Opposite her sisters, Antioch’s Kenia “Kat” Carreon was a kid who mostly wore black, would put skulls on her T-shirts and safety-pin different fabrics together to create various looks — and now she’s running her own atelier (an art or design studio or workshop) teaching students to do the same.
Well, maybe not putting skulls on T-shirts (unless they want to), but certainly cutting patterns and learning how to sew. Carreon officially opened The French Kat Atelier in Brentwood this past May, but her passion for sewing started at a young age.
“I can’t imagine my life without designing,” Carreon says. “My [goth] style pushed me towards exploring my passion for fashion.
“What ended up moving me towards sewing was my love for costumes and vintage looks. It’s my biggest reason for learning how to sew. I would create designs based on my favorite animated characters and icons and sew them together with zero knowledge of garment construction.”
Born and raised in San Jose, she moved to Antioch with her partner, who inspired Carreon to run her own business.
“I don’t believe I would have had the gall necessary to think of taking that leap on my own,” she said. “He is a business owner himself and my biggest supporter. This is not a typical or traditional business, and he had very little understanding of anything related to sewing, but he believed this was a business that was needed.”
A graduate of San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Carreon said her original plan was to run The French Kat Atelier as a tailoring and custom-design business, which is why “atelier” is in its name.
Now it’s a place where she teaches classes and one-day workshops, as well as gives private lessons, summer camps and after-school lessons for kids. Before she opened her studio, Carreon worked with different fashion and design companies.
“I found freelancing by accident when I was asked directly to create a design back in 2018, around the time I was graduating,” she said. “It really opened my eyes to a new type of career in fashion. Owning a business was not just having a company with several employees — it could just be you and your skill sets.”
Her adult beginner year-round sewing classes and after-school youth classes are the most popular and range from four to five weeks, during which students meet once a week. She offers more beginner-friendly workshops during the fall and winter seasons, which she says are perfect for intimate group activities.
“I’m working on including a quilting class for beginners and adding more intermediate sewing classes,” she said. “My studio also has membership options for those interested in using the tools, equipment and space for their own personal projects who already have experience with sewing.”
Aside from Camp Fashionista in San Jose and The Sewing Room in Alameda, Carreon’s atelier is pretty much the only one around for miles. Before moving to East Contra Costa County, Carreon had no idea where Brentwood was on the map but says, “I fell in love with the area, and it felt so right to start my business here.”
She feels the community has welcomed her with open arms.
“They have shown up for me and have literally made me cry tears of joy. I feel so connected to my students and even other creatives who just come by to chat,” said Carreon. “I love getting to know other business owners and sharing similar goals. I am living my dream as a full-time creative.”
While sewing might come naturally to some, Carreon says she helps her students embrace their blunders throughout the process.
“Sewing is so fun, but it can also be a bit frustrating when you’re just starting. I encourage all my students to be OK with their mistakes,” she said. “Mistakes are so magical; it means you’re trying. There is no build-up to starting — you just go for it.
“I often get asked, ‘How do you keep the stitching lines straight?’ The answer is … you keep practicing. It’s not what everyone wants to hear, but it’s the truth. With any new thing you want to learn to master, you practice over and over and over. I’m learning how to crochet, and I’m not even close to mastering ‘the magic circle!’ ”
She says she also likes to keep things real in the classroom by sharing her own stitching blunders.
“I like to share my own mistakes and failures with my students who are delving into this world for the very first time,” Carreon said. “For most of them, the sewing machines at my studio are their starters.
“Depending on the class I’m teaching — I teach (students) as young as 7 years old — I have a different approach for my younger students and adult students. The mindset each student has can be so distinct.”
Carreon hopes others will capture the same passion she has for sewing.
“My dream is to keep offering a unique sewing experience,” she says. “To help cultivate love and understanding of sewing and fashion through community, creativity and education.”
The French Kat Atelier is at 131 Sand Creek Road, Suite C, in Brentwood. For more information on classes and fees online and a video of a class in session, visit frenchkatatelier.com and bit.ly/fkasession.
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Diablo Valley college, at charleenbearley@gmail.com or 925-383-3072.