Althea Harper from Project Runway graciously spent 2 hours in our studio last Saturday answering questions, mingling with customers, and designing a custom It's A Cinch handbag. What a treat to get to know this talented designer- she was truly an inspiration to all who attended. Althea graduated from the University of Cincinnati and during that time had landed internships with design greats such as Anna Sui, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, & Zach Posen. To top it off, she solicited a grant from the fabulous Taroni Fabrics in Italy who provided amazing textiles for the 12 designs in her senior fashion show, entitled "The Raven" (see her website for more information- http://www.altheaharper.com/).
After her morning presentation we joined her and her mother for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory at The Greene. We got to chat some more about her life post-Project Runway. This girl is on the go! After debuting her new Spring/Summer 2010 collection during New York's fashion week (and what seems like a never-ending life of special engagements), she took some time off in Mexico before coming back to Dayton to visit family. We had fun talking about what she's learned about the design industry (now employed by Tori Burch in NYC) and some of her favorite fabric haunts in the garment district. Now living in Brooklyn, it turns out her 2 roommates are actaully Carol Hannah Whitfield and Malvin Vien from Project Runway. As our lunch date concluded, she was off again to The Color of Energy art gallery to show some of her sketches!
Althea's visit was the kickoff event for our breast cancer awareness program entitled "Design for a Cure". During the month of October, JennaClaire will donate a percentage of studio sales to Dayton's Womens Wellness Fund, which provides mammograms & follow-up services to those in need. In addition, we will be raffling some GREAT prizes: Althea's custom It's a Cinch, made of Java Giraffe and Plum Ultrasuede (check out the fabrics in our Fabric Gallery!), plus gift certificates to JennaClaire Studio and The Greene. The tickets are available in the studio (cash or check only). We are proud to say that 100% of the raffle money will be donated to the Women's Wellness Fund! In addition, for the month of October we'll be giving away a free handmade flower pin for purchases $50 and over, or for a donation of $5. These pins are handmade by our workroom manager (Mary Z. Bach) who is herself a breaset cancer survivor. (Available in studio only.)
We hope to see you soon- watch our posts for more fun weekend events throughout October!
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