Jenn Stott giggles when she thinks about how frustrated her high school home economics teacher would get when she brought in crushed velvet and other finicky fabrics to class. “I was the biggest pain in Mrs. Dougherty’s butt,” Stott says. “I wanted to learn how to do the hardest things.”
Stott aced home ec — and she still has the purple crushed velvet floor-length gown to prove it. Those early seamstress skills eventually evolved into a passion-fueled career, born from both a need to create and a desire to craft pieces that spark joy and comfort.
The 44-year-old Mountain Girl Creations founder has nurtured her skills from hobby seamstress to full-time creative entrepreneur. Her thriving handmade business brings kitchen goodies like bowl koozies, dish towels and pot holders to the Vail Valley in fun patterns speckled with bees, flamingos, moose and more. Stott even added playful beer and golf themes that are popular with male customers looking to spice up their kitchens.
Photos courtesy of Jenn Stott
Stott’s journey brought her to Colorado from Rhode Island in 2013, spurred by fond memories of childhood Steamboat ski vacations and a craving for something more. She left her job as executive assistant to the town manager, sold her home and found a room to rent with a friend who lived in Vail.
“I wanted a different lifestyle. No more nine-to-five grind,” she says. “So, I took the leap, got in my Rav4 with my dog and all of my stuff and drove out here.”
After pinging around the restaurant industry, Stott started eyeing local farmers markets and decided to pull out her old sewing machine. She stitched some pot holders and started making bowl koozies. Today, these 100% cotton microwave- friendly hot bowl holders (and hand-savers) are her best sellers.
“You will wonder how you lasted so long without using one, I promise,” Stott touts on her retail website.
Find Stott at Gilded Spruce in Vail Village, All the Good Stuff in Edwards and at the Dillon, Vail and Steamboat Springs summer farmers markets. Shop online at mountaingirlcreations.com and check Stott’s Facebook page for her latest event announcements.
Soon Stott found herself with booths at the Minturn Farmers Market and holiday markets, and doing pop-ups with other vendors. Shoppers are eager to scoop up her recently released sustainable products — reusable Terry cloth paper towels in fun wildlife and beach patterns, reusable flannel facial cloths and reusable snack sandwich bags.
“I want to think outside the creative box,” she says. “I want to make something everyone can use, things people want to give as gifts, something that’s talked about when people go to work and pull out their lunch.”
As Stott evolves the Mountain Girl product line — sewing many hours a day, 365 days a year, usually while sitting on the porch with her dog — she thinks about ways to reduce plastic, to be more eco-friendly, to appeal to a larger audience and to keep the nostalgic magic of sewing alive.
“I met a woman, Jill, whose 82-year-old mother still sews every day,” Stott says. “She makes the aprons I sell because I don’t have time to make them. She’s 82 and still gets so excited about sewing. That’s special to me.”
When Stott isn’t sewing and selling her wares, she’s dreaming up a business plan for a Vail Valley dog rescue, further fulfilling her mission to do good in the world.
