The Story Behind My Online Course

My Sister Wanted to Learn — But I Wasn’t There to Teach Her

I’ve been making and upcycling my own clothes since I was 15. What started as means of self expression and creative outlet, turned into a lifestyle, a career, and the thing I’m most known for. Growing up in a big family of 4 siblings, my sister and I shared everything, specially clothes. We’re super close, so growing up next to me, she also sees potential in everything, and knows what’s possible with clothing transformation. But she’s very smart and never wanted to learn how to sew—she knew I’d put her to work 😈

Until I moved to Berlin. Suddenly, she was left with no cool clothes except the ones I left behind, and living in a country where the clothing market is super limited, expensive, and very homogeneous. So when I went back home to visit for the first time in December 2023, she asked me to teach her.

Burnt Out, Broke, and in Desperate Need of a Reset

After two intense years of building my studio—managing 15 custom orders at once, juggling interns, teaching, and partying most nights—I came home completely burnt out. My brain had officially stopped working. I spent most of December sleeping and recharging, letting the sun, family, and good food slowly bring me back to life.

That summer in Uruguay, something shifted. My sister and I reconnected in a way we hadn’t before. We spent the days painting, experimenting, and reworking all the clothes she had. I started teaching her the basics of upcycling, while she—being the psychologist and the organised one between us—helped me bring clarity and structure to my ideas for the year ahead.

It was fun, yes, but more than anything, it was healing. And deeply inspiring.

I just couldn’t teach her everything in one month.

The way to solve my problems is an online course

That’s when it hit me: If I wanted to teach my sister everything, reach more people, stop depending on seasonal income (hello, Berlin winter 💸), and finally break free from burnout cycles—I knew I had to turn my knowledge into something digital. Something that didn’t rely on location, time zones, or how many hours I could physically work: an online course.

This became the big goal of the year.

I had no idea what I was getting into… but I knew it was the only way to scale my impact, share what I’ve learned, and make upcycling truly accessible to anyone, anywhere.

I couldn’t have done this alone

Back in Berlin, I shifted the focus of my studio toward teaching. I needed a break from custom orders, and sharing my knowledge felt like the right move.

Right around then, my amazing friend Jeen (founder of Projekt Glitter and an all-around business genius) called me up and said:

“Jose, what you do is perfect for an online course.”

She had just discovered the world of online education and digital marketing—and introduced me to Amy Porterfield and Jenna Kutcher. I dove headfirst into their podcasts and became obsessed with learning everything I could.

So we teamed up, she wanted a side challenge apart from Projekt Glitter, and loves my classes + everything marketing, and cause we just love making excuses to work together. I knew I couldn’t get into something like this alone, it was too big and scary… but something in me knew this was exactly what I had to do.

How It Came Together: Studying and Making Mistakes

So I dove deep—on one side into self-development and health, and on the other into online marketing and content creation.

First, I had to rewire my brain to understand this whole new world: how to sell, how to communicate, how to structure knowledge. Then came the hardest part—actually building the course.

Writing the content was a huge challenge. I had to figure out what to teach, how to break it down, write the scripts… and worst of all: be on camera. Panic attack.

I’ve always been behind the camera—directing, styling, producing—not in front of it. It took me like 4 shooting days just to talk fluently and feel like myself.

Luckily, we had the incredible Vivianne Schottler, our intern at the time who is a film student, who filmed helped us produce, and we figured things out together.

By September, we had filmed all the core content. Since then, I’ve been editing everything on my own—learning about video editing, color grading, audio, and all the things you don’t think about until you’re knee-deep in them.

Not to mention web design, email marketing, automations, and social media.

All this, while still running my studio, teaching weekly classes, hosting events, and trying to stay sane. But i’m on track and supper happy for all of these challenges and learning experiences that help me grow each day.

Why I Released The Free Mini Course

I’m not done with the course yet—still editing videos, and honestly loving the process. It’s going to be a masterpiece. I’ve decided I’ll launch it in September no matter what. No more procrastinating. But I did finish and publish the first part:

A completely FREE mini course with everything you need to start upcycling right now.

It’s my test run, a solid teaser for the real course, but also my gift to the world. Doesn’t matter where you are, or how much money you have, cause it’s free knowledge I’m so happy to share. So that nobody can say they don’t know how to start making their dream clothes and feeling amazing in them.

And of course—my sister was the first one to try it. She invited a friend over and they made a whole sewing afternoon out of it, following my videos. It made me so happy.

Honestly? That alone already made the whole thing worth it.

Here’s what she made with the Blazer Upcycling Tutorial:

Give it a try! It’s Free

🎁 Click here to access the Free Mini Course

Let me know what you think—and tag me if you make something!

The proper course is coming soon, and I can’t wait for you to get it and dive deeper into this world.

With love,

Josefina 🖤