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| From Etsy Wedding Divas |
Tell us a little about yourself
I am from Northern California, but I grew up traveling. Most of my high school years were spent working in the fashion industry, living in Los Angeles, New York, and Athens, Greece. I had a crazy childhood, but I think it offered me exposure to other ways of life-- I was able to meet many artistic people who made a living doing what they loved. I currently reside in Sacramento, California, with my husband Matthew, and my children Noah and Audrey.
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| From Etsy Wedding Divas |
Who has been most influential in your craft?
As far as personal influence, my husband has been the most supportive, and I have a fantastic marketing friend that helped me realize the business structure. Then of course there were the owners of Miosa who believed in my ability to translate an idea to the page for their clients, and the numerous brides who wanted to actually buy these rough design sketches-- without this support I don't think I would have had the guts to put something so personal out there for sale! As far as artistic influence, I am inspired by artists from Gustav Klimpt to Erte, and designers from Marchesa to Alexander McQueen & Sarah Burton.
What's your favorite item in your shop?
All of my illustrations are close to my heart, but I feel the most important listing in my shop currently are the limited edition fine art prints of "Shiromuku", an illustration of a traditional Japanese bride. The illustration was created to help those affected by the March 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. All proceeds from the sale of these prints will be donated to Humanitarian Aid to provide assistance in disaster relief wherever in the world it is needed most urgently.
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| From Etsy Wedding Divas |
How did the first one come about?
In 2006 I was designing custom wedding dresses at Miosa Couture, a Northern California custom bridal boutique. A custom bridal design session at Miosa usually consisted of quickly sketching out designs for technical use in the construction of a gown, and brides would often express an interest in purchasing my sketches, and that's when the idea for The Illustrated Bride was born. When I left Miosa to focus on my growing family, The Illustrated Bride gave me the creative outlet I needed.
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| From Etsy Wedding Divas |
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I would like to expand my custom design offerings by partnering with a pattern maker and seamstress-- I plan to start designing my own line of wedding gowns. I miss working with fabrics and seeing my illustrations come to life. I would like to be able to offer 5 gowns a year on Etsy, and see where that takes me. Each gown would come with a print of the original fashion illustration used in the creation of the gown. I would love it if in five years, you could WEAR The Illustrated Bride!
Like what you see?
More of TheIllustratedBride's work at her Etsy Shop. Her blog
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