People Behind the Product Series: Michael Ameloot
“Sustainable, Manufacturing, Pioneering”: ISAIC in a Nutshell
People often say to “follow your passion.” While this slogan is splashed across self-help books and heard often in job and career counseling, that sometimes it is not easy to fulfill. This month, we are spotlighting sewing specialist: Michael Ameloot, and how he aligns his passion with his work.
Michael was considering a career change after spending years in the financial field, a career he was proud of, but he felt that something was amiss in his life to give him a better sense of purpose. He found himself happiest when he was “making things;” Michael describes how much he enjoys sewing: “I create costumes for theater, and I've sewn for at least 35 years making costumes and I really wanted to gain the muscle memory of working with industrial sewing machines and the only way to learn that is to do it.”
He crossed path with Katie, Education & Training Manager at ISAIC, when she visited the TDIC (T D Industrial Coverings, Inc. in Sterling Heights, MI) manufacturing facility where he worked as an industrial sewist for protective covers for robotics. Katie knew Michael from the theater and was aware of his affection for sewing; he suggested that he join ISAIC where he could learn standardized skills and receive continued training support.
Soon after, Michael went through FISP (Fundamental Industrial Sewing Program), which helped him strengthen his knowledge of working with industrial machines. Once graduating from FISP, he went on to complete his apprenticeship.
Now he is a sewing specialist, still learning, and working toward becoming a journeyman. He thinks the best part of his job is “making every day.” He is proud of his achievement and of being a part of the sustainable fashion industry initiative.
When asked what Michael wants the public to know about the ISAIC, he would like the people to be aware of the dangers of fast and disposable fashion and about ISAIC’s mission in creating a sustainable apparel industry: “We need to find ways of making it sustainable and not so disposable. We must value the clothes that we wear, the cars, everything we touch—all of it requires sewing and we need to find ways to do this smarter and put value behind what we get from fashion and industrial sewing. If you care about the world, you must think about things beyond just putting plastic into a blue waste bin."
On a similar note, he views ISAIC as a pioneer regarding the transformation of the industry to shift toward sustainable and responsible production with human centered solutions.
Speaking of human centered solutions, Michael was elected to represent his colleagues on the founding member group of ISAIC’s first worker owned factory. Throughout the two-year incubation period, he will learn how to govern a cut and sew manufacturing business and share his learnings with other operators to make decisions on how to run their future business.
For anyone interested in becoming a part of ISAIC, Michael’s advice is as follows; “Have the passion for sewing and fashion manufacturing enough that you want to be a part of this world—… Use the knowledge you can gain through working here to use it to develop your own product or hustle – that's how you can make it work.”