JUNEANN Taylor is a talented seamstress who, despite being 60 years old, doesn’t let that prevent her from creating many outfits for every season, including the most anticipated Emancipation Day, celebrated annually on August 1 in Guyana.
This year, like most years, she is one of the many vendors with her own booth along Main Street, near Georgetown Avenue, to display her products.

A mild-mannered woman whose dedication to her work is unmatchable, she speaks of her work—sewing all kinds of outfits—and she shows off her newest pieces for Emancipation Day, all reasonably priced too.
She has in stock a wide variety of dresses, skirts, blouses, shirts for both men and women, jute and leather bags (all handmade), beaded chains, necklaces, waistbands, earrings, bracelets (also handmade), hair ties, bandus, headdresses, specially designed slippers and sandals, and a lot of other clothes, all themed for events.

Taylor told the Pepperpot Magazine that her sewing journey began at a young age, when she tore her school uniform and her mother told her she would have to mend it herself by sewing.
She said after a few tries—and after being given some lashes for tearing her school uniform—she managed to stitch it. This event caused her to realise her potential in the skill.
Taylor reported that when she exited the school system, she enrolled at the Carnegie School of Home Economics for classes in sewing, cake decorating and floral arrangement.
After she had upskilled as a seamstress, she began her adulthood earning from it and acquired her first sewing machine (the old-fashioned brand, a pedal machine) from her grandmother at age 16.
Taylor added that today, she sews from her home at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, but is originally from East La Penitence, Georgetown.
She is the mother of seven and a grandmother of six grandchildren, and a single parent who is in desperate need of a heavy-duty overedging sewing machine to make her sewing days easier.

She saw the very sewing machine she needed at Courts, but simply cannot afford to buy it due to financial constraints as a pensioner.
The elderly woman told Pepperpot Magazine that she enjoys all aspects of arts and crafts and is a multi-talented individual. In her spare time, she would make from scratch all sorts of beaded jewellery—handmade to sell.
However, the better part of her days is spent at her sewing machine, creating outfits and tailoring clothes for customers.
Being a school dropout, Taylor said she attended high school for only one term, after which she had to leave due to financial difficulties.
She was living with her grandmother, a pensioner, whose earnings were minimal. She was an only child and grew up with her grandmother, after both her parents tragically died when she was just three years old. Her grandmother did her best to raise her in the right way and encouraged her to learn a skill to make a living.
The pensioner related that she would source her materials at the raw-clothing stores in the city—Shamdas Kirpalani, on Regent Street—and at China Trading, on Robb Street, for other materials for her arts and crafts making.

Taylor lives with her three minor children and has been participating in the Main Street activities for Emancipation for the past six years.
She described her sales as being fair this year, as her prices are unbeatable, and she offers a variety of outfits to choose from—quite a collection she has in stock at her booth on the Main Street Avenue.
Taylor said she has dresses, scrunchies, scarves, and kids’ outfits in many different colours, and would use her time wisely.
The elder disclosed that her husband passed away during the pandemic. He had diabetes and also contracted COVID-19. Her adult children support her when the need arises, as they are also trying to establish themselves.