Janine Inselmann

I attribute my success to a mix of faith, grit, and community.

I didn’t build Sewing Lab alone. The real credit goes to the people who showed up before it was proven. The students who trusted me, volunteers who gave their time, partners who opened doors, and local organizations who believed that sustainability can be practical, not performative.

I also attribute it to being stubborn in the right way. I’m relentless about doing the unglamorous work like showing up consistently, listening, improving the program, tracking impact, and treating every class and partnership like it matters, because it does.

And honestly, I’m a student as much as I’m a leader. I’ve invested heavily in learning, mentorship, and doing the work the right way, then bringing it back to the community. Any “success” is really the result of aligning purpose with execution, and letting the mission lead the decisions.

Most of all, I attribute it to building something bigger than me. Sewing Lab works because it’s not centered on me, it’s centered on a need. Giving people skills, keeping textiles in use, and proving that a small business can create real change when it’s embedded in the community.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is...Do it because it makes you happy. Give it because you received it first.

It sounds simple, but it’s been my compass. Build your work around what genuinely lights you up, because joy is the fuel that lasts when things get messy. And when you start getting opportunities, guidance, or support, don’t hoard it. Pass it on. Share the playbook. Open doors for other people.

That mindset keeps success from turning into ego.

I’d tell young women..don’t let the society or industry become your whole identity. 

You are a person first, not a brand. Protect your joy, your rest, and your life outside of work.

Slow seasons are normal. That feeling of losing identity. Slow doesn’t mean you’re failing, it means the cycle is cycling. You'll eventually gonna get there.

Use that time to sharpen your skills, clean up your systems, plan content, and build partnerships so you’re ready when things pick up again.

Learn the business side early. Know your prices, set boundaries, track your costs, and don’t be afraid to say no.

And finally: find your community. Mentors and supportive friends will keep you grounded when things get hard.

I talk about fast fashion and sustainability in fashion space, and the biggest challenge in my field is that we’re living in a “throwaway economy” where clothing is treated like fast food: made quickly, consumed quickly, and discarded quickly. The system rewards speed and volume, not quality and longevity. And until we change that system, we’ll keep asking individuals to carry the burden for a problem that was designed into the process.

The biggest opportunity is that this is actually fixable. We can build a “make it last” culture again by teaching repair and sewing as real-life skills, creating local pathways for reuse and upcycling, and partnering with schools, nonprofits, local government, and businesses so the sustainable choice becomes the easy choice. That’s why I’m working so hard, because I’ve seen the solution in action and I know it can scale.

The values that matter most to me are care, responsibility, and hope.

I try to lead with care, for people first. For the people who make our clothes, for the families trying to make ends meet, for students who just need someone to believe in them, and for the communities that carry the consequences when we treat things and people as disposable.

I value responsibility because I don’t want to live like my choices don’t affect anyone else. In my work, that means building practical solutions, not just talking about problems. In my personal life, it means being honest, keeping my word, and choosing what’s sustainable in the real sense, what I can actually maintain with integrity.

And I hold onto hope. Not the “everything will be fine” kind, but the kind you build with your hands. The belief that we can do better, that we can repair what’s broken, that we can teach the next generation skills and values that make them stronger and kinder. I love the future, and I want it to be livable, beautiful, and fair, for the planet and for the people on it.