Stitch by stitch, Phyllis Grant creates another handmade bag in her makeshift workshop — a corner of her apartment she lovingly calls her happy place.

"This is where I'm so happy," she said. "This is where I can relax. I'm relaxed behind my sewing machine — I'm letting everything go."

Grant has always loved sewing, a hobby she picked up as a young girl. "I started sewing in the sixth grade," she said. "I was in a sewing class and made a skirt and a blazer to go with it. I loved it. I was like, 'Wow, you can make things — your own clothes! Who wouldn't love that?' I went to a fashion industry high school in the city, but I wasn't able to stay, so I transferred out. That was the last time I used a sewing machine."

For nearly 40 years, that remained the case — until March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I got scared, and I said, 'I've got to get a sewing machine so I can make some masks for my family,'" Grant explained. "I bought a sewing machine and started making masks like crazy — for my family, for my friends — until I masked myself out. Then I thought, 'What am I going to do with this sewing machine now?' So, I said, 'Let me make a bag.' I started making bags and would give them away."

After some convincing from family and friends, Grant officially turned that hobby into her shop - J. McKinley. "My daughter said, 'Mommy, sell the bags,'" Grant said. "I told her, 'No one's going to buy these bags.' But she kept insisting. So one day a friend asked how much a bag was, and I said $20 — then $15 — and she said, 'No, go up.'

She had me go all the way up to $75 and told me, 'Yes, that's the price for this type of bag.'" Grant officially launched the shop to the public a year later. Since then, she has spotted her designs all around Westchester and the Hudson Valley.

"My granddaughter was in school one day and told someone, 'My grandma made that bag,'" Grant said. "The woman asked, 'Who's your grandma?' My granddaughter said, 'Phyllis!' She looked at the label inside the bag and said, 'Yup, that's my grandma.' My daughter also told me, 'Hey Mommy, I was in City Hall and spotted your bag.' So, my bags are all over Westchester — they're pretty much everywhere."

The most rewarding part of her journey, Grant said, is being able to show women of all ages that it's never too late to follow your dreams.

"I get overjoyed because I'm like, 'Am I really doing this?'" she said. "Look at God — He always brings you back to what you really want to do. I know I didn't become the fashion designer I once dreamed of being, but He made it possible for me to do something with this sewing machine. It may not turn out the way you think it should, but if you have faith, it's going to happen. When it's something you love, nothing and no one can stand in your way."

Grant's bags can be purchased on the J. McKinley website or at upcoming markets throughout the region. To see where she'll be appearing next, follow her on Instagram page.