This episode is one of my favorites - so far! Marie Saint Pierre, one of Canada’s best-known and loved designers, gave me a tour of her Montreal atelier and then sat down to discuss the origins of her clothing line and the interplay between the skills her business requires and her essence.

Marie reveals herself to be endlessly creative, independent, determined, restless in her desire to experience the new, protective, and deeply attuned to purpose. One aspect of clothing design that Marie relishes is that each client cocreates the garment in how she wears it: it is Marie’s distinctive design, and it’s not, allowing for a satisfying personal connection often made explicit by clients. 

In her fourth decade as a business owner, Marie forthrightly describes the nightmares of financing and production, getting into the fascinating details of the fibers and fabrics that make her line unique. “You have to be able to let go and take risks all the time,” Marie says, and to tackle the multitude of problems “your mind needs to be athletic.”

Marie’s mind certainly runs ultramarathons, but you’ll enjoy hearing how her heart keeps pace!

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

The Holy Grail of pumps embodies confidence and elegance, feels like a sneaker, and lets you stride through a miles-long, 12-hour stretch with ease. My conversation with Sandra Powers Murphy covers how this accomplished executive and entrepreneur took up the quest for a truly wearable pump 5 years ago and has good reasons, especially the hours she spends in them, to believe her new line, Scarlett Chase shoes, delivers the Holy Grail of pumps.

While raising 6 children, enjoying her career in finance, and supporting women asset managers with a marketing consultancy, Sandra built the Scarlett Chase team. The team combines expertise in running shoe design, orthoses, movement patterns, sourcing, and production. After 60 iterations, the brand’s core shoe, the Scarlett 75 black suede pump, gave rise to colorful pumps, booties, tall stretch boots, flats, and mules. Each Italian or Portuguese-made shoe features the innovative insole support found in fine athletic shoes and an outsole cushion that adds spring and protection. 

In its evolution from passion project to primary work focus, Scarlett Chase is an integration of Sandra’s values: an appreciation of her daughter Scarlett’s strength, an homage to a gutsy grandmother, a desire to solve a painful problem in sustainable and aesthetically pleasing ways, and a commitment to constant improvement.

These pumps may dissolve women’s easy and instant bond – foot torment – but I’ll be happy to find pain-free common ground and cover it in Scarlett Chase stylish deep ocean boots!

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

Viviana Gabeiras, the creator of Petit Pois, welcomed me to her Hialeah, Florida warehouse that encloses her studio, showroom, factory, and shipping facilities. Meticulous and orderly, the facility hums with the purpose, people, and myriad machines that realize Viviana's desire to offer women uniquely colorful and practical clothing.

True to our podcast purpose, Viviana describes perfectly how what she imagines becomes the clothing in your closet and how she acquired the skills to make that happen!

Viviana owned a retail store and a home in Venezuela. Her drive to learn, create, and succeed in fashion impelled her to sell both and come to the US  - at 19 - to attend school in Boston first and then graduate from the top design school, Parsons, in 1984. After 16 years of working for and partnering in other companies, Viviana struck out on her own with Petit Pois in 2000.

Viviana smashed the odds against every small business owner by bringing new fabrics, original styles, and creative ways of dressing to an appreciative audience. With her husband at her side, they enjoy a rich family life and tackle business challenges: coping with a pandemic, skilled labor shortages, and the rollercoaster economy through their willingness to wear every necessary hat and innovate.

Viviana and Rafael should teach a Masterclass on how mindset, agility, planning, and resourcefulness fuel decades of success in the fickle world of fashion. Our visit closed with shopping, of course!

If listening to this episode inspires you to add some special Petit Pois to your wardrobe, please visit https://mypetitpois.com/.  To enjoy a video of the Fall 2023 Gemini Collection, click here.

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

Iana Boyd grew up in Bulgaria, dreaming of the world beyond the Iron Curtain depicted in the postcards that decorated her walls. With scant options for clothing, Iana taught herself to sew and dressed her sisters, cementing their relationship as her biggest fans and biggest critics. When the Curtain fell, Iana attended college in the US and then powered her way up the Maersk corporate ladder, blending in nicely in top-tier designer suits.

Twenty years after entering the corporate world, Iana left to focus on family and pick up the creative threads. She had discovered along the way that blending in was no longer appropriate or useful. She called on the talents, experience, and counsel of her sisters and friends across Europe and formed her knitwear line, Biana. Shaped by the need to stand out when necessary, to be comfortable always, and to suit the zeitgeist of the Post-Covid era, Biana offers the sophisticated woman the ease of beautifully designed, high-quality knit sportswear and dresses. 

