I used to have a showroom in New York designing evening wear. I sold up and down the Eastern Seaboard from Boston to Palm Beach. Even though it was successful I bit off more than I could chew and it became a bigger and a more expensive endeavor than I could handle - I'm sure you have heard this story many times. From there we opened a large 3 story gift shop in a turn of the century house. I decided I really wanted to get back into fashion in some way, so we sold that business and moved to a smaller property we also own across the street so I could put more time into what I really want to do which is now "Art-To-Wear". Because of all the moving and changes in the last couple of years the purses have been a start and stop project. We can now devote our energy to promoting my purses and continue on with more purses, accessories, and Art-To-Wear

I have a mini warehouse of beautiful fabrics, but none of them have the body that I wanted to make my purses out of, so I chose canvas so I could paint on it and use the beautiful fabrics for trims and lining. My target audience isn't much different than it was when I was designing dresses. 19 or 90. It was always for women who wanted something special that would not be trendy and could stand the test of time as not only a beautiful garment but also as a good investment. If you love it you'll wear it forever - and why shouldn't you!
My continued inspiration is continuous and overflowing. I try to take in as much in the way of information as I can. In magazines, movies, TV, politics and news. I read and watch continually and then I just let it roll around in my head and whatever pops out, pops out. I have always been able to visualize in 3D inside and out. One of the most exciting things I ever saw was the first time I saw a computer screen with one of those 3D grid drawings that spin. That's what I always saw in my head. My bags are so special because they are done by "me"! The best way to answer that is to give you my mission statement: "To fill that niche in Art-to-Wear that creates a hybrid between the world of art clothing as it stands now - often a self indulgence exercise in technique and costuming, combined with the upper end yet mass marketed clothing that lacks any individual look or distinctive stamp of recognition".

Regarding nightmares, well after spending a rather trying week in New York showing my samples and going to appointments every day from dawn to dusk I was anxiously looking forward to getting home. I got to the airport, got on the plane sat down, and finally relaxed until mid flight when I sat bolt upright and realized I had left the entire line of samples in the hotel closet. There was nothing I could do at that point until we landed and hope for the best. Before I called the main desk I called the room to see if it was occupied and a very nice woman answered the phone and told me she had discovered the clothes and had called the desk. How lucky was I? Then I called the hotel and they said they would send the clothes on to me. I still held my breath until the clothes arrived on my doorstep. As the Bard says "All's well, that ends well".

I still feel it is yet to come and the reason why all this is worth it is because, good or bad, it makes every day a new experience to look forward to! I will sign off now that I have taken up the better part of your afternoon while you read this. Like I said earlier if you do use any of this, feel free to edit it down any way you want!