In December, I came to New York. I design women’s clothing and happily manage the entireprocess from fabric picking to pattern making and sewing. I was new in the city, had none of my machines, and needed a nice studio to work on a few samples for my new collection.

What I'm looking for is a shared space with sewing machines, a serger, cutting tables and irons. Windows as a must — sewing requires a lot of light. My top budget is $300 a month. Fortunately, New York isn’t short on options, I’ve done a lot of research and am going to share it for those of you on the same mission.

I started by making a list of all co-working spaces with sewing equipment that came up in a google search and called/emailed them for more details. The drawing below is a sum of what I got.

An envelope sign means no visit, just email chatting.

#1 Soul Collection

It costs $1300 per month and looks nice and cozy in the pictures, but too pricey for me.

#2 Better Than Jam

I was invited to visit the place. Awesome name and a great location made me excited. My daily commute could be a nice 20 minute walk through great coffee shops in Bushwick. The studio is really beautiful, there are big windows and a lot of natural light. The setup isn’t fancy, but decent: brother home machines, but no industrial serger. $650 monthly.

#3 Maker Space

It costs $150 if you pay month-to-month and even less if you make a commitment for 6 months. They’re located in a former factory in Staten Island. There are metal/wooden workshops, a 3D-printing lab, a tiny sewing room (without a window) and 24/7 access with your own copy of keys. I met a wonderful guy Scott who showed me around, promising to fix the ancient Overlock machine and made me feel truly welcomed.

There are plenty of crazy people working around, too! Like a guy whose job is to repair old typing machines. People still need them for decorations or movie props!

But it has a huge BUT, it’s too far from my apartment. I took a subway (with one change), walked to the Port Terminal and took a free boat, then I rode Staten Island Subway and walked to the place. I came home exhausted and was asleep in ten minutes. Nope, this won’t work for me!

#4 Esaie Couture Studio

The price is $1500 or $500 if you’re ready for 6-month lease. I wasn’t.

#5 Workroom Social

They don’t list their studio for rent but I emailed them anyway. And I was invited to join the lease until October.

#6 Make Workshop

It’s what tiny & cozy means in real life

The owner of the place is a charming lady who runs weekly sewing classes. I vistied during the middle of a Sunday workshop where a few girls were making small pouches.

It was the sweetest place, tiny but cozy and I liked Diana. The price wasn’t affordable for me, unfortunately.

#7 Mom’s Selling

A funny coincidence happened! I met a girl at the party whose mum was selling a bunch of sewing equipment including two machines, a stamper, a table, two compressors and die inks. So some really serious stuff are just for $2000. Not an option for me, but definitely a great deal!

#8 Dry Cleaning

While I was doing my email research I got a response from a studio whose name I forget. They were out of space but a few minutes ago I got a letter from a Dry Cleaning Service who is renting out their place.

I was curious enough to learn details. $600 per month and a crazy timing. Probably not the most comfortable place to work but a good option!

#9 Art Textile Center

They cost $200 per month and have a studio in Gowanus, one of my favorite neighborhoods and home to one of the best New York Ice Cream and yummy American pie shops. I was happy to find this place!

First of all, it’s just beautiful! There’re several heavy duty Singer machines (really good ones!), big cutting tables, huge windows and plenty of small but important sewing/pattern making tools. They have one serger and it’s a Pro Finish model which is famous for threads tension problems. It took me a while to get used to it.

Besides sewing equipment there are looms, as well as everything for dye and machine knitting.

It would be too perfect if not the schedule. Open hours for this studio are better for small personal projects than a full time working. But besides that the studio is awesome!

I'm happy to report that I’ve been working here for a while, with no regrets!

Happy sewing!

Post by Elena Zaharova

"MEET the ARTISAN" is a blog series that spotlights Etsy New York Team artisans and their craft. In this feature, we learn more about Sara, the creator of S2 Stationery & Design.

Q: What is S2 Stationery & Design? Can you briefly describe your business for us?

