Check Out Rebecca Russell’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Russell.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My creative story really began with the women in my family.

Both my loves and many of my skills were learned or handed down. My grandmother was a teacher and a quilter, she taught me the basics of sewing while also instilling in me a deep love of reading. My mother, an English teacher, reinforced that love of books, language, and writing. So in many ways, the two threads that still shape my work today, storytelling and making, were part of my life from the beginning.

I have always been an avid reader. As a young reader, I devoured the classics, especially Jane Austen, the Brontës, and L.M. Montgomery. As an adult, I found myself drawn to British murder mysteries, particularly Elizabeth George. Strong female characters, layered relationships, mystery, atmosphere, and deep emotional journeys have always been the stories I return to.

Sewing became another way for me to connect with stories and history. I had no formal training as a seamstress. My grandmother taught me the basics, and from there I taught myself through years of practice, study, and a lot of trial and error. What started as a practical skill slowly became a way of studying the past. Through historical clothing, I became fascinated not only with how people dressed, but with how they lived, what they made, what they carried, what they hid, and what traces they left behind. That curiosity eventually grew into BeespokeVintage, where I create historical and vintage-inspired clothing, and later into BeespokeVintage Patterns, where I reproduce vintage patterns for others who want to connect with the past through making.

For a long time, I thought of sewing and patternmaking as my main creative work. But beneath all of it, I was always telling stories. Every garment had a person behind it. Every old photograph, abandoned house, factory ledger, or forgotten local landmark made me wonder: Who was here? What happened to them? What didn’t get recorded?

That question became the heart of my writing.

My debut novel, *The Bones of Blackwater*, is the first book in *The Hartwell Saga*, a five-book historical mystery series set in a fictional New Jersey town inspired by the places around me. The story follows Dr. Nora Hale, an archaeologist uncovering long-buried secrets in the present day, while the past unfolds through the lives of the people connected to Blackwater Boot Factory in 1873. It brings together many of the things that have always drawn me in: mystery, local history, historical clothing, old buildings, hidden grief, women’s stories, and the way the past is never quite as buried as we think.

In many ways, becoming an author felt less like starting something new and more like finally giving shape to what had always been there. Reading taught me to love complex women and emotionally rich stories. Sewing taught me to pay attention to details. Patternmaking taught me structure. Historical research taught me patience. And writing gave me a place to bring all of those pieces together.

Today, I see my work, whether I’m drafting a pattern, sewing a garment, or writing a novel, as part of the same larger purpose: preserving pieces of the past and turning them into something people can hold, wear, read, and feel connected to.

I didn’t set out to become an author in a straight line. I followed the things that kept calling to me: books, fabric, history, old houses, forgotten names, and local legends. Eventually, they led me to the page.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a perfectly smooth road.

One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to trust myself in creative spaces where I did not have formal training. With sewing, I learned the basics from my grandmother, but so much of what I know came from years of trial and error. Patternmaking, historical research, building a small business, and eventually writing and publishing a novel all required me to be willing to start before I felt completely ready.

That has probably been the common thread through all of it: learning as I go.

There have also been the practical challenges of balancing creative work with real life. I am a wife, a mother, a teacher, a small business owner, and now an author. Finding time and mental space to create has not always been easy. There have been seasons where the work had to happen in the margins, late at night, between family responsibilities, or around whatever else life required at the time.

Publishing my first novel brought its own challenges. Writing a book is one kind of work. Learning how to edit it, format it, publish it, market it, talk about it, and believe in it publicly is another thing entirely. There is a vulnerability in putting a story into the world, especially one that carries so much of what you care about.

But I think those challenges have shaped the work in important ways. They have taught me patience, persistence, and a willingness to keep growing. I have had to learn that I do not need to have a perfect path or a formal permission slip to make meaningful work. I just need to keep showing up, keep learning, and keep following the stories and skills that matter to me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What I think sets my work apart is the way I approach creativity openly. I tend to create quickly, learn publicly, and share the process as honestly as I can. I do not want to present a perfect, polished version of creativity that hides all the mistakes, uncertainty, revisions, and trial and error behind the finished product. I would much rather show the real process, because that is where so much of the learning happens.

That has become an important part of my professional life. Whether I am sewing, reproducing a pattern, researching history, writing a novel, or figuring out the publishing process, I try to share what I am learning along the way. I share the mistakes as well as the finished pieces. I share the questions, the pivots, the things I would do differently, and the things I wish someone had explained to me sooner.

I think I am most proud of that openness. Of course I am proud of the finished work: the garments, the patterns, and especially publishing my first novel. But I am also proud that I have built a creative life that does not depend on gatekeeping. I believe there is room in this creative space for all of us to grow, create, and succeed.

That matters to me especially when it comes to supporting other women and other creatives who are trying to find their place. I know what it feels like to start without formal training, without a clear roadmap, and without waiting for permission. So when I learn something, I want to pass it on. If my work encourages someone else to try, to begin again, to make the thing, write the story, sew the dress, or take herself seriously as a creative person, then that feels like success to me.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories is sewing with my grandmother.

She was a teacher and a quilter, and I can still remember being in her sewing room with her. I remember the smell of machine oil from her old sewing machine, the stacks of folded cotton in the closet, and her basket of sewing notions. It is a very visceral memory for me, not just something I remember in words, but something I can almost still smell and touch.

Looking back, I think those moments shaped me more than I realized at the time. She was teaching me the basics of sewing, but she was also teaching me patience, creativity, and the quiet satisfaction of making something with your hands. So much of what I do now, from sewing to reproducing vintage patterns to writing historical fiction, still feels connected to that room and to the love of making that she passed down to me.

Pricing:

• The Bones of Blackwater paperback: $16.99 on Amazon
• The Bones of Blackwater hardcover: $24.99 on Amazon
• Signed copies available at rebeccarussellwrites.com and local events, when inventory allows
• BeespokeVintage digital sewing patterns are available through Etsy @BeespokeVintage
• Custom clothing and historical sewing projects are quoted individually based on the scope, materials, and timeline

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beespokevintage.com and https://www.rebeccarussellwrites.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beespokevintage | https://www.instagram.com/beespokevintagepatterns | https://www.instagram.com/rebeccarussellwrites
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beespokevintage and https://www.facebook.com/rebeccarussellwrites
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccarussellwrites
• Amazon Author Page: https://us.amazon.com/Rebecca-A-Russell/e/B0GXNDM7YN
• Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/69947796.Rebecca_A_Russell