Shawna Farmer combined her love of crafting, sewing, and fashion to start Chubby Cartwheels, an online plus size clothing and accessories store that supports beauty and fashion in all sizes. We talked to this 30 year old Portland, Oregonian about starting the site, why it’s so difficult to find clothes in extended sizes, and what the future has in store for her business.
How did Chubby Cartwheels come about?
I’ve always wanted to have sewing and fashion design in my life since I was young, and when I finally decided to get serious about it I used my Tumblr account, Chubby Cartwheels as the name.
Is there anything you make that you consider your specialty?
Velvet skirts, but mostly the wild leggings. I buy unique patterns to stand out from most all other leggings you can find in plus size clothing stores. Being my size, the one thing I don’t get to have often is originality with my wardrobe. There are far more fatties than there are stores that carries clothes for us. Plus I do customized sizes because I don’t want someone to feel limited by their size when it comes to looking great.
Your accessories are phenomenal! I love the pyramid ring – LOVE IT! Do you make these as well?
Thank you! I do make these myself. The first ring I made was the 2 inch silver spike and I loved the reaction I got from people. I had friends on facebook ask if I pierced my finger. So I went and found spikes in different styles and just went with it.
Why do you think it’s so hard to find clothing in extended sizes, when there are so many people actively looking for clothing that fits them?
Bigger bodies are harder to make clothes for. We all have such unique shapes that a pattern for 2 people who are the same size can fit completely differently. One person may be all butt and thighs while the other is all belly. It’s hard for designers to accommodate everyone.
What do you do for fun when you’re not crafting and sewing?
I like watching scifi tv shows on Netflix, hitting up Portland’s amazing selection of food carts, spoiling my cats with more attention than they need and BBQing with friends.
What does the future hold for Chubby Cartwheels?
I’m hoping to make some big changes to the Chubby Cartwheels website. I want to make it more universally accessible and more organized to accomodate more products I hope to bring in soon.
Learn more about Shawna and Chubby Cartwheels at the following:
