When I committed to making 100 pouches for The Apiary Sanctuary Foundation, I was fueled by passion, purpose, and maybe… a bit of overconfidence.

Balancing this project while holding down a full-time W2 job has been no small feat. I completely underestimated how much time, energy, and emotional bandwidth this would take. I don’t come from a formal sewing background—so every stitch, every zipper, and every topstitch has been part of a massive, self-taught learning curve.

I quickly realized that if I was going to pull this off, I had to get organized. And fast.

The Apiary Chic Go Pouch! — Behind the scenes:

The Apiary Chic Go Pouch collections coming together.

Then came the curveballs. The unexpected closing of the Joann stores. This threw a major monkey wrench into sourcing the fabric and materials I had carefully planned for. I found myself scrambling—checking multiple locations, ordering online, pivoting suppliers—just to keep the project alive.

In that chaos, I had to reach back to an old skill set: my past life in retail management. I leaned into what I knew and what I do well —structure, flow, assembly lines. The only difference is that I am currently a team of ONE (1). I brought that mindset into my home. Created a production line. Labeled bins. Batched tasks. I began to move with intention. I could no longer only think about this as a side hustle, hobby, or just plain old fun.

And slowly… it started to work.

There were (and still are) sewing fails—zippers that fought back, stitches that needed to be ripped out, miscut directional fabric, botched interfacing, and so many more fails. But through it all, I never lost sight of why I started this campaign.

This isn’t just about pouches.

This Campaign is about our nonprofit, The Apiary Sanctuary Foundation, and the people we’re fighting for—those experiencing homelessness while in recovery. Resources are shrinking. The need is growing. And we refuse to give up.

We may have pushed the deadline. But we haven't pushed the mission aside.

Today, I can proudly say that my sewing techniques are stronger. I have a system. I’ve learned how to work smarter, and I’m making steady progress. We’re not done yet—but we’re getting closer every day.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. And I can see it—one pouch at a time.

If you'd like to support our mission to help those experiencing homelessness while in recovery, you can donate to The Apiary Sanctuary Foundation or join the waiting list to purchase one of our Apiary Chic Go Pouches—each one handcrafted with purpose, and every sale directly supports the cause. 💛

👉 Donate to The Apiary Sanctuary Foundation

👉 Join the Waiting List

Every dollar helps us get closer to providing safe, supportive housing and resources for women, veterans, and foster adults in need.

Thank you for being part of this journey. 💛