The two women have spent months designing and making colorful, one-of-a-kind jackets and vests. They mark their entry into the world of retail at 2 p.m. today with a trunk show at the American Gallery, 6600 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania.
Prices range from $200 to $250 - not bad, when you consider it can take them up to a week to complete just one item.
The pair began collaborating in October, after they worked on a quilting project and discovered they liked working together. Why jackets and vests?
“We make things we were looking for and couldn't find,” Ms. Price said. “Also, a jacket can make an outfit.”
“It is quicker than quilts, and there's a whole other element to it,” Ms. Stark said. “It's almost sculptural. It's a unique challenge.
“And it's fun to wear them.”
The fabrics they use come from all over the country. The pair have bought material in Detroit and Kentucky, and took a trip last fall to the textile mills of Massachusetts and Connecticut. There they bought distinctive fabrics, mostly bolt ends to keep costs down. “Fabric is expensive,” Ms. Price said with a sigh.
Most of what they buy is cotton, with some drapery and upholstery fabrics to give their creations a distinctive look and feel. They use synthetics for linings so the garments slip on easily. They wash everything before they cut it to rid the fabric of chemical treatments. Ms. Stark then hand-dyes some of the fabric.
These preliminaries out of the way, they decide how they want to use the material - some are more appropriate for trims, others do well for the main body - then hash out a design. At
this point, they often find themselves sewing things together, only to rip out the seams because the looks don't quite work.
“Making decisions on design and fabrics takes a while,” Ms. Price said. “The first time we do a design, there's a lot of ripping.”
A new design can take a week of 10-hour days to put together, Ms. Stark said. After they have it completed, though, subsequent jackets take about three days from start to finish. They hand-make many of the closures, using covered buttons, frog-like clasps, flowers made from cording, and the like.
Many are kimono-styled, with no lapels or collars. Each jacket has roll-up sleeves designed to work for women with long and short arms. For sleeve cuffs, they generally use material that matches trim or other fabric panels on the garment.
While many of the pieces have asymmetrical lines, they tend toward the vertical plane.
“Vertical lines are slimming,” Ms. Stark said. “We always ask, `Will this look good on a real person?'”
Ms. Price nodded vigorously. “We look at what fits a body and what is flattering.”
“We often start with a design, then wind up changing everything. And we use pockets on everything we can. Women deserve pockets, too!”
As for the machines they use to make their creations, Ms. Stark uses a Bernina, Ms. Price a Pfaff. While neither has an industrial machine, both have sergers, a device that cuts and finishes seams, a big time and labor-saver.
As they have learned how to work together, they've made a few changes. They now store all the material at Ms. Price's home because trying to recall who had what became a struggle. While the bulk of the sewing is done separately, they meet once or twice a week to plan, make decisions, and sew.
“I can't say we have a system yet,” Ms. Price said dryly.
As for the future, they'd like their business to take off, but really don't know what to expect. Today's show, after all, marks their debut into the world of retail.
“It's hard to predict,” Ms. Price said. “This is just the beginning. We'll talk to people about what they want in a jacket and develop the line as we go along.”
First Published January 27, 2001, 2:13 p.m.
