A LITTLE ABOUT ME

   My sewing journey began as a two-year-old in my mother's lap helping her sew my cousins' quilts, Easter dresses, and simple performance costumes. But my professional sewing journey began when I was nearing the end of my time in the US Air Force. I started to be the go-to person for patch sewing and alterations in my social and professional circles. Quilting for others and making personal costumes started taking more and more of my time. I craved that creative outlet. After leaving the military I was lucky enough to find a job in the sewing world and became a sewing instructor at a local quilt shop (The Sewing Garret). It allowed me to hone my skills and my network grew to give me opportunities to compete in local fashion competitions. Practice and grit guided me to win a couple competitions.

   I decided to attend Orlando Technical College to further my sewing skills and career opportunities. During my time there I was able to learn from some fantastic instructors, interned for a local pattern maker (CutSew), and started working for Oberon Industries as a pattern drafter and seamstress (Mister Pierre Fashion).

   Eventually a friend led me to a production company in need of local costumers (Rhino Staging). Little did I know that this job would have me fall in love with theater and touring shows. Not only did I find myself costuming for names like Jonas Brothers, Ariana Grande, and Celine Dion; I took on jobs as a stagehand building stage decks, setting lights and installing LED walls for some amazing shows like Gabriel Iglesias, Latin Billboards, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

   I didn’t stop there. Royal Caribbean flew me to Spain to help install a new show. I helped build a Godzilla and muscle suit for Jim Henson. I began teaching Fashion Club to middle schoolers and wow, they are amazing too.

Before I knew it, I became a full-time freelancer. And then the Fire Nation attacked… Well no, but 2020 attacked, throwing my opportunities and growth to a grinding halt. I was able to survive by sewing thousands of masks for various companies. I’m a freelancer; I was lucky to made it work. Once big box stores started carrying masks, sales plummeted.

Time to change gears. I missed running and participating in fashion shows, touring shows, theater, ANYTHING! At the end of 2020 I enrolled in Full Sail University using my GI bill and began my next chapter January 2021. In September of 2022, I’ll be ready to jump into a tour and adventure around the world for the sake of the performance arts.