“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
My dad and I love that William Butler Yeats quotation!
Early as I could express myself, I had stong ideas about what I wanted to wear, and it was not to be found in stores. Thankfully, my mother is an excellent seamstress and taught me to sew my own clothes and bring my designs into being, starting when I was around 6. I designed and made my horse show clothes, my prom dress, and tailored any storebought clothes.
The story of how leather fashion design became my profession is circuitous. Fashion design college scholarship tempted me, but I chose a Forensics scholarship, double majoring in Literature and Philosophy, then started a business as a bookbinder of handmade leather journals when I moved home to Louisiana.
To be more specific...
I began working with leather to make leather-bound journals, since I couldn’t afford the journals that tantalized me since I first saw them in Florence, Italy, during college study abroad. My leather journals were such a hit that I launched a small business full time 2009.
In 2014, I made part of my Mardi Gras costume from leather I had on hand for journal covers. The costume top was such fun to wear, I made a skirt to go with it. Once I began wearing leather, I was smitten! The way leather breathes with– and is nourished by– my skin, and the way my body feels in leather, changed my paradigm. Low maintenance, long lasting, and full of pizazz, leather is my jam! Have you ever felt the gentle hug of supple, buttery soft deerskin?
That leather skirt and top was one of the few outfits I took with me on my European cycling adventure. People kept asking to buy the leather outfit I’d made on a whim before leaving New Orleans. I didn’t want to sell that particular outfit, but I started thinking...
At first, only custom work, but now I also offer ready-to-wear and leather handbags.
My dad and I love that William Butler Yeats quotation!
Early as I could express myself, I had stong ideas about what I wanted to wear, and it was not to be found in stores. Thankfully, my mother is an excellent seamstress and taught me to sew my own clothes and bring my designs into being, starting when I was around 6. I designed and made my horse show clothes, my prom dress, and tailored any storebought clothes.
The story of how leather fashion design became my profession is circuitous. Fashion design college scholarship tempted me, but I chose a Forensics scholarship, double majoring in Literature and Philosophy, then started a business as a bookbinder of handmade leather journals when I moved home to Louisiana.
To be more specific...
I began working with leather to make leather-bound journals, since I couldn’t afford the journals that tantalized me since I first saw them in Florence, Italy, during college study abroad. My leather journals were such a hit that I launched a small business full time 2009.
In 2014, I made part of my Mardi Gras costume from leather I had on hand for journal covers. The costume top was such fun to wear, I made a skirt to go with it. Once I began wearing leather, I was smitten! The way leather breathes with– and is nourished by– my skin, and the way my body feels in leather, changed my paradigm. Low maintenance, long lasting, and full of pizazz, leather is my jam! Have you ever felt the gentle hug of supple, buttery soft deerskin?
That leather skirt and top was one of the few outfits I took with me on my European cycling adventure. People kept asking to buy the leather outfit I’d made on a whim before leaving New Orleans. I didn’t want to sell that particular outfit, but I started thinking...
At first, only custom work, but now I also offer ready-to-wear and leather handbags.
My fire is lit