End of Summer

The Summer was coming to an end. What a whirlwind of emotions and experience it had been. Not only had I gained a great deal of knowledge about Costuming, but also made an incredible friend, Annie. The culmination of the season was the apprentice showcase. The Apprentice singers sang various opera scenes and we costumed them. I worked on a scene from Don Giovanni, as well what I called "the stuttering alien opera" with Annie. This was our first artistic collaborative experience. Our Stuttering green skinny Alien was a success as well as our ability to work together.
The summer was over, time to head back to WVU and say good by to friends, or so I thought. It turns out Annie was only an hour or so away from me in the Pittsburgh area. We were able to continue on. I remember she and her Mother coming to see a production of "'Dancing at Lughasha I designed at school the following fall.
Funny how life brings people together. As it turns out, Annie would keep on popping up in my life. More about that next time.

"I can't work like this"

The Summer was rolling right along. We were working like 14 hour days often. Not only did we have to sew all day in the costume shop; at night we had to run the operas as a part of the wardrobe. The Wardrobe crew is in charge of checking all costume items in at the beginning of the show and back in at the end of the show. There are many obvious reasons for this: all items are there for the next show, it reminds the actors they are responsible for all items, and it deters theft of very expensive opera costumes and accessories. The festival consisted of four major operas. Each dresser was given a few chorus members to check in for one or two operas. This was so much fun-- it was here the summer took off for me. My Friends, Annie, Jamie and myself were becoming really close. I guess this can happen when you are together so many hours of the day and night. We also started to meet many of the Chorus members, who were also in the apprentice program. It was a blast, every person there was 100% a Character. And believe me, they did not leave the 'drama' on the stage. Often times after the shows we would go to one particular watering hole 'The Cowgirl." It was the eclectic bar, you could find , hippies, cowboys queens, gays, well pretty much every type there. Fun times.
For the remaining shows we were assigned to a principle singer. This is where having a good personality really comes in handy. As a principle dresser you basically are with the Singer from the moment they arrive till the moment the show is over. We were responsible for: helping them get dressed, accompanying them to the stage for entrances, setting up and conducting all quick changes or various accessory changes; and finally making sure you had water for them at any possible moment they required it. In other words we were their shadows. As you can imagine it was very important to have a good working relationship with your singer, after all they held the power to make your life heaven or a living hell. I remember one of the well known divas of the summer slapping her dresser's hand because the zipper got caught in her flesh. The Diva then proceeded to yell down the hall way at the general director; "John, Now, I can't work like this!" I remember having this internal explosion of laughter---so thankful it was not me. At the end of the summer if you did a really good job with your singer, it is appropriate for them to tip you out-- Lets just say I got a really good tip.

Idol

There were so many inspiring moments at the Opera that summer. It was truly a pleasure to work with such master craftsman of the trade. Everyone working there was extraordinarily skilled; knowledge and tricks of the trade were free flowing. And believe me I was soaking up all the information and skills I could. Being an apprentice we were privy to workshops, lectures with the designers, opportunity to work in all areas of the shop and finally showcase what we had learned. One of the most memorable moments that summer was meeting my design idol, Desmond Heeley. I have admired his work all my life. Not only did he give a fantastic design workshop; he also critiqued our portfolios. That was a very nerve racking experience and honor at the same time.

Details

The Opera was so stimulating to my artistic senses. We were working with some of the top designers in the world of opera and they were all very eccentric. Well who in the arts isn't eccentric, right. The designer who left the greastest impression on was Bruno Spengle from Austria. I swear he has to be the inspiration for the character in the movie Bruno. He was designing Costumes and Scenery for Strauss' Elektra. This is one funny man, he would walk around stirring his tea in a fine delicate porcelain mug, saying 'Oh, I don't know, just make it beautiful and mysterious." He drove many of the Drapers insane with his very artistic description of what exactly he wanted, But I was in love with his work. In the end the show was truly stunning. Another Designer I learned a great deal from was this English lady named Isabel. She is the reason I am now the master of continuous bias strips. I was making this bias trim for one of her civil war era gowns for Ermione. She literally would measure it over and over--- if it was an eighth of an inch off; you guessed it-- I had to start all over. I redid it like six times. Although it was very frustrating at times, I learned the importance of having an eye for detail. It is amazing how the smallest, seemly insignificant detail can really enhance a garment and the story.

Thrown in

The Shop was absolutely amazing. There were tons of industrial machines and sergers. The space consisted of a large work room with about thirty or more of us in there. Crafts, Dyeing, and Wigs all had their own spaces with in the Costume Shop. Really Impressive. The Shop was made of of about seven draping teams. I was so excited to meet my team-Joan's team. Our team consisted of the draper, two first hands , a couple of stitchers and 2 apprentices. Everyone on my team seemed to be nice; that is until I was introduced to the male first hand. I just knew it was not going to work out, just from the way Joan said "and this is your boss____." The word boss seemed to really light up his dreary eyes. The first day with him was OK--boy was he quite the micro manager.
Great, the day is over. One of the coolest people I met the first day was, Jamie; who was the other African American male in the shop. Also, as it turns out, opera housing just knew we would be perfect roommates. I wonder why..... maybe because we were both tall.

I believe it was the second day during lunch that Jamie and I met Annie. Thank God for the two of them. They got it. We all wanted nothing to do with those 'typical Costume Types,' you know of whom I speak. The ones sitting around on a break knitting, when we have been sewing all day-give it a rest already. Those who wear crafty projects for clothing and have personalized licences plates like 'SEWHAT or SEWBIZ. We were the cool kids. Ok lets just talk about lunch at the opera-- Grand. The Food is gourmet, prepared by professional chefs. There is a swimming pool just in case you need to take a dip. This was the setting for tons of wonderfully Stimulating conversations between the three of us.

Arrival

Finally after 2 and a half days on the road, Santa Fe was in the horizon. As I drove into town, I knew the summer would be magical. Everything was so colorful and there was a creative vibe in the very air I was breathing. after driving through town, I saw the sign for the Santa Fe Opera. The road was kind of scary as it thristed and turned up a mountain to a very high dry elevation. Little did I know how quickly that winding dessert road to and fro the opera house would have it's own therapeutic moments for me in the months to come.

I see the Opera house for the first time in all its grandeur, shining as a beacon of architectural wonder with its sloped open air roof--inspiring creativity and of course nice acoustics. Now there was the task of figuring out where to report. The first thing to come to mind for me was the housing office. Oh I had it all planned out: Check in and keys, go find the apartment in the city, unpack the car, and finally wash the two days of road stank and grim off with a nice long hot shower. Well as it turns out this was not the case at all. I received my keys and was promptly escorted to the Costume Shop and put to work. I knew at that moment I was no longer in Kansas anymore. The shop was very impressive and professional. I had arrived in the big league.

On the Road

Well after being stuck in Morgantown, West Virginia for an extra day, I was finally on the road for the short drive from West Virginia to New Mexico--24 hour drive. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about the drive. This was the farthest I have ever driven by myself and in a car that just had a $500.00 Break job. Looking back on it all, what was I thinking, back in my grad school days $500.00 was a great deal of money to a broke student. The Break job really left me worried about just getting to Santa Fe. So I did what any rational grad student would do; I asked my parents for some coins for my purse. Deep down I knew even with help from my parents, I would still have to sleep at rest stops to conserve money. Also not stopping for the whole night anywhere would put me closer to Santa Fe. As I began the long Journey west from east all the nervousness began to leave as I traveled through state by state blaring my favorite band at the time Belle and Sebastian. I had all of their albums, so they were pretty much with me the entire trip. Back in the day we use to have to travel with all of our CDs as the Ipod had not yet been unleashed by the mighty apple.
I must have driven about 14 hours the first day and it was finally time to bunk down for the night at a rest area in the middle of nowhere Tennessee. At first I was scared to sleep in my small cramped car, but then I realized, who is going to mess with a 6 foot 1 African American male. Well at least until I opened my mouth and my beautiful tenor voice rang out at them, lol
I slept for abut 4 or 5 hours or so and was back on the road West. I find driving long distances to be very therapeutic-- such a great time to work through what ever issues one may be going through. I found my self wondering if I was actually good enough to work at the opera. After all they only allowed the cream of the crop to work there. Would I be able to keep up with fast pace? Did I have enough skills under my belt? And of course the question most ask, will anyone like me and will I make Friends. I must have gone over this a few thousand times before stopping for the second night at a rest area near the Texas New Mexico border. Almost there.

Packing

I remember it all as if were yesterday instead of ten years ago-- Packing my green Dodge Neon. Running up and down the stairs of my third floor Tudor apartment with arm fulls of what I knew to the hottest and absolute last word in fashion. Clothes enough for six months, including the few boxes preshipped--I could only hope it would be enough for my three month summer job. Oh well, I like to have options. After all I was going to the world renowned Santa Fe Opera. The choice of summer job had been a very heavy decision for me as I was finishing my first year of my MFA Design program at WVU. It was important for me to go some where there were connections to be made. The choice finally came down to Santa Fe and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Santa Fe won as they actually paid their apprentices.

