Design Inspiration....

Design inspiration can come from any place at any time, you just have to keep your mind open to See, Feel, and Remember It.

-       Living in Los Angeles: I find design inspiration all around me. I go to museums like LACMA, The Broad, The Getty Center, and many more. Just looking at the art work inspires colors, textures and jump starts my imagination. I also love to travel and soak in the art and culture around me in that city or country.

-       People Watching: I also love just walking around the many different areas of Los Angeles to just people watch. From Silver Lake to Beverly Hills to Venice Beach and Malibu you see the best real live characters. You see many different people of all ethnic backgrounds, ages, and wealth. This helps me lock the real life characters in my mind like a computer to pull out when I need them for a script.

-       All Types of magazines and websites: I use the Texture Magazine app to download all of my favorite magazines to read while I am traveling from LA to Utah for Andi Mack. Instagram and Pinterest are also great for research. During Fashion Week, I am always inspired by looking at the runway shows of some of my favorite designers. There are many websites that you can use but I like to watch them on Vogue.com.

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What was your inspiration for choosing Andi and Buffy’s shoes in the “Cyrus’ Bash Mitzvah” Episode Season 2?

My daughter had a Bat Mitzvah when she turned 13. She wore sparkle Doc Martin Boots and her best friend wore Converse high tops with their dresses. I watched them that night having so much fun with their friends dancing the night away, so I wanted to bring some of that real life inspiration to the show.

 

Always keep your eyes open to new and different things to inspire your imagination. Inspiration can come anywhere, from a person you see on the street, a piece of art in a museum or just a wonderful memory of dancing the night away.

Stay tuned because I will be sharing more of my favorite moments and photos from some of my shows in my next blog post!

Please leave a comment below with any ideas you have for future posts on the blog or any questions you have for me! 

Photo: Disney Channel

The Making of This Costume Designer.........

I have been asked many times from fans of the shows "how did you become a Costume Designer?". I never hesitate and answer the question because usually it is asked by a bright eyed creative person like me.

I always wanted to create and design clothes. After school I stayed with my Grandmother until my parents got home from work. She was a seamstress making clothes from home, I would watch her create and sew while explaining everything that she was doing. I was not allowed to touch the scissors or fabric until she thought I was trained and ready.  By the time I got to Howard University to study Fashion Design in Washington D.C. I was ready for anything the teachers could throw my way.

After graduating I was able to get a job as Department Store Buyer in Pennsylvania. First as a Men's Shoe buyer then I worked my way quickly to become a Junior Clothes Department Buyer. I worked in Pennsylvania 3 days and NYC for 2 days a week.  I had a wonderful job and at a young age was successful but I knew this was not the career for me.   I quit, packed up my car and drove across country to Los Angeles. (Who does this!!)

Using the talents that I knew, I opened a business in Los Angeles Designing Clothes for Private Clients. I was very happy but a friend asked me to come to her work and see what she did, thinking that I would like it.  I went to the set of The Golden Girls where she was a Costume Supervisor.  I went back everyday for a week and asked everyday if there was anything I could do to help, I was so excited.  The Costume Designer was Judy Evans, Judy had multiple Emmy Awards and was at the top of her career. After I would not go away, Judy called me into her office and asked if I wanted a job.  I jumped at the chance and became Estelle Getty's Costume Dresser on Golden Girls.  That was it!!! That was the start of many years of watching and learning from my mentor Judy Evans. The way she worked with her Crews and the way she designed and worked with Seamstresses to make her creations come to life. 

From these beginnings I always tell young aspiring Designers that your dreams will come true if you never give up and stay true to who you are!!!

Stay tuned because I will be sharing some of my favorite moments and photos from some of my shows in my next blog post!

Please leave a comment below with any ideas you have for future posts on the blog or any questions you have for me!