Meet Kassiah of Siah Swag!
Join me in beautiful Parker, Colorado, to meet the woman behind all the gorgeous bags Kassiah makes on her YouTube channel!
Tell us a bit about yourself:
What is something you enjoy about where you live?
Gosh, what’s not to love about Colorado! I love the seasons, the people and all the beautiful nature in Colorado.
Tell us about your family & any pets you have.
I am the youngest of five.
I am married to Daniel now for 20 years and we have five beautiful kids. My oldest, Sebastian is 19 and now living out in the big world on his own. David is 17 and just got a job working at Crumble Cookie, to add to my holiday pounds! AnnaBelle is 15, on the dance team at her school and will be learning to drive this year. Marcus is 10 and loves anything sports or Xbox related. He is the easiest going kid around! And then there is Charlotte who is turning 8, the spunkiest little blondie around!
We just adopted a little Schweenie puppy, Marlee Mae, now the new baby of the family. Good thing Charlotte is okay with being replaced as the baby by a dog!
Do you have a job apart from bag making and if so, what do you do?
I am a full-time mom for the past 20 years and know how lucky I am to be able to do that. I have always loved anything craft related. While my kids were napping or at school, I would find myself doing every kind of project around the house that I could think of.
What two words would you use to describe yourself?
Determined and creative
Tell us some fun facts about yourself!
I am allergic to potatoes. Weird, I know, but true! I don’t eat French fries, potato chips. You name the potato item, and I don’t do it!
I love to sing and have enjoyed singing in choirs. When I was younger, I thought I’d be in a rock band someday. Still might! I especially love to dance any chance I get!
Tell us about your bag making:
What led you to bag making?
Years ago, I made simple bags for a craft fair and then it just exploded from there.
What do you enjoy most about making bags?
I love all the ways you get to be creative and learn so many things in one project. And, the end result!
What are some things you find frustrating about it?
I am a perfectionist. It is hard for me to be done with a bag that is imperfect and be okay with it. I am learning to let it go and tell myself, “It’s fine!”
How did you learn to sew?
My mom taught me when I was younger. She is a very talented quilter and was always at the sewing machine. I didn’t really want to get into sewing until I was a bit older, around 25.
What is the story behind your business name?
My kids came up with it! I was looking for something unique and fun, other than just my name and someone yelled “Siah Swag!” I said, “I love it!” The rest is history!
How would you describe your style?
I would say I have a more modern style. I love a good floral print, stripes and color blocking. I don’t really love custom fan fabrics.
What keeps you inspired?
All the bag making people around me!!
Do you have any must-have/favorite bag making tools?
Clips! Can’t make a bag without them!
What fabrics or textiles do you especially love working with?
I love canvas and vinyl. I would make a million bags with those two materials.
What does your bag making process look like?
Nowadays it’s really organized. I try to lay out and plan everything I need to do in a week and have a set way that I’m going to accomplish it. I cut and interface one day and usually sew it all together the next.
What is your advice to new bag makers?
Go slowly and take your time. It takes practice knowing what will work and what doesn’t. Don’t get discouraged if your first few bags don’t turn out the way you want. It will get there the more you work at it.
Love her videos! When she took a Thanksgiving break, YouTube wasn’t the same without her. She has a warm, inviting spirit complimented with skill and a desire to share.
I absolutely agree with you!
I absolutely love SiahSwag videos. So informative and feels like a friend is coming over for a visit.
That is a great description of her videos!
I can’t believe I’m feeling like a fan. I was about 9 or 10 when I saw girls screaming and fainting just listening to Elvis Presley on the radio! That’s what I call a crazy fan and I never wanted to be labeled one of those girls! Today at 73, I want to see every video and I’m glad a came across this interview but I promise I won’t be a screaming-fainting fan of Kassiah’s!
That’s so great, Natalie! Kassiah’s fan base is well-deserved!
Love Siah’s videos. I don’t like to read patterns. She has helped me immensely with her videos. I also like that we get to see that she has times when everything doesn’t go together quite right. Thanks SiahSwag for sharing your bag making with us.
I enjoy watching her videos! She explains every detail . If you are new to bag making you should be able to follow her and you will have a completed bag when you are finished. Any part that you may get stuck on and she will do her best to help you through it. She helps each bag maker by her enthusiasm to promote their pattern. But most of all, she loves what she does and spreads her positivity to all of us! Thank you for sharing your interview and allowing us to get to know her a little bit better!
I feel blessed that I came across one of Kassiah’s tutorials during COVID. It’s at least a good thing that came from it! She makes us all feel like we are her sewing partners, and I have fallen in love with bag making under her lead.
I am so glad that Kassiah shares her knowledge, her energy and inspiration to all of us. Real teaching is a gift, and shes got it!
I love all of her videos, she inspired me to continue making bags no matter how difficult some can be. Wish all the best to her and her family!
Love her videos and adore her personality she is very creative and has such a sweet disposition about herself
I’m a newbie to bag making. Totally agree how awesome her videos are. Any bag designer should consider it an honor to let her do videos of their design. I was ready to hang it up, then came across Her video, blog etc. I’m a visual learner and she saved the day for me to finish the Sandhill Sling as a gift. Thanks for your creative spirit and sharing.
Welcome to the fun of bag making, Sandy! It truly is an honor to have Kassiah feature my patterns on her channel! She is a gifted gracious, and encouraging instructor.
I struggled so much with the NCW although I had several cut out The flaps were too much for my semi industrial machine which has a low foot clearance … I wanted to find a wallet I could do effectively … came across this pattern and ordered it … I watched the video by Suzanna and the one by Kassiah. Both very helpful and nice to know I can do this on my machine.