I was in such a rush to get the car packed and get on the road west as I was already running a few days late reporting to Santa Fe after returning from Germany. I spent a great deal of the semester working on a production of Macbeth my school did in partnership with the ETA Hoffman Theatre in Bamberg, Germany. I was the assistant costume designer for the production. What an amazing opportunity for a student to travel and produce art in Europe. Working with the German theatre artist really helped shape my artistic eye. I found myself truly inspired for the first time in my life, dare I say Euphoric. Of course for me just figuring out how to communicate was a bit of a challenge as I can only sing in German. So when things got really tense, I would burst into 'Bist du bei Mir' and this would cause us all to laugh. The most important thing I learned from that experience was that art is Truly a universal language.

After returning from Europe, I was more than ready to take the Santa Fe Opera by storm as they employed some of the most exciting designer in the world of opera. There was only one thing holding me back---Brakes. After finally packing the car and heading out of town, my brakes decided to go out. Stuck in Morgantown one more day! oh Joy!

Day 10 - Training

The last three semesters at Allegheny were rough to say the least.  Because I chose to chop up my college experience quite a bit, I had lost credits.  In order to graduate on time, I overloaded my classes taking up to 24 credits for the remainder of my college career. 

Spring of my Junior year I practically had a breakdown, not unlike many college grads who burnout during that same semester.  It was then I realized my future was wide open and that it could be whatever I wanted it to be...I just had to choose something. 

I was a good student in math & science, straight A's but did I want to go that route?  I happened to have a talent for photography and art, but could I be successful if I further explored and chose that option?  I had an affinity for international study and spoke French.  Should I have gone on to earn my certification to become a French instructor, perhaps moving to France to teach English to French students?

Too many questions rolling around in my head.  Was I focusing on the right course of study?  Did I really make the most of college both socially and with regard to my education?  The world was at my fingertips.  How could I possibly choose the path of my future? 

At the time, I felt like college just confused me more and clouded my plans to become a fashion designer, my only true gut desire.  But was it just a childhood dream?  I mean, was that a serious option for me?  I knew I didn't have the proper training from a fashion focused school.  Could I compete with students from FIT, Parsons, Central St. Martins and RISD?  Was my training in costuming and construction enough?  Would I even be good at it?

Lots of coaching from my mom & dad, tears, stress, and sleepless nights later, I made a decision to stick to the plan, focus on fashion, continue to sharpen my sewing skills and get myself to New York City, whatever it took.

Day 9 - Taking a break to save lives! Plus the Training Continues.

Check out http://epiphanysws.com/.

Yes, this is a blog about Overton Monroe and the making of a fashion line.  I didn't intend to use this as a platform to "plug" my bro's company so I'll make it brief.  Today I'm taking a step back to something far more important...saving lives.  Millions of lives around the world.  I love writing the blog but, just to keep myself in check, it would be a disservice not mention Epiphany Solar Water Systems.  Why today?  Well, Epiphany was featured on WQED Pittsburgh 360 last night (http://www.wqed.org/tv/pittsburgh-360/watch/). 

Here's the deal: Tommy and his team of engineers have created a solar powered water purification unit. The uniqueness of his system is that the unit is actually very simple, portable, sustainable, easy to maintain and affordable. It has been developed to both purify water and desalinate the water which covers more than 70% of our planet.  Most important is that unit is powered 100% by solar energy. Therefore, people currently suffering from the lack of clean water are also not bound by the need for electricity, which is likely either unavailable or unaffordable to those who are in most need of drinking water. That quality combined with the green energy supply really is what makes this technology cutting edge.  Epiphany is focused on saving and improving the lives of those in need.  His intentions are completely pure and his goal is to stop the suffering around the globe by providing clean drinking water to under-developed areas of our world. This is really his mission and, I believe, his purpose.  He is a key innovator of our time. Please help spread the word!!  Thank you!
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And now.....back to the blog.  Home again, home again jiggety jog... 

Chicago was great.  I learned all about the the history of fashion and key fashion designers.  I had a sewing class, a color class, an ethics class.  We spent time visiting museums and working on the school's fashion shows.  My final project was a study on the history, culture and ad campaigns of Benetton.  That was my first experience communicating and working with an international design house.  I hit the jackpot in choosing Benetton as my subject.  They provided me with a ton of old prints and ads used over the years and they were flawless in providing me with insight into the goings on at the company.  Success!  A+ on the project.  Even more exciting is that this project opened my eyes to the worldly reach of the industry.  And once again, the world was getting smaller while the opportunities seemed endless.

