Born in New York from Colombian parents, and raised in Paris France, Louis David came across the art of chainstitching through a passion for vintage clothing and mechanical artefacts.
After a conversation with a friend that pointed out to Cornely machines, that ironically were made in France in the late 1800’s, Louis David bought one in Normandie from a home sewer, and the journey towards Chainstitch embroidery evolved into a workshop with a dozen machines.
In January 2025, a fire destroyed Altadena, and the Utopia Studio entirely, along 10000 other structures in the area.
Utopia’s concept :
What started as a leather passion, evolved into embellishing and upcycling garments with embroidery, in a customized unique way.
Each piece is produced with a 100 year old chainstitch embroidery machine, combination of man and machine simultaneously.
Common questions :
*How to order ?
A - due to the organic nature of this process, you won’t be charged for “digitizing”, but for the actual time and savoir faire behind the wheel of steel (the machine). The files are usually transmitted by email, and it is the size and complexity of the design that determines it’s time length and ultimately, its price.
People usually walk into Utopia’s workshop in search of a single unit (definition of Kustom) and I specialize in creating single items, creating physical stencils from the digital files customers send
Usually we get an email request of a DM and go from there until we have a plan, a price, and a payment.
*Do you do wholesale ?
A - Short answer is : if i can make one i could make several right ? But be aware that being a single head machine, it means that one operator uses one machine and makes one patch at a time, one chain at a time. and with 12 or 24 head computerized machines as competition, our process qualifies as '“handguided” embroidery and requires mastery.
*Chenille ? Chainstitch ?
The same machine is able to do both types or stitching, one is flat, and the other is sponge looking, pointing upwards. Think “rhinestone suits = chainstitch” and “Varsity Jackets = Chenille”
*How long does it take ?
Depending on the work flow, we are able to complete and ship orders within a period that ranges from a 1 TO 3 WEEKS
Contact : utopiachainstitch@gmail.com