Paulette’s Custom Creations:
Gifts from the Heart

At an early age, it was clear craftwork was in Paulette’s blood. Her love of sewing dates back to some of her oldest memories. 

Like how she sat one day in her childhood, watching her mother, aunts, and others sew costumes for her church’s float in the 1976 Corning Bicentennial Parade. Paulette’s Grandpa Amos would drive the tractor-wagon combo serving as the float’s base dressed as Uncle Sam (pictured right). 

As Paulette grew, she began making clothes for her Barbie dolls and, later, hacky sacks for her and her brother. For bigger projects—like the flannel shirts she sometimes made as gifts—she’d borrow her neighbor’s sewing machine. As payment, she’d patch holes in their work pants. 

Paulette’s talent continued to flourish as she entered high school. She eagerly signed up for the first home economics class available. 

Unfortunately, her strict teacher made the craft feel mundane and joyless. Paulette remembered a time the teacher made her attach, detach, and reattach a zipper over and over again (15 times by her count). 

Paulette’s aspirations were dashed. She questioned if her goal of making her hobby into a career was the right choice.

However, dedicated to the art she had grown to love, Paulette took another home ec class. This time, she found Mrs. Walker (pictured right during a reunion at The Windmill). 

The experienced teacher became a mentor who pushed Paulette’s craft to new levels. With Mrs. Walker’s guidance, Paulette grew skilled enough to make her dad a custom three-piece suit in 11th grade.

Before graduating high school, Paulette already had a job offer from a local tailor. She declined in favor of focusing on school but would eventually work as a seamstress, embroiderer, and maker of over 200 wedding gowns. 

In 2016, Paulette’s work garnered a feature in the local publication Lancaster Farming alongside the owner of the fabric shop where she sourced materials. 

But beneath the threaded surface of fabrics and needles, Paulette is much more than an expert seamstress. She’s a food-lover, camping enthusiast, and doting mother of three grown kids (who all enjoyed hand-made Halloween costumes growing up). 

Paulette is also an admirer of Amish and Mennonite culture. Though not a member of either community—she’s befriended, penpalled, and worked alongside many. She collects cookbooks from these communities, often finding new and delectable recipes. She also enjoys the Amish dramas written by novelist Beverly Lewis.

Paulette’s interest in canning—a natural food preservation method kept well alive in Amish and Mennonite communities—was one of the first things she and her husband, Charlie, connected over. 

Another feature of New York’s Finger Lakes that draws the duo together is buckwheat. Grown widely across the region, Paulette shared the story of this regional grain’s greatest claim to fame—when 2,000 pounds of it went into making the world’s largest pancake (right here in Penn Yan). 

The breakfast behemoth reportedly measured over 28 feet in diameter and was topped with 15 gallons of syrup and a 68-pound pad of butter.

Rather than this super-sized flapjack—the buckwheat connection formed from Paulette’s collaboration with another Windmill merchant for whom she’d make custom pillowcases for buckwheat pillows. 

When her colleague retired, Paulette bought the business and continued making her one-of-a-kind pillowcases. Charlie took over filtering and cleaning locally sourced buckwheat hulls that give the pillows their cooling and heating properties.

Finger Lakes buckwheat pillows are just one of many unique items Paulette crafts. As an avid reader, she felt inspired to make hand-crafted “reading pillows” with an added pouch for holding books or reading glasses. 

All of Paulette’s craftworks are heartfelt, but her most touching works are undoubtedly her memorial projects—frames, quilts, and stuffed teddy bears made from the clothes of departed loved ones. She pours all her talent, heart, and soul into such works, making every detail immaculate.

Due to their personal nature, these memorials were once reserved for close family. But as Paulette’s confidence in the delicate art grew, she began offering them to customers. 

Paulette is no stranger to loss, and it’s perhaps the most common connection she finds with others. When consulting customers on memorial pieces, they often have questions like, “How long does grieving last?”

“I lost my dad 19 years ago,” Paulette replies, “and I still grieve.
It comes in waves.”

In making some of these sentimental items, Paulette wept through every stitch, touched by the passing she memorialized. 

But not every day is sorrowful. Paulette also makes many items of joy—colorful baby bibs, decorative Christmas stockings, collage-style quilts, and stuffed animals embroidered with a special someone’s name.

Paulete’s craftwork inspires those around her, sometimes in unexpected ways. She recalled a time when a customer visited her shop and expressed an interest in sewing but also nervousness about making mistakes.

In such times, Paulette advises, 

“Just jump in with both feet. It doesn’t matter where you start.” 

Regarding the fear of failure many find when pursuing something new, she says, 

“Don’t be afraid of goofing up. I’ve goofed up tons of times, but you can always try again.”

That customer returned a time later and proudly shared a picture of a quilt they made featuring a Scrabble-style crossword of their family’s names.

Experiences like these, Paulette says, are part of why The Windmill has always been a fond place for her. Even before becoming a merchant, Paulette loved her visits. But now, she’s found a second home. 

To submit an order request, find Paulette on the North Street of Shops, four spaces down from The Windmill’s Main Office. 

Or, reach out on Facebook.