Sandra Debbie Sammy has been designing for 22 years now, though much of her work landed on the local and international runways as that of well-known designers.
Debbie worked as a seamstress for many of the designers, but soon her work was recognised to be exceptional and sometimes coming up with the designs was left up to her. While some people could tell whether a particular piece was done by the announced designer or someone else, not many picked up on the details. Designing however, was not new to Debbie as she had been coming up with her own designs and making them by the age of nine.
The designer who hails from Madewini, East Bank Demerara explained that she is one of eight siblings but by the time she was nine years old, there were six of them. Not the eldest, she had to wear hand-me-downs. By the time an outfit was passed to her, it did not fit as it had fitted her older sister. Debbie was taller and bigger in size. Even at the age of nine she had an eye for fashion and knew then that that was not how she wanted her clothes to fit nor was it her style.
Her aunt, Debbie said, was a seamstress who lived nearby, but she was too swamped with orders to take on sewing for Debbie. However, Debbie’s mother had a straight-stitch machine that had been lying unused for some time.
It was a particular blouse handed down from her sister that motivated Debbie to begin making her own clothing. It was too short and Debbie, who grew up in a Christian household, felt uncomfortable wearing the blouse in public. Debbie made a long blouse in the colours of cream, mustard and black. She recalled how proud she was when she had finished it. The blouse had no sleeves, but she added those subsequently. Her next piece was a blouse with a collar and before long she was sewing her school uniforms.
One day, the parent of Debbie’s triplet friends asked who had made her uniform. When she shared that she had sewn it herself, the woman could not believe her ears. She knew Debbie’s aunt was a seamstress and half expected her to reply that her aunt had sewn it. Subsequently, she arrived at her home but not before checking with her aunt next door to confirm who had sewn Debbie’s uniform. When the aunt confirmed what Debbie had already said, the parent became one of her first clients. Debbie made the triplets’ uniforms for a number of years after that.
Once people got to know of her skills, unlike the average teenager, Debbie was rushing home from secondary school to finish sewing for clients. She recalled being busy with sewing and not stopping to eat; her mother would take her food to her at the sewing machine.
When asked if there was ever anything else she wanted to do as a girl, Debbie said for a short time, she wanted to be a model. The designer explained that she had her tall figure going for her and people would often enquire whether she was a model. When she replied that she was not, they would encourage her to go for it. The question was asked so many times that she began to fancy the idea of being a model but as she expanded her knowledge on new designs, the idea of modelling faded. As much as she liked to stand out at any occasion, Debbie realised she also liked to make people feel that way. Her designs quickly became statement pieces and clients did not always present her with a design they had in mind but left it up to her.
Debbie recalled meeting fashion consultant Derek Moore, sometime later through her sister. “At the time, I was already married and had a child. The first time I met him, he asked if I was a model. I told him I was a designer and he asked me if I wanted to work with him. I worked with Derek for two years… He encouraged me to keep doing what I love,” said Debbie.
Once on the local fashion scene, she met numerous other designers and worked with some of the more prominent ones. She recalled the first time she sewed something for a particular designer. “He loved it. I remember he sent me a sketch along with the material. I didn’t know the designer well yet. The design was for pants and a blouse. When I took it to the designer, he was amazed and said that when he sends sketches to other persons, they never sew it exactly as he sketched it and because of this he never expects it to look like his design. He said he was surprised that the design turned out like he wanted, so he called his team to show them the pieces,” she reminisced.
Those who realised that the runway pieces were her work, praised her and encouraged her to work full time for herself. Debbie explained that while she worked as a seamstress and sometimes as a designer for other notable designers, she also spent time designing for her own for her own clients. After years of being told to work for herself, Debbie finally took the advice and began designing full time for herself a few years ago.
“People are my inspiration,” she said. “I would look at them and know what would look good on them. My mom too is my inspiration; she is always encouraging me. My biggest inspiration is God. My daughter is always saying ‘Mommy you’re always sewing. Why is it these people can’t go to somebody else?’ My husband would tell her ‘It’s God that is providing’. My husband also helps me with my business…. There wasn’t a time, I didn’t have anything to sew. We never had to worry about where an income would come from.”
In the height of the pandemic in 2020, Debbie realised that she had lots of cloth in her sewing room. She decided to make 1,000 facemasks, all of which she donated. This soon led to her sewing facemasks as part of a business. On Tuesday this week she received an order for 150 facemasks to be completed by Thursday for a company. Debbie has also sewn facemasks for Republic Bank among other companies.
Quality is a huge deal for the designer. While she sources most of her materials from local stores, there are times when she has to make the necessary arrangements to have a particular fabric shipped in.
Satisfying her clients is her biggest objective. About five years ago, Debbie had a Canada-based Guyanese client reach out to her to sew a wedding dress. After learning a bit about her client’s personality, Debbie came up with a design she thought would be perfect for her. The client was enthused by what Debbie came up with and at the fitting, she could not be more thrilled. According to Debbie, her client who is considered plus-size had shared that she checked stores in Canada and in the US but could not find anything. Though she had designed other wedding gowns, that was the first time she made something as luxurious.
Debbie is now looking for the opportunity to expand on her wedding gown designs and has plans to travel to various countries to purchase materials to create that one-of-a-kind look for her clients.
Asked whether she has any free time for herself, the designer said she makes the time, or she would be working 24/7. The mother of two shared that before her children came along, she worked all day, sometimes until 4 am. Now she takes fewer orders and as hard as it is, she has learned to turn away clients to make time for herself and family. Debbie has since made it a rule to stop all work by 5 pm every day. She also never works on Sundays, but instead attends church with her family.
Debbie currently works from her Diamond, East Bank Demerara home. “I see working from home as a blessing because I get to do what I love, spend time with my family and see my children grow up. I know there are many people whose careers don’t allow them to spend time with their family. I do have some days when I’m swamped and work until 11 pm but I get help from my husband and mother-in-law,” she said.
Here’s something about Debbie only her closest friends and church members know. With Old Year’s Night being one of her biggest church occasions, she always tries to wear a new design. Debbie is in the habit of sewing her Old Year’s Night dress on Old Year’s Night; it is known Debbie’s tradition. Debbie noted she does not always know what to sew but then she wings it and turns up with the perfect dress for the occasion. She chuckled that a friend of hers calls it her “ten-minute-dress” and added that this is only a joke as she never takes ten minutes to make a dress.
Though most of her adult life, she has been committed to designing, Debbie has also dabbled in wedding planning and decor. One year she along with Derek Moore and a team decorated the Cheddi Jagan International Airport for the Christmas season. She has also decorated for
birthdays and other occasions. It has been two years now since she has done any decorating for clients, but still enjoys decorating her home.
Debbie requests that people wanting to place orders do so at least three weeks in advance. To connect with the designer, persons can reach out on Facebook at ‘Debbie’s Handmade’ or call 658-7738.
