S10 Ep6 SUNWORN VINTAGE: Dana Andrews, upcycling creator - on making one-of-a-kind pieces like the Tie Bag, and designing digital sewing patterns so others can sew their own.

Mar 9, 2026

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Today, we're chatting with Dana Andrews — the creator and maker behind Sunworn Vintage, an upcycled clothing and accessory brand, built on the art of reuse and reimagination.

Dana grew up on the Central Coast of California in Santa Maria where she fell in love with fashion early, raiding her older sisters' closets and getting voted best dressed in high school. She learned to sew in a clothing and fashion elective she took all four years of high school, and she loved it so much she'd stay in the classroom through lunch just to keep working.

Always creative with a couple of side hustles, Dana found her way back to sewing amidst the pandemic. She bought a pre-loved sewing machine of KSL, and Sunworn Vintage was born.

Now, it's her full-time dream job. She creates one-of-a-kind pieces from vintage and thrifted textiles, offers custom orders, runs monthly website restocks, and has stepped into something she never expected: designing digital sewing patterns so others can make their own Sunworn creations at home.

Her first pattern was for a bag made entirely from neckties —and we get into the whole story on today's show. This one is truly for the makers, the thrifters, and everyone who's ever looked at a pile of men's ties at Goodwill and thought — wait, what if? And keep your eyes peeled, because Sunworn's next pattern is coming very soon – sneak peek on today's show.

Let's dive in!

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

[5:57] How Dana got into thrifting as a teen.
[9:26] Her love of estates sales — and why she'd go even if she found nothing
[11:25] Learning to sew in high school
[18:27] How Dana found her way back to sewing amidst the pandemic when she bought a secondhand sewing machine.
[22:24] The early days of the upcycling business, and how it has changed in the last six years.
[27:35] She never expected to be designing digital sewing patterns for others to create at home.
[29:28] The thrift store inspired the idea of the Tie Bag
[37:48] The response to the Tie Bag pattern — and how passive income changed her business
[39:54] Working on her second digital pattern
[45:46] Pitching Sunworn Vintage to Mildew Magazine
[51:57] Dana's personal style and holy grail thrift finds

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