Anne is the owner and founder of the pattern and design studio - PD Studio. She is an extremly talented pattern maker and the producer of our Sunday loungewear collection. It is all about true craftsmanship and the passion for sewing.

Sunday: Hi Anne. How are you feeling today and why?

Anne: Life is changing in a good way and I’m feeling grateful for everything and everyone in my life.

S: What are you working on right now?

Anne: Right now I’m working with the Camerta Universitias, the chamber choir (small or medium-sized choir singing classical music) of the University of Life Sciences. Some years ago we helped them to design their stage clothes and now they need help making new dressses. It is always new stundets attending the choir and they need to have matching outfits. We also have a fun and very pink project going on for an old client. We are creating a special birthday table cloth. It is a long pink table cloth filled with 60 meters of frills together with some other festive decorations. We are also making patterns for one old customer. When you are running this kind of small business you get very diverse projects.

S: When did you realize that tailoring/sewing was your passion?

Anne: Well, when I was a little girl my parents used to tell me that I would grew up and become a dressmaker. And I guess they were right. My only reason for playing with dolls was to make them clothes. I remember that I used to make dresses for my dolls in my parents bed and they were not too happy to find needles all over the bed. Especially not when sleeping…

In school I got a lot of inspiration from my craft teacher and she encouraged me to do a lot of handicraft.

The Singing Revolution came and Estonia got independent. The Singing Revolution is the name for the events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1992 Estonian got its own official currency. During this time I lost my mother and my father did not have a proper job. So I started to earn my own money (mostly I was paid in food or coupons for food) by using my granny's sewing machine. In 1992 I graduated from high school and my dad gave me a gift - my very first own sewing machine. It seems to be my destiny to sew :)

S: How long have you run your own business?

Anne: It will be 11 years now in the December.

S: How was it to take the step to start up your own studio?

Anne: In 1992 I got a scholarship (Many thanks to my teacher. I think she was the reason behind the reward) to go to Finland to study dressmaking and tailoring. This scholarship was established by Vihdi Entrepreneurs Association and the purpose was to train and encourage young entrepreneurs. After the Scholarship I continued my studies and started to study production development in the clothing sector in Finland. Between my first and second year of studing I was working for one year at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki (now Aalto University in Finland). After a period of time an Estonian companied asked me if I wanted to move back and work as a patternmaker and designer. I said yes and moved back home to Estonia. But after a while I wanted to do something else and I started to work as designassistant for the Swedish designer Lotta Hjelte at an Estonian company. Lotta had her own brand named “SOM” at the side and I helped her out with the patterns. She wanted me to some patterns that she did not turst any others to do. Later on the company stopped making its own brand and the whole clothing departmen had to close down. Then Lotta and her son started their own brand named SOM and I helped them out with preparations for production. SOM was a collaboration with designstudents and I was also helping Lotta giving feedback to the students. Nette Sandström (today founder of Nand) was one of the students that I still work with today. Anyway, I did not really know what to do after after the compnay closed down their clothing department. But one day I got two really good offers from two big clients, asking me to make patterns. There and then I decided to establish my own pattern design studio ’PD Studio’. Apart from the two big old clients I now also work with new small upcoming brands as Sunday and Nand . It has been very busy working for both my old clients and small designers at the same time. 

S: How does your studio look like?

Anne: I have a quite new studio in the country side. It has a lot of lights and room for each function with many new sewing machines. Most of them are computerized. And of course I have my granny's machine in the studio reminding me about the tough times. Last week-end I also moved “my office” to the new studio.

S: What music are you currently playing in your studio?

Anne: Right now I’m listening to Peter Karter. He is a great pianist. I’m also listening to Deva Permal & Miten and some songs from Angel. My 5 year-old son likes to listen to the singer and songwriter Snatam Kaur. He says that she is singing like a beautiful angel. It is just so beautiful!

S: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

Anne: Time will tell. Nothing is permanent and that is the nature of the world.

S: What is your favourite place in your neighbourhood? 

Anne: My family and I have a small garden that I love. This is where I can clear my thoughts and communicate with nature.  I do not try to change the garden too much so it will end up looking like a postcard. If it ends up overly nice you don’t feel allowed to run around in it. I like to potter around in the garden but there is no stress. It doesn’t need to be perfect.

S: Latest watched movie? And did you like it?

Anne: Sometimes me and my oldest son have movie nights. Then we are watching comedy movies and eating popcorn together. Last time we watched the movie “Identity Thief”. We laughed a lot and I loved the end.

S: If you could choose only one thing in your home to keep for life, what would it be? (not a person or an animal) 

Anne: This is an easy question, it would be my granny’s sewing machine!

S: Do you have any good tips for a sustainable lifestyle? 

Anne: Be good to the land of the ancestors. We just borrow the earth from our children and their future children. And make sure to make time for what matters in life!  

S: Five things that make you happy on a Sunday?

1. Some minutes for myself
2. Hugging my sons and husband
3. Talking to my father
4. Sunrise
5. Nature