We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Meet Shanah Lewis, the designer and one-woman sewing factory behind Little Houses, an adorable line of handmade clothing and accessories.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work. I am 28 years old and I live in Vancouver, BC with my husband, our dog Olive and our cat Sally. I graduated from the Fashion Design Program here in Vancouver at Blanche MacDonald Center in 2006. Since then I have just been putting all of my time and efforts into creating Little Houses. My husband and I rent a 2 bedroom suite so the second bedroom has been transformed into my sewing studio.

How did you get started as a designer? I actually started selling clothes about 4 years ago when I was still in art school. My girlfriend and I would do lino-cut prints onto American Apparel t-shirts as well as hand bags that we had sewn, and we would sell them at different markets around Vancouver. Once I learned how to sew technically, I started selling my clothes in local consignment stores. When I first started sewing real garments, my creativity at that point was so minimal my clothes were very basic. I am at a point now where I have so many ideas I can't create them fast enough!

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? The best advice I think I can give is to just keep at it. There were times where I was so sick of sewing, and felt like my efforts weren't going anywhere, but I just pushed it and pushed it. It's not easy starting out especially if you don't have the financial backing like myself. For the past year and a half I have got up at 9 am everyday and sewn till 4pm, then I go to my serving job at 5pm until midnight. It can be really draining at times, but I just keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end. And the more I put into it, the quicker I can quit my serving job and just do what I love full time.

What inspires your work? I get really inspired by people who are doing the same thing as me and doing really well at it. It definitely pushes me to keep going. I also have some very talented and artistic friends who inspire me all the time. My husband plays a huge part in that as well, he is super creative and has really good ideas, anytime I'm stuck on an idea for a new garment, I always ask him for help.

Who are your favorite designers? There are a lot of great indie designers in Vancouver, I really like Paper Bird as well as Lily and Jae. Poodlebreath is also a great local designer who makes beautiful ceramic jewelry. As for mainstream, I love the unique artistic styles of Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and Yohji Yamamoto.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? I'm actually pretty low maintenance when it comes to myself. The only thing that I think I have a small obsession with is earrings. I always seem to find the most unique jewelry on Etsy.com. I'm a bit addicted to that website!

Where can people find your work? Little Houses is sold at Dream in Vancouver as well as Galactic Boutique in Seattle. I have an online shop as well, www.littlehouses.etsy.com and a blog at www.littlehouses.typepad.com.