I needed a job to make ends meet.  Thanks to a friend from good 'ole New Castle, Rachel helped me to secure a job behind the scenes dressing models and prepping the clothes for Elite Model Management.  I was beyond excited when my first paycheck arrived with the Elite Model Management logo at the top.  Oh my goodness!  I was in the industry!  First foot in the door. 

I did a little side work for fashion shows at Nordstrom and a local Armitage Ave boutique while juggling a second job at Pottery Barn for $10/hour and a 50% discount on items in the store.  Jackpot again!  Just in time for Christmas!

Somewhere in there, I think it was our 3rd date, Mike brought me to my first real fashion show.  Betsey Johnson.  It was amazing.  For me, at 21 years old, this whole experience was stimulation overload!

But it was just a semester leave of absence.  And I still wanted to graduate in 4 years.  In order to do that, I needed to go back to Allegheny for my last three semesters.  So in December of 2000, after my short 3 month yet significantly impactful stint in Chicago, I returned to New Castle.  In January it was back to school and back to reality in Meadville, PA.

Day 8 - Training

I guess this is not completely related to the "training" that has brought Jerry and I to the point when we decided to establish Overton Monroe.  But, I would be remiss if I didn't put down on paper (or web) how I met my husband.  As you might have imagined, he has been the support that every girl dreams of when starting her own fashion line with one of her best guy friends...

Mike and I are from the same hometown, attended the same high school, knew most of the same people, shared friends, I knew his younger sister and he knew my older sister.  I had even been to his house once when I was in high school to decorate his sister's room for Senior Night.  I even met his mom.  But never knew that there was a Mike in the picture.  Somehow, despite all of those paths crossing, we never actually met until I arrived in Chicago in September, 2000.

I first saw Mike when a cousin pointed him out to me from across the room at the New Castle wedding of another cousin in early September.  At that moment, I was not quite down from my 9 month high of traveling the world.  I had absolutely no interest in dating at that time and it was the furthest from my mind to go out with someone also from New Castle.  Again, not to sound harsh, New Castle people are great!  It's just that I figured I had a big future ahead of me and maybe in 10 years or so, I might find a guy and figure it out way down the road. 

Yes, I was snobby about it.  I told my cousin, "Please...I just came back from France.  I'm not interested in anyone from New Castle," as if that were the worst thing in the world.  Oh my God, what a hypocrite!   I'll blame it on being young and stupid.  Sound ok?

Appx 3 weeks after that wedding, I left for Chi-town.  Two weeks after that, the same cousin that just got married invited me to dinner...he invited Graz (Mike) too.  I shook his hand, said "Nice to meet you" and basically carried on the conversation with my cousin and his new wife.  Still, not interested in a relationship or in this guy from NC.

On October 29th, a Saturday, my cousin invited me to party for Halloween weekend, which is big fun in Chicago.  Of course, I went and of course, HE was there.  Finally, I tempered my pretentious self and realized that this guy was special. 

Within about a month, I knew he was going to be my friend and partner for life.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  That's a lot for a girl to handle at 21 years old...

Day 7 - Training

I felt on top of the world.  But the excitement of 2000 wasn't quite over with my summer at the SFO.  I had one more adventure up my sleeve.  While I loved my time at Allegheny College, it didn't exactly excite me to be living in Meadville, PA and I couldn't head back there just yet.  I was dying to experience life in a big city.  New York seemed a little too scary.  Los Angeles was a bit too far. 

So?  I took a leave of absence from Allegheny and temporarily transferred myself to the Illinois Institute of Art  in Chicago.  The purpose?  Well, I wanted training in fashion, I wanted to study the history of the industry and have an opportunity to learn everything I could from people who understood my passion for fashion. And I wanted that big city experience.

Repartir, cette fois a Chicago...

I had just spend the past 9 months really living it up.  As my 21st birthday was closing in on me, I packed up again and moved to Chi-Town to chill for the Fall Semester of my junior year, yet again stepping into an unknown territory. 

I had no idea what to expect in my classes, who my roommates would be, what my living conditions would be, how long it would take to get from Schaumburg to downtown Chicago or how I'd get there.  I didn't know who I'd spend my weekends with or if I would have any friends. 

And THAT is when I met Michael L. Graziani.  Completely out of the blue...

