Bermudian fashion designer Monique Stevens sees being a seamstress as a lost trade that she is determined to revive.

“I want to make it attractive again,” she said.

Her business Ieshun S offers fashion design, sewing instruction, creative holiday camps, after school programmes and “Sewcial” events such as crochet and karaoke nights at local hotels.

“I have always been ambitious,” Ms Stevens admitted.

She works out of a studio at 4 Union Street in Hamilton with six working sewing machines and a few in need of repair.

“People gift us equipment,” she said.

The business owner believes in thrifting and collaborating with other business owners.

She formed Ieshun S in 2008 after serving as a police officer for eight years.

“I enjoyed serving my community, but now I serve it in a different way,” Ms Stevens said.

Her design career kicked off with the creation of the Bermuda Brownie T-shirt. To promote her design she paired the tops with thrifted pieces from second-hand stores.

Out of that came another company called Bermuda Brand Box, a curated gift box service.

“I pull on all different local vendors and businesses to create a curated Bermuda gift experience,” Ms Stevens said.

Having so many different irons in the fire has been challenging.

“I have always thought and believed I needed to do things myself, but now, as my business expands, I need more hands on deck,” she said.

Ms Stevens is looking to hire camp counsellors for the summer and after-school club facilitators.

She has three children, aged 7 to 17. Balancing single motherhood with entrepreneurship has not always been easy. She has considered moving to Britain to go back to school.

“It could still happen,” she said, “especially with my kids getting older and me wanting to develop myself.”

Working with young people she loves to see them get excited about making something as simple as a pillow.

“Within my camps, we tie-dye,” she said. “We also revamp old clothes with thrift store finds. I teach them to be economical and environmentally conscious.”

Answering the question of whether Bermuda does enough for its small business owners is a tough one for Ms Stevens.

“We want to support our small businesses, but there is not yet still enough appreciation for what it is to actually be a small-business owner with the high cost of living and bringing in products.”

She is also still designing.

“I have always had a passion for fashion,” she said.

She describes her work as having a seventies flair with bell bottoms and the like. She designed one pair of pants to look like a mermaid’s tail.

On Friday, she travels to New York City to show her fashion designs at the Black Girl’s Art Exhibition at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn.

“Hopefully, I will gain some international exposure,” Ms Stevens said. “I will be creating my own custom piece to wear there. The show is an opportunity to appreciate what the Black girl does in all forms of art, whether it is tattoo art, visual art, spoken word or whatever.”

•For more information see @Ieshun_s on Instagram