After closing Party Corner, former owner stitches together new sewing business

One store closes, but another business opens for the former owner of Party Corner.

“I’m very lucky in a lot of ways that I landed here and I had my sewing skills to fall back on,” said Missy Morrow, the owner of Sewing By Miss E.

“I miss the store every single day. Every single day I wish I was there and I wish that was what I was doing with my life, but obviously that’s not feasible right now, and not in the near future.”

Sewing By Miss E is a local sewing and alterations business run by Morrow and two other staff, offering custom corsets, alterations, repairs and more.

Prior to closing Party Corner, Morrow mentions she had been working on custom sewing orders while running the store.

“That was my jam. I sewed for stage performers, burlesque girls and drag queens, but just one girl with one sewing machine couldn’t possibly pay the rent,” said Morrow.

At the end of 2020, Morrow said another local business owner, Tommy Gofton, reached out to her about a "strange" space located inside the Royal Garrison Medieval Arts Academy that was available. The space ended up being a good choice for both the business and Morrow.

“He’s a really lovely human being, because I didn’t have a space lined up,” Morrow said about Gofton reaching out to her. “We don’t do traditional sewing, we do weird sewing, so it was a great fit.”

Having another local business reach out during the pandemic to her also meant a lot, adds Morrow.

“It’s amazing, because that’s the kind of customer service and kindness I tried to show with the store (Party Corner).”

While they do custom requests, Morrow said she was receiving a lot of requests for hemming and clothing repairs before restrictions loosened.

“We sew normal things, we do hem pants and zippers and that’s what I flipped too, because people stopped needing LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) and anime costumes, I flipped to normal sewing,” said Morrow. “I really appreciate the people who take the time to get things repaired.”

Outside of the business, Morrow sews her own clothes and gets a little creative with some of her work. Recently, she said she put out an online call for people to submit art for a vogue 1956 dress she was making. Morrow said the dress turned into a collaborative art project, which is pictured above.

"People mailed in art from all over the world," said Morrow, adding all submissions went on the dress, whether they were good or bad because someone took the time to create the art.

As public health restrictions have loosened, Morrow notes there are more requests for custom orders, especially for wedding gowns.

When working on a custom order, Morrow said she will sit down with a client to discuss their vision and come up with a concept. She adds it’s awesome getting to make something out of thin air and turn it into a real thing.

“A lot of the time when they see it, it’s a big, ‘Wow!’” Morrow said about the client's reactions to the final product, “and sometimes, I put my hands over their eyes for the big reveal.”

As examples of custom orders, Morrow has been working on drag and burlesque outfits, wedding dresses and swimsuits. After posting about a recent swimsuit designed for a client, Morrow said she has received a few other requests for swimsuits.

“The clothing choices sucks, they honestly just suck if you’re not a normal-sized person, and it makes me really happy to make cool swimwear for plus-sized bodies and really cool outfits for tall ladies, like myself,” said Morrow.

“If you don’t fit into regular fashion and you are frustrated by it, then I’m your girl.

“I’m happy to do whatever the day brings me. I always leave my mind open to adventure because you never know,” said Morrow, “I love doing all of it because I love the act of sewing itself, so I think it keeps life very interesting to do a variety of things.”