About Us
My love of costuming began back in 1971 when I studied at the Clarissa School of Fashion and Design in Pittsburgh. After graduating I stayed on for 2 more years teaching classes. That led to one of my favorite jobs as Wardrobe Supervisor for the Duquesne University Tamburitzens. This organization was created to "preserve and celebrate international cultural heritages through artistic performances." (Tamburitzens.org Mission Statement). My role was working with international choreographers to recreate authentic costumes that were worn by the cast in their live stage shows.
I moved to the Phoenix, Arizona area in the late 70's and opened JJ Clothing Manufacturing there. As luck would have it, my first contract was designing and manufacturing all of uniforms for one of the major hotels in Phoenix. My company grew to include contracts with some major clothing brands at the time.
Eventually I closed JJ's and joined up with a business partner. For the next 15 or so years we traveled across the United States, selling collectibles, antiques and our own jewelry and crafts at various festivals and flea markets. During that time we launched a new venture we called Cool Ties. These cooling neck wraps were a great hit when doing shows in the summer heat out west. As the business grew we even provided our ties to the "Survivor" show on CBS! ("Cool Idea" - Fran Delancey, The Bradford Era).
In the early 2000's I moved back to Pennsylvania and opened a store called The Lookout where I did custom tailoring and sold a mix of arts and crafts supplies, vintage jewelry, gifts and collectibles. As I turn 75 this year, I’ve made the decision to close the physical store and shift to an online shop. This new direction will allow me to reach a broader audience and also afford me a little more free time to enjoy family, friends and the hobbies that I love. I can’t wait to continue sharing my love for fashion, crafts, and unique finds with you in this new chapter. Thank you for being part of my journey.