Nothing happened quite as smoothly as that summary suggests. The details of Iana's dream-coming-true personal story and a rich description of the nature, manufacturing, and fit of Biana knits unfold in our conversation.  May you find Iana's story of business, family, and design as fascinating as I do!

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

From the first tiny garments so lovingly selected to the last outfit a person wears, clothing helps define one's presence in the world.  

Dressing well has always been part of the accomplished Marta Hill Gray's portfolio and has served her well in marketing roles, in her consulting business with its focus on women's healthcare start-ups, and now, as the Executive Director of Culpepper Garden, a retirement community for low-income seniors.  Marta and I bonded years ago over the pleasures of dressing well. Despite an ocean of style topics to discuss, we confined ourselves to the power of clothing even as we age and how Marta's charitable fund, The Legacy of Grace, came to be the focus of our April 2023 POP!tails and Shopping fundraiser.

All of us have stories about how clothing and dressing matter. Getting dressed in a particular way makes the difference between a good day and a bad one, between positive responses and negative ones.  As we go through illness and aging, dressing gets more complicated.  A loss of dexterity and/or a loss of funds means we can't dress as we'd like, and some sense of ourselves diminishes. Marta was learning her new ropes as ED as we were creating this iteration of Betsy Fisher, and our shared appreciation of our elders' struggles came together in our Wearing Love Collection. Eventually, the Wearing Love Collection on our site will have a selection of some of our designers' favorite pieces modified for easy wear and care, but until then,  the Wearing Love Collection features pieces the sales of which support The Legacy of Grace Fund. 

It's impossible to resist Marta's empathy and advocacy for this growing population of seniors in need, and it's my great pleasure to introduce you, fellow style connoisseurs, to Marta, her residents, and to Wearing Love. 

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

If you've ever thought about trying a personal stylist, or even just wonder what they do, you'll enjoy meeting Lani Inlander and getting the inside story about styling.

Before there was even a term for it, Lani knew that she would be a personal stylist.  From Skokie to NYC and Washington, DC, our conversation covers the emergence of the business of styling in the '90s, the building of her own business, Real Life Style, and the transformational value of the service. Having seen firsthand the change in her clients' style and presence, and the work that goes into allowing that to happen, I found this statement by Lani to distill her motivation and decades of experience:

"People literally avoid life when they don't have the correct, appropriate attire, and they don't even know they are doing it . . . We have seen it so many times, the opportunities that come people's way - it's not that they weren't there before, it's that (people) are afraid to embrace life or go after their (opportunities) because they don't have the right clothing or feel the part until they work with us."

After hearing us chat, you may enjoy Lani's blog, where she shares tips for feeling more confident in what you wear and how to find those key pieces.  https://real-life-style.com/blog/

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

Take a Walk with Teri Agins and me!

If you enjoy getting behind the fashion scenes to understand both the big business of fashion and how to make fashion work for you, find an hour to spend with one of contemporary fashion’s remarkable chroniclers, Teri Agins. 

Teri’s illustrious career detailing the rise and fall of fashion houses as a Wall Street Journal investigative reporter led to writing the books that explain the current fashion scene: The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever (1999) – still a page turner - and Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers (2014).  In addition to the big stories, Teri has shared thousands of small, personal style stories that unfolded in her weekly WSJ style column, “Ask Teri.”

Our conversation ranges freely, covering Teri’s fascinating career, the trends that democratized fashion, and Teri’s tips for negotiating the post-Covid, DIY shopping scene. From sourcing ideas and inspiration to naming the perfect strapless bra, Teri demystifies how to discern and refine your personal style.  

Teri walks her walk, and after listening, you’ll find your own path more easily! 

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.

My guest, Stacy Bennett, wears two hats at Buki Brand, managing both operations and marketing - she knows Buki from the inside out! Our conversation reveals how customers' needs inspired a line of easy-care, technical clothing for men and women. From concept through value-driven execution and marketing, the story includes their use of Japanese fiber technology and the development of their own high-tech fabrics.  The small women's collection melds fabric, form, and function to create the versatile styles that belong in your closet!

Looking for more? Visit us at the 1000 Fibers Blog where the conversation continues.