My Story

I made my first garment when I was five years old. I was in Shriner's Hospital in Montreal. The Ladies Group felt that since we were all little disabled kids with, frankly, uncertain futures, it was important for us to learn a useful, marketable skill.

One day they came in with a dozen sewing machines and a massive amount of fabric samples. This was in 1970 so imagine green polyester in every pattern and shade imaginable.

All the old style 4 inch wide strip swatches cut with pinking shears so not a straight edge to be seen.

We sewed those strips together to make pieces large enough to place and cut patterns.

I made a kaftan. Remember those? It was hideous. Twenty different patterns all in horizontal sections, no lining, just the shell with dozens of seams. It was so spectacularly bad it was fabulous. I loved it. I was intensely proud of it and I was hooked.

I used second hand machines until the early 90's when I bought an Italian workhorse and then a Juki industrial machine, later I added a small serger, small embroidery machine and made wheelchair cushion covers and my own line of adaptive clothing which was so far ahead of it's time no one took me seriously except the fabulous fashion designer Franco Mirabelli, who I met while modeling in his fashion shows.

He opened some doors for me, helped me get samples made, and the rest is history. As I live in Montana, I specialized in custom thermals for skiers and other winter sports people, including base layers and sweaters.

I make clothing, bags, hand bound books, soaps, candles, accessories, simmer pots, wax melts, fire starters props and other small gifts using my laser, sublimation system working from my custom made crip desk that I also made.