One Magic Stitch: Sew-U-Nique
For Velencia Haizlip, her job is more than just making clothes. She is a magician using a sewing machine instead of a wand to create her own kind of magic. Velencia employees a bit of a different “sleight of hand,” as she starts with one stitch to recreate masterpieces for clients all over High Point. But this kind of magic didn’t happen at the stroke of midnight. In fact, this kind of lifelong magic started for Velencia when she was a girl.
From an early age, she loved fashion and began her sewing career by creating clothing for her paper dolls. Her first teacher was her own mother. Velencia was hesitant to learn at first, because she says she wanted the clothing that came from the store, but her mother insisted, “I can teach you how to make it look like it came from the store.”
And sure enough, “[Those dresses] looked like they came from the store!” Velencia says proudly, remembering those simple outfits she created.
A native of Wilmington, N.C., Velencia attended boarding school in Pennsylvania and one semester at Tri-City Academy in High Point where she made lasting friendships. She would often come to High Point to visit in the summer and eventually settled in the Triad after getting married.
At that time in her life, she worked in finance because her mother told her she’d never make money in fashion, but Velencia always dreamed of owning her own business. Feeling a tug to make a shift, she went to meet with an expert to update her resume, and after leaving with what felt like no progress, she had a conversation with a friend that would change the course of her life.
“A friend of mine called and she said, ‘I just had a vision of you and you were doing something with your hands and you were ministering to people,’” Velencia recalls. She laughs, saying that she never expected either of those things to come to fruition.
But after she began custom sewing and doing alterations on clothing, that vision seemed a little closer to a reality. That’s why Velencia launched Sew-U-Nique in 2000, a sewing studio. In 2016, she moved her business to her location on Main Street in High Point. Sew-U-Nique has grown so much that Velencia now has an administrative manager, Krista, an addition who allows Velencia to focus her energy on the machine. She is open by appointment only to give each customer a unique experience with her.
Today, Velencia is known for being able to fix anything and it is very important to her that her customers know, “I will always go the extra mile to make sure something is done the right way.” Customers often come in with important garments like beloved wedding gowns and cherished family heirlooms and they look to her to reimagine and bring new life to these works of art. Many come in looking for Velencia to update or tailor their clothing, but she ends up tailoring their hearts as well, and they leave with a trusted new friend and confidant.
“I am loyal,” Velencia says of herself, “and they can depend on me.”
Velencia, who was so impacted by her own mother teaching her, holds to the value, “each one, teach one.” That’s why she also uses her space to teach about sewing as well as continued custom work on garments. Sew-U-Nique has hosted beginner and intermediate sewing classes as well as Summer Camp sessions for children.
“If you find that thing that you love and… you build on that and create business for it, it helps the community,” she says, “because then you can teach someone else.”
She believes that sewing teaches many valuable lessons including: team building, patience, follow through, the ability to follow instructions, and most importantly, pride in expression.
All of Velencia’s re-creations are made with love: “love for what I do and the love that I have for these clothes,” she says. It is her hope that she is teaching that same kind of love and patience to her students: that they feel pride in their art and still feel good talking about their creation years later.
One piece that Velencia recalls with pride was a specific wedding gown that she tailored to pass from a mother to daughter to wear.
“I love the joy that it [brought] to her,” Velencia says fondly. “Every year on her anniversary, she reaches out to me just to say thank you.”
Velencia’s dedication to her craft is unmatched. One bride visited her shop because she wanted an item from her grandmother included in her gown. Velencia created a heart and stitched it in a special spot under the skirt on the gown so that her grandmother would be with the bride on her special day.
Velencia says, “Follow your heart, do what you love and find a way to make money at it.” The network of support from other women’ owned businesses in High Point has been a great encouragement to Velencia, to “talk and share stories with [them], and to call and get advice, and make connections.” Another valuable part about High Point is the support of her customers. That support drives Velencia to want to grow more and return their loyalty.
Velencia cannot recall a time when sewing didn’t seem natural to her. The gift that she has nurtured since she was seven years old has become her legacy: she gets to spend her days creating magic.
“If you find that thing that you love and… you build on that and create business for it, it helps the community because then you can teach someone else.”
Velencia Haizlip, owner of Sew-U-Nique
Discover our High Points,
The HPD Team
Photography by Aura Marzouk Photography
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