ENTREPRENEUR feature: Kerri Quigley of The Fashion Class
Ready, set, sew with The Fashion Class founder and WEALF entrepreneur Kerri Quigley. At her studios in Bryant Park in the heart of the Garment District, and the Upper Eastside Kerri turns her love of sewing into fun, fabulous fashion classes for students of all ages.
Kerri Quigley founded The Fashion Class in 2010 because she saw a gap in extracurricular education when it came to the arts. There are dance and acting classes, sports, and basic art classes, but nothing that focused on fashion and crafting. The Fashion Class offers after school classes, summer camps, workshops, and school programs where students ages 6 – 17 learn to sew real, wearable clothing. Using curriculums designed by Kerri to be educational, effective, and, above all, fun, the students learn sewing skills, along with illustration, merchandising, fashion history, and enjoy guest speakers who are in the fashion industry. At the end of each program, the children have a runway show showcasing their creations for family and friends. Currently, Kerri is working on growing the Fashion Class by creating an online subscription-based platform featuring her most successful sewing projects and craft videos. The online platform will allow children interested in sewing but cannot get to a studio the chance to learn. Along with the video subscription, customers can purchase kits with the patterns and fabrics for the projects they would like to make.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Kerri had a love of fashion and made her first clothes out of fabric scraps and a glue gun before her grandmother taught her to sew. Kerri pursued her love of fashion, attending Parson’s New School for Design, and working in the fashion industry. Kerri taught her first children’s sewing class in New York City in 2009. Soon, word got out about how much fun kids were having in Kerri’s classes, and The Fashion Class was born. Since it’s inception, The Fashion Class has been featured in Time Out NY Kids, New York Magazine, Pix 11 news, and NY1, where it was named an “NYC Parent’s Pick”.
Kerri is one of WEALF’s earliest entrepreneurs receiving her first loan in November 2012 to purchase new equipment and expand her classes into new locations. On March 25, 2020, Kerri became the first recipient of the WEALF 25K Visionary Award. Kerri’s plans to use her prize money to expand her online subscription platform and sell franchise locations.
heR words:
“I feel like WEALF has been by my side ever since I took the leap to quit my job and run my business full time! Their initial loan helped me turn my side hustle into a real business, now with two studios and a team of people. Over the past eight years I’ve relied on the knowledge of Vicki, Suzi (my mentor) and others to help me with questions about accounting, finances, legal and business growth. They’re always there when I need them most! I’m honored to be the first recipient of the WEALF Visionary Award and part of such an amazing program of women entrepreneurs. We are such a strong community together, and I thank Vicki and the entire WEALF Team for creating this amazing program!”