest work is my most recent work of where I did alterations on a bride’s dress that was two to three sizes too small and she had two weeks to the wedding day and I made it work for her to actually walk down the aisle.
What sets me apart I believe is my customer service, my turnaround time and I deliver what the customer asked for.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was creative, I learned to sew from watching my mum sew and I would sew for my dolls and make and alter a few of my clothing. I also loved doing hair and actually started a side hustle doing hair.
I was athletic, involved in track and field, played soccer and volleyball in high school. Personality-wise I was pretty average, but introverted.
Contact Info:
- Email: mondesews@gmail.com
- Website: www.mondechisenga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mondes_threads/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mondesthreads/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkL2FJlQ6U3NmPPtc10Z9hg