Day 6 - Training

As the end of summer drew near and during the last two weeks of the SFO season, each apprentice was given the opportunity to design for the Apprentice Showcase Scenes.  The Stars of Tomorrow (performers) wore our creations on stage, allowing all of the young talent to show their stuff. 

We were given a list of opera scenes from which we chose one to design using a combination of retired costumes from the wardrobe closet plus whatever leftover materials we could get our hands on to create something incredible.  I chose Anna Bolena. 

As you may  have guessed, one wasn't good enough.  I volunteered to design a second along with my trusty new BFF, Jerry.  It was a doozy.  What the heck were we to do with a children's opera called "Help, Help, the Globolinks!" when we had a wardrobe full of classic costume?  Have no fear....

Here is the synopsis, "A busload of children becomes stranded when the vehicle breaks down. It is soon surrounded by unearthly globolinks, who are repulsed by musical sounds. A child goes off to get help and the children are saved by the intervention of good music"  (http://www.schirmer.com/).

We understood globolinks to be weird little aliens, ironic considering we were only a few short hours from Roswell, NM.  Why make it more difficult than it needed to be?  Sometimes there's beauty in not overthinking the situation.  We used the Roswell alien as our inspiration. 

Globolinks was the smash hit of the Apprentice Scenes bringing lots of laughs and cheer as we closed the Apprentice Scenes for the SFO 2000 season.

FYI: Jerry will be jumping in here shortly.  He has his own wild stories to share...  Stay tuned!

Day 5 - Training

We worked for 60 hours a week down there in Santa Fe.  It was non-stop.  During the days, we started at 8am sharp and worked until whatever project we were working on was done, usually by 6 or 7pm. 

We worked on classic opera gowns sewing $100/yd fabric, corsets, tuxedos, contemporary opera dresses and even an alien costume. Each group of costumes for each show were divided amoung teams of sewers overseen by the table head.  One stitch out of place and we had to rip out the work and do it again...the right way. 

We had all the characters in that costume shop.  The happy girl, who thought everything was beautiful. The suck-up.  The less-than-cool types.  And the crew...Jerry, Jamie and I.  I think we felt like we were in our own little world, on the outside looking in at this crazy scenario.  We definitely had an understanding between the three of us.  One look and we knew what the other was thinking.  No need for words.  Of course, a little giggle would follow just to validate that the other connected the dots.

In the evenings we worked behind the scenes as dressers, prepping the performers for the show and changing their costumes during mid-performance.  We loved that part.  Right around 8:30, just as the show reached the crisis point and just as we waited in the wings to change the performers, we stood in awe, one with the audience to witness one of God's most beautiful sights...a Santa Fe sunset.  To me, it was simply a heavenly sight.

Day 4 - Training

With a heightened level of confidence, an immense amount of enthusiasm and my new European style haircut, I kissed my family goodbye again and jumped on a Northwestern flight destined for Albuquerque.  From the foot of the French Alps to the mountains of the American Southwest, I was, yet again, dazzled by the beauty in this world. 

Upon my arrival in Santa Fe, I noticed a unique sweet smell in the air.  Somehow, I knew then that the Summer of 2000 was going to be special.  It was just a feeling.

The Opera was made up of an uncommon cast of characters from the performers to the crew to those serving the food at the lavish show-opening galas.  Everyone had a story, something equally uncommon that brought us all to this place.  Everyone was carving out their own way in the world.  These people were not "sheep" as they say.  They were baring it all to find their way, pushing their limits in front of each other, their mentors, their critics.  It was a perfect home for me, the next challenge to force myself further from inhibition.

This many years later, it's a tad blurry recalling exactly when Jerry and I shook each other's hands probably because we had a third player involved, Jamie, who was slightly more chatty than Jerry.  Initially anyway.  Jamie and Jerry were roommates.  I was stuck with a bunch of girly girls, one who's license plate read "SEWHAT", which when we asked her exactly what that meant, she giggled and said..."It could mean Sew Hat or Sew What!"  We still laugh about that.

Jamie, Jerry and I were The Three Muskateers of the Sante Fe Opera House that summer and we didn't even know it yet. Tous pour un, un pour tous!

Day 3 - Training

After the most amazing semester of my college career, I couldn't possibly settle with spending the summer in New Castle.  Not to sound harsh, but...  I needed to keep the fire burning, make something exciting happen for the summer of 2000. 

