Dry cleaners that advertise “quick 30 minute hems” often involve slashing your garment apart and slapping it back together…quite literally something you could do yourself. I practice technical tailoring, which respects the original engineering of the garment so it lasts another decade, not just another week.

As with most sewists, my journey started with my mother. She would make my Halloween costumes as a kid (photo A). I remember looking through the costume pattern books for something I liked, not entirely grasping the concept that she would be making it from scratch. I was floored at how she was able to animate a costume off of the paper, fit just for me. I soon found myself looking at clothes in-store, studying the architecture of how the panels of fabric came together, & marveling at how much money they wanted for something I knew I could make myself, if I just had a sewing machine... Fast forward to today, my first paid client was my grandmother! She wanted a dupe of a shirt I made for a concert, but she wanted her version to the floor, off the shoulder, & with an opening for the leg (photo B)

With the aid of ‘Patternmaking for Fashion Design’ by Helen Joseph Armstrong, I custom build patterns based on your body measurements. I’m drawn to challenging garments. I set out to recreate a smoky blue version of Paul Tazewell’s Academy Award winning Glinda bubble dress (photo C), then refined that pattern into a corset top for a New Year’s Eve party (photo D).

I aim to contribute to how we show up in the world via the stories we tell with our aesthetic.