Lover of fashion and textiles, I began sewing at age 10. Wearing incomparable clothes gave me a sense of pride and the pursuit of being an individual rather than common or collective in the main stream of fashion. I am a tactile person who gets all excited when working with yarn, cloth, color and subsequently, wearable art. I feel a sense of accomplishment when my ideas are transformed into a wearable piece of clothing or accessory. It is rewarding for me to show my designs, and meet with customers. Unlike most art, my work is most marveled once touched and worn.

I studied textiles and patternmaking in college in the 80's. After I graduated, I was in an area of the country that jobs in the garment industry were scarce. I approached my longing for a career in textiles as a hobby and joined a local hand weaver's guild. Before long, I was the proud owner of a 45" floor loom and busily weaving table runners and placemats. However, my craving for fashion compelled me to weave fabric that could be worn.

In preparation of designing a hand woven wearable art piece, I begin by researching current color and fashion trends. My favorite sources are the internet and Harpers Bazaar magazine. I cut out images and create a collage of a color and fashion trends. Once a design has been decided, I then select the color, yarn and calculate yardage requirements. Pattern size and shapes need to be estimated in determining fabric width as well as length. In doing so, I can closely plan actual woven cloth requirements to prevent any surplus. My favorite material to weave with is bamboo. Bamboo yarn is soft, strong, reliable and derived from the inner stem of bamboo grass. Because it is a fast growing plant, bamboo is considered to be a sustainable resource. Frequently, I choose to dye my own yarn. It may be an "engineered" process so that I plan according to my final pattern for color placement or simply an "all over" dye treatment. After all the weaving is completed and the patterns are engineered, it comes time to sew. My favorite tool that I use is my sewing machine. It is the tool that assists me in the transformation of 2 Dimensional cloth into 3 Dimensional wearable art.

A special area of interest for me is the execution of wet, needle and nuno felting in my wares. I have created and used nuno felted fabrics in some parts of my designs such as collars and yokes. Nuno felting is a process of joining raw wool fiber to a sheer chiffon weight material via agitation. Up to 30% shrinkage occurs as a result while a very textured and fascinating fabric is produced. Wet felting is used on most all my knitted handbags. The process of hot water and agitation will felt the wool fibers to form a solid durable cloth. Finally, needle felting is a wonderful way to adorn a base cloth with a special barbed needle and raw wool fiber. I use this process to embellish many of my handbags.

When final fitting and draping issues are accomplished, I know that a piece is done when it is adorned with all the trimming as well as the installation of fasteners such as vintage buttons. My vintage and antique button and clasp collection compliment my wares as a grand finale.

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