A: S2 Stationery & Design is truly a company that uses "design" as a way to usher in communication in all aspects of our lives - personal, business, and everywhere else in between.

Q: Some artisans develop their products to meet consumer needs, while others craft products based on things and/or experiences that inspire them. What is the inspiration behind your business?

A: This questions could take this entire post. My inspiration is (and has been) largely based on experiences in every day life and while traveling. S2 was decided years ago in my youth (although I had no idea of it at the time), when I loved playing with paper. It came full circle after my father's death in 2009 while traveling around Italy after running the Rome Marathon. A dream woke me up at 3am one morning and I woke up knowing that this was my calling; my passion to pursue. It helps that I was in Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the World and the colors, food, smells, and people inspired me daily.

To a degree, though, consumer needs is also an inspiration, although not the focal point. My stationery is not a life style brand. I'm hardly interested in keeping loyal customers, although I do love them and appreciate them! For me what is important is that a card or set of stationery inspires the customer to write and communicate their emotions. In other words, if a customer buys one card from S2 Stationery & Design and it allows them to be vulnerable and share sentiment that they might otherwise not, that is worth more than continuous sales from products that aren't necessary and are a strain to the environment. Should they return to me because the quality is top notch, or they really like my product, then great! But the idea that a card sale can turn into a potential pencil set sale, or an annual calendar sale is not my inspiration.

Q: Oftentimes, each artisan has a different strategy and objective for their business. What are the next steps for you and your business?

A: There are a lot of steps I want to take. My big goal for 2015 is the Stationery Show at the Javits Center. It's huge and the real deal. I'm also working on positioning my Etsy shop a bit more and separating the custom work from the social stationery. While custom work fits into the social stationery category, it is a different monster and requires a lot more effort and work. I'd love to have them parallel in building S2, but not as closely tied as they are now.

The other big thing is that I'm working on ways to integrate large scale communication. When I was a child we had pen pals and I loved my pen pals. While not trying to bring back pen pals, I'm thinking creatively on ways to bring about peace and acceptance through communication, food, and social stationery. In other words, 2015 is going to be busy!

Q: As many artisans look to grow and further develop their businesses, do you have some advice that you can share with fellow artisans?

A: Take it slow. Running a business is a lot of work. When I started, I thought I could do everything quickly and easily thanks to technology, but it's a lot of work. It can be overwhelming sometimes - so much so that a person can end up burned out fast. It's also important to know the difference between part-time and full-time business running. I quit my job earlier this year to focus on S2 full-time and it's been exhausting, frustrating, and at times I've almost called it quits. Yet, something has kept me fighting and that is the understanding that it all takes time. People who have relatively easy success had struggles, too. Just remember to breathe and if know that if you have the heart, you have the stomach.

Special thanks to Sara for sharing with us. You can find her products showcased on her Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/S2StationeryDesign. And, details of her special product GIVEAWAYS are below. Please enter for your chance to win one of three "My Thankful Space" paper place mats!

A gorgeous decorative piece (and keepsake if food and water damage are minimal) to any Thanksgiving table, the "My Thankful Space" place mats are delicate, but sturdy and a great gift to give those giving thanks in your home. The larger, patterned paper is artisan paper from China. The top layer is a text weight (32lb) metallic paper to compliment the back layer. It is best to use a marker such as a sharpie to avoid smudging and for immediate drying. Each place mat is cut to approximately 12"x18" and assembled by hand.

Enter to win here! To enter simply, like the"S2 Stationery & Design" page on Facebook and/or this blog post, along with a comment with three things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Three (3) winners will be selected randomly for one of three sets of paper place mats. (Marker not included!)

One set of the white and silver place mats has 8; one set of blue and gold place mats has 10; one set of red and gold place mats has 10. Please include in your comment what color placements you prefer. Winners will be notified within 24 hours of being selected for shipping information. Good luck!

Published by Susan Ng / www.NaturallySusans.com / www.NaturallySusans.Etsy.com