But despite her early success, the teen entrepreneur began her college years with a very different goal.
“I wanted to be a buyer for Bloomingdale’s,” she said.
Then she attended Career Connections, a FIDM networking event where companies set up tables to help students become acquainted.
“The people at the Intuition table were so happy, like a big group of friends,” she said. “I thought, maybe do something smaller.”
Shopping with her mother, she picked up a book by the founder of the Stitch Lounge in San Francisco, a women-owned business providing a supportive environment for people to express themselves by creating their own clothing and accessories.
“I started dreaming of my own lounge,” she said. “It became something I had to do.”
Her lounge — with a staff of one — is as lean as they come. Apart from rent and bills, which Dooley said she’s managed to cover and then some, she’s kept overhead low by convincing her parents to lend a hand. Her father painted the boutique its signature moss-green finish and designed the logo. Her mother has also pitched in here and there.
“A goal starting out, and I think it does, was to design a space and a business that reflects me,” she said.
Two large tables, one for measuring and working and the other for a half-dozen sewing machines, anchor the space, which also includes a “handmade boutique,” a mixture of prints, original art and tote bags.
Already her customer base is diverse, ranging from girls as young as five, to middle-aged women. Dooley said she plans to expand it by harnessing the power of virtual communities such as Etsy, which bills itself as “the world’s most vibrant handmade marketplace,” and by using services such as Meetup.com.
“I have sewn for years but I am interested in learning to ‘alter’ patterns for a more unique and better-fitting look,” wrote Deb Brownson, one of the group’s first nine members.
Glendale Meetup.comuser Veronica, who joined Dooley’s group on Tuesday, echoed a sentiment shared by many of the shop’s customers: “I have been DYING to learn how to sew!” she wrote. “My mom gave me her sewing machine (not new, but usable) and I’ve bought books, with gorgeous projects, but I think joining in on a group is always fun!”
Group classes range from $50 to $75 for two to six hours of instruction, and private lessons are $35 an hour; machine rentals are $5 an hour and open sewing is $9 an hour. Private lessons are $35 an hour.
For more information go to www.thesewingloungeburbank.com, or call (818) 729-1781.
