It seems like a long time ago, and yet just like yesterday, since Ecole Holt Couture hosted its first fashion event ‘ONE’, that so many wonderful creatives contributed to making it a success. We’ve hosted many fashion events over the years, with all our treasured volunteers and creative experts, whom without the events would never have even lifted off the ground. We have journeyed together and come a long way with our many students and graduates, and event volunteers we are continuing to evolve.
If you are new to EHC, this is what we do and what we don’t do. We can teach you ‘how to’ from visualizing and refining your ideas, all the in-between bits, and take you all the way to making your ideas a reality using your own hands.
Learning these skills and gaining relevant experience doesn’t happen overnight and make years to learn. We can take the mystery out of what it takes to become competent and proficient to work at this professionally and teach you the component parts of the art and craft of dressmaking, couture, and tailoring. We don’t teach how to become a fashion designer; you already know that you’ve got great taste and ideas. We can’t teach that; you’ve either got that gift or not.
We can tell you what we’ve done to create a sustainable business, as Elfriede the Founder created an entire 65 year career on dressmaking, couture and tailoring, what worked and what didn’t work. What we can’t do is tell you how to run your own business. That depends on your lifestyle goals, your market, your vision, your resources, and your location, etc. There are so many excellent business coaches and business training options today, it really is an asset to be able to choose what suits you best.
For years we have trained and mentored students to do develop their skills, knowledge, and passion for sewing in creating high quality professional level garments. We’ve witnessed the progress, the elation when the proverbial ‘lightbulb’ comes on, and the results that the right training can achieve. We’ve also seen how hard students have worked and the dedication they put into their learning, and the sacrifices they’ve made to achieve those results. Today it is no different, but the circumstances of life have changed today.
We have also taken note of and recognized the challenges and barriers that many students today face. Whether it be with limiting finances, with family and employment commitments, and the time-limits many would-be learners must commit to full-time learning. We have responded to all these factors by changing the way we deliver will our programs.
Starting 2021 EHC have ceased to offer full-time on-site classes for Dressmaking or Couture & Tailoring, but instead will be offering our curriculum in shorter more manageable progressive modules that offers more flexibility for today’s realities.
We are developing learning space options for our students with time and financial constraints. With the advantage of using the amazing potential that online learning provides, we will offer home-study videos and online consultations, using a secure and private members platform bringing together a whole community of current and past students and graduates. And in combination with on-site workshops and events will continue to provide guidance, tuition, and support for our learners.
We say ‘learners’ because learning and sharing ideas never stops with certification awards. This art and craft always offers something new far beyond the programs. These skills and knowledge combined with new design ideas always presents new opportunities for growth and earning potential.
With this new delivery method and our new business operating model we will still provide the same comprehensive training that we have always delivered, however at a pace that is more aligned with your own pace of learning and with multiple progressive learning modules. Still project-based learning, the cumulative result of achieving all relevant module level certifications, will offer our official dressmaking certificate and couture & tailoring diploma following successful the outcome of each respective final exam.
Another major advantage is that the cost for the training can be broken down into more manageable segments when paid for each consecutive learning module as you go, rather than paying for the full two-year program up front, as it had been mandated by the governing authority over our previous business operating model.
Although, a lump sum of several thousand dollars is a huge investment, few would-be students had that amount tucked away, and naturally needed extra student loans to access this education opportunity. In offering ongoing, and/or lifetime memberships to our learning platform will give everyone the opportunity and the time to raise funds for their education investment without being burdened with student loans afterwards that may take years to repay.
You make the choice of how to raise funds sourced from your savings, through the support of your family, or you can continue your current employment, you could fund-raise through your community for your education using GoFundMe.com, community grants, or other crowdfunding methods. There are many ways to afford training if you’re willing to look for them. We’ve kept our modules very affordable for the type of master level training you are receiving.
Don’t worry if you are not quite sure this is the right fit for you. You don’t have to commit to joining our membership program right away. It won’t even be launched for several months, and in the meantime, we are uploading a load of free beginner videos on our YouTube channel so that you can dip your toes and test the waters first, to find out if our style of teaching appeals to you and if it works for you. It won’t work for everyone, and that’s OK too. We have a tried and tested method of teaching that we are very good at, but it’s not good for everyone. Education is and should be viewed as an investment, and no one should invest in something they don’t trust, or think will provide a good return.
Looking to the future, we are very excited and encourage you to watch this space for details and updates in 2021.
There are several ways to follow EHC: our website at http://www.ecoleholtcouture.com [which still needs major updates BTW], our FB page and Twitter which are current, our Blogsite, our YouTube channel all accessed from our website, and our Newsletter that you can sign up for by request at info@ecoleholtcouture.com.
Thanks to you for following us so far! Please feel free to share this with your friends and family.
cheers! J
Ecole Holt Couture - School of Couture Sewing & Design 
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