Keep in mind that cell phones were just hardly being introduced as a new luxury, the world was still on dial-up, and in order to gain access to the Internet, I had to visit the local Internet Cafe dans le Centre de Grenoble and pay for minutes to access the World Wide Web.  It was our daily, after school thing.  Class from 8am to 12pm Monday-Friday, Internet Cafe from 12:30 to 1:00-ish, then a stroll around town with our butter and cheese baguettes or, if we had a little extra cash, we'd splurge on one with jambon (ham).

I don't quite recall how I managed to find a summer apprenticeship, gain recommendations from my professors, submit the application, receive the acceptance letter, schedule the relocation, deal with housing, etc., etc. all from France, 5400 miles away with minimal access to phones and barely-there Internet service.

Nonetheless, 5 days after returning from my semester abroad, I left yet again for another new adventure.  This time heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico to work as an apprentice in the costume shop at the world-renowned Santa Fe Opera House.  And THAT is where I met Jerry L. Johnson.

Day 2 - Training

The year 2000 was my life's turning point.  In January of my sophomore year, I headed to France.  On my own, without a friend, without family...in a far-off land to live with a French family in the mountains of southeast France.  This was my challenge.  Could I do it?  Force myself beyond my comfort zone?  Well, I just had to find out. 

I petitioned to the Dean of the French Dept at Allegheny to send me a year earlier than the usual recommendation.  Approved.  So I booked the flight from Pittsburgh to Boston, Boston to Paris, Paris to Lyon where I met up with the rest of the American students, most of whom knew each other from Boston University, and the program counselor, Marie Yves.  Then traveled by train from Lyon to Grenoble to be dumped off with our new families. 

I thought I spoke French, until I arrived in the motherland.  Oh my God....forget about it.  Straight A's in 4 years of high-school French, President of the French Club, plus 2 semesters in college.  My tongue was tied.  So embarrassing and at that point, flat out exhausted from all that traveling.  And, my French family spoke approximately 10 words of English. 

Too late!  I was there for the next 5 months living with my new family in their beautiful little french home.  Cried myself to sleep a handful of nights listening to my favorite CDs on my walkman, you know, the soundtrack to Notting Hill, Dave Matthews Band, Boyz II Men, 'N Sync, Prince, 98 Degrees, Al Green, and whichever other CDs my bro burned for me to take on my journey. 

I got over it.  The sulking stopped and all the American students started building friendships....we spent every morning together studying the language, the culture, the art, the food and the history of France.  I made lots of friends - one the best of all.  Together, Leslie and I traveled throughout Europe, pushed our limits, partied, met French boyfriends, soaked up the culture and loved every minute of our freedom in France.  At 20 years old, the world was getting much smaller and more attainable.  And my dreams were getting larger and larger.  The possibilities seemed endless...

Day 1 - Training

Since I was a little girl, maybe 5 years old, I knew...just knew that fashion would be my future.  Growing up in the tiniest little town of New Castle, PA didn't really afford me exposure to the world.  It is a sheltered community, friendly and comfortable, proverbial small-town USA.  Working in fashion was nothing more than a far-off dream.  But...a dreamer I am.  I always have been.  Comes from up-bringing and many generations of the same romantic, perhaps sometimes lofty, spirit trickled down to the life of Annie. 

Once I figured out how to dress myself, I was styling and re-styling my outfits maybe 4 or 5 times throughout the day.  My mother thought it was cute but I was dead serious about my plaids and polka dots.

Around the age of 5, my creative streak was developing in full force.  My grandma taught me how to create things with fabric and yarn, how to make patterns out of cardstock or cereal boxes, whatever was within reach.  Before I knew it, we had a quilt. You could say making clothes runs through my veins, my mother is also quite the avid sewer.

Color and creativity are all that I remember as a child. Crayons, paints, paper, balloons, string, clay, Play-doh.  I loved anything that could be put together to make something new, more colorful, complicated, and intricate.

Fast forward a few years to junior high-school Home Economics.  We had 2 options, either make our name in bubble letters out of fleece or make a basketball out of fleece.  The basketball wasn't gonna cut it, way too boring.  So, I made my name in purple and mint green bubble letters edged in lace with bubble paint embellishments in opposite colors.  It was the biggest, most aggressive project in the class.  It was atrocious but at 13 years old?  I loved it.

Then in high school, I made boxer shorts, except I sewed the pant legs together by mistake.  My mother laughed herself to tears about that one.

I spent all four years sharpening my sewing skills in the Allegheny College costume shop.  Then, 10 years ago in the summer of 2000, I met him...I mean...them.