Walking into Apphia Mpay’s sewing class at Westbrook Adult Education, you can instantly see why students keep coming back to learn from her. She moves quietly between them, offering gentle guidance on their projects and steady encouragement.

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and part of a family of artists, Apphia moved to Maine in 2011 to build a life around fashion. Now she has two businesses: her custom fashion designs and teaching sewing and encouraging her students to start their own businesses.

Photos from Justine Johnson. Q&A as told by Apphia Mpay in her own words.

Tell us about your business.

Apphia: I’m a fashion designer. I have two sides of business. I’m working as a contractor with Westbrook Adult Education where I teach sewing and help my students start their own businesses or find jobs in the sewing field. The other side is as a fashion designer. I make custom outfits for clients, especially for special events like weddings and graduations.

How did you get into fashion designing?

I’m from a family of artists, my dad is a sculptor. He wanted me to be a doctor. I started studying biochemistry, but the artist side of my family was pulling me in another direction. I had to follow what my heart was calling me to. I studied fashion design for three years in my country to get a bachelor degree. I graduated in 2004 and have been doing this since then. When I moved to the US, I stayed in this field.

Where is your home country and when did you move to the US?

The Democratic Republic of Congo. I moved to the US in 2011.

What unique skills do you bring to your business?

For my teaching work, I love people and give my whole heart to helping my students. I’m very patient – even if you’ve never sewed before, you will learn. I speak multiple languages including French and Portuguese, which helps me teach and translate for students simultaneously. I’m not just a teacher but a mentor, especially for immigrants adjusting to a new country.

What’s been your greatest business challenge?

I previously worked at a nonprofit teaching sewing with the goal of helping students find jobs in the field. This was difficult because Maine doesn’t have many sewing businesses, and most are small and can’t hire all our graduates. We were training 26 students yearly but couldn’t place them all, so the nonprofit closed due to lack of funding.

I decided to start it as a business instead, changing the approach. Now I focus not only on helping students find jobs but also on starting their own businesses. We downsized to five students per class. With my first Westbrook Adult Education contract, two of five students are already starting businesses. One will launch Stitch Together LLC on March 1st, offering alterations, contracting services, and space for other sewing businesses.

What are you most proud of in your business?

I’m proud of my students and my fashion work. People come to me wanting unique designs because they don’t want to show up wearing the same outfit as someone else. I take their ideas, sketch them, and bring them to life. Seeing their excitement when wearing something unique and comfortable on their special day makes me happy.

Where do you see your business in the next three to five years?

I want to add online classes for people who can’t meet in person. I also want to train more students beyond our current limit of five and help more people start businesses. This benefits the state by creating more businesses. In the next three years, I want to focus on being there for my students.

What advice do you give to people starting businesses?

The main challenge is mindset. I help them shift from “it’s not going to work” to a growth mindset of “I can do it.” I assure them I’ll remain available after training. I connect them with successful former students so they can see they won’t be alone on their journey.

I tell them to embrace failure as a stepping stone. It won’t be easy – there will be challenges – but they need to learn to adjust. I use myself as an example: if I had given up when facing challenges, I couldn’t be training them now.

Who do you primarily serve?

Most are immigrants, but not exclusively. The student starting Stitch Together LLC is a US citizen. I teach both women and men – in one class I had three men, and in my most recent class, one man and four women. My next class has two men already on the waiting list.

How did you connect with CEI?

Through workshops for my students. Grace from CEI presented on steps to start a business. I sent students to CEI’s eight-week business training. Eventually, I took the training myself to expand my fashion business. The connection has been very helpful, especially when I needed guidance for getting a studio. Grace would set up meetings to help me.

Would you recommend CEI to other starting business owners?

I do it all the time, especially to my students. I tell them “You know where to go when you need help.”

What’s most helpful about working with CEI?

They provide guidance when it’s hard to go alone. They helped clarify misconceptions I had about business. Through their practical training, I learned what I was doing wrong and how to improve. It’s really helpful.