Hello! My name is Susan, and we are the Hemingers (rhymes with “singers”).
We like to sing.
We like to dance.
We like to dress up. Some people outgrow those things at a certain age. Jeff and I never did!
Now, we’re raising a brood of five young children who also like the arts and imaginary play!
I love to make their dreams come true by creating fantasy costumes for them.
In turn, they make my dreams come alive when they let me dress them in historical costumes.
I think it’s very fitting that I became a Heminger by marriage. For, as one of my Stage Kids students once pointed out to me, “Mrs. Heminger, your name is perfect! It has the word “hem” in it. Because you hem costumes! Get it?”
Roger that, kid! And, I’ve hemmed lots and lots of costumes. I got my start at age twelve, by checking out all the library books I could find about costuming and historical clothing.
I was already a “music kid” but was bitten by the “acting bug” at around the same time that the costuming obsession began.
I went on to get my B.A. in Theatre at Oklahoma Baptist University. Eventually, I was the most experienced seamstress in the department, so I was asked to run the costume shop. This was both challenging and rewarding. It was a wonderful resume-builder, but I had a lot to learn about management skills. It was my job to make costumes for all the main stage shows with the help of fellow students…And most of them didn’t know how to sew. It was my privilege to teach them. Several times, I was in a show as well as costuming it!
I pretty much didn’t sleep for four years. It was actually very good preparation for my life as a mother of five!
I began to act and costume professionally. My husband, Jeff, and I met while we were both working for Leavenworth Summer Theater. Jeff was the pit conductor for “The Will Rogers Follies” and I was one of the follies girls in the production. I was so excited to meet a man who loved Jesus, music, and theatre as much as I do.
Jeff got a double major in Electrical Engineering and Music. He works as an electrical engineer for a local utilities company by day. By night he is Daddy-Extraordinaire, plays the clarinet in our city’s Symphony, plays music for our church, and is on the board for Music Theatre of Wenatchee.
With our artistic backgrounds, and the number of children that we have, it probably comes as no surprise that our household is like a three-ring-circus and a children’s theatre all rolled into one!
So, we welcome you into our little corner of chaos and creativity! You’re invited to sing, dance, and dress up with us. Make sure you join our Facebook page and share what you make with us!