I was recruited from Dollhouse to work for Betsey Johnson as Head Designer. It had always been my dream to work for both Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson and now that dream was coming true!
I left Dollhouse and began work at Betsey Johnson in the beginning of 2001. The work environment is everything you could imagine it would be. Betsey is an amazing person with an endless energy. She was fantastic to work with and a true creative inspiration.
During my time at Betsey Johnson, I was in charge of designing day, evening, girls, accessories for show and photoshoots, import and domestic, Betseyville and the kids licensee. My work was considered the showroom line and was was actually sold in the stores.
Mainly the show line was done by Betsey but toward the end of my time there, she began to include many of my designs into the show. The first 10 or so photos are my actual designs. The balance are ones I contributed to either by fabrication or craft.
I also contributed each season doing graphics for tee shirts, show giveaways, invitation/programs and backstage manager.
A special thanks to Betsey, Chantal, Patty, Kim, Catherine and Mandy for believing in me. Another special thanks to all the fabulous friends I made at Betsey Johnson and to my interns :)
I worked at Betsey Johnson for 4 years and got tons of press on items I designed and fabricated over the years. Definitely the highlight was when Avrile Lavigne wore my design on the cover of Nylon Magazine.
8 Bit Icons feature some of fashion, pop culture and musics most stylish icons.
In 2001 I lived just 4 blocks from the World Trade Center when it was attacked. It was an emotionally trying time for everyone and the way I dealt with it was to create art. I was always a huge fan of mixed media (using imagery, found objects, fabric, sparkles etc) and loved doing 3 dimensional scenes.
I begin by making shadow boxes where there is usually one persons image as the focal point. From there I will make up a story around that character, adding dimension, other characters, found objects and one line of text to get the viewers mind running. I don't like to tell the viewer exactly what is happening in the piece and instead like for the viewer to take in the whole scene and the text and let their own imaginations take them where they may. Many of the newer pieces also included sound and lights to add to the sensory input.
I showed my artwork at galleries in NYC and was chosen to have my work represented by Artlink by Sotheby's to be shown in a travelling show through Europe, Israel and the US.
Many of my pieces are for sale directly through my site. Please feel free to email for availability on any piece shown.
I was a full time Assistant Designer at Anna Sui from 1998-1999. I handled all of her fabric and trim research. I also designed garments for the regular line occasionally and designed tee shirt graphics and logos.
I had always dreamt while in design school of one day working in NY for Anna. My dream became a reality and thanks to Anna, the career I longed for was within reach. If it weren't for Anna, I would not have had the chance to work at so many amazing places. She took a chance on me and I am eternally grateful for it.
I worked for only one year full time for Anna Sui but many of the fabrics and trims I worked on for Anna made there way into all types of publications including 2 WWD covers!
After moving to Chicago I realized that my fashion career would never be the same and it was time to reinvent myself.
I always had a love of doll clothing and especially Barbie, since her clothing was fashion forward from her inception. I thought of combining all my knowledge of the fashion industry and how it works but do it on a smaller scale.....a 1:6th scale! From that Tiny Frock Shop was born.Tiny Frock Shop is a fun and fashion forward online store that sells "pre-loved" Barbie sized clothing, accessories and furniture. It is Vogue worthy but most items sell at milk money prices.
Spread the word! :)
have been running my Tiny Frock Shop for 4 years and am so pleased with the amazing press I have received. The crowning jewels??? Vogue Portugal, Cosmopolitan NL, Nylon Mag and Time OUT!
I designed various graphics for Dollhouse, some which were used and some that were not. These are some of my favorites!
"No one is immune" was featured in Martin Dawbers new book entitled "Modern Vintage Illustration".
There have been many incarnations of "my line" over the years. When I first got to NYC and started working I was not exactly in the part of the industry I wanted to be in or felt connected to. Because of that, I decided to start a line with my best friend Wendy (who was also a NYC DJ) which we did after work called Space Girl.
At that time we were heavily involved in the NYC club kid scene and were super inspired by all things futuristic. When we started the line it was one of the first club wear lines in NYC and was sold to various boutiques in the US and Japan, including Patricia Field, Untitled and 99th Floor. We worked with amazing photographers, club promoters, shop owners, club kids like Candis Cayne, Girlina, Reign Voltaire, Young Richard, Michael Alig, Amanda Lepore and Peter A.
We had two fashion shows in the clubs, the first one in NYC's Limelight and the second as a part of Alternative Fashion Week at the Palladium sponsored by Absolut Vodka. Our first big show was as a part of Girls Rule at NY Fashion Week at Bryant Park. ?Daphne Rubin Vega from RENT walked the show.
We ended up getting a bunch of press and had to change our name since there was a junior label in California named Spacegirlz that had bigger pockets than us. The name then changed to Lilytank and Wendy decided to stop working on the line and dedicate herself to DJing.
As Lilytank, the line was represented by a NY showroom and we were featured again in Girls Rule for a second time as part of NY Fashion Week. ?Robyn walked for me this time and it was amazing!
Soon after that, I saw an ad for Anna Sui in WWD and applied. It was my dream and I always knew if I was lucky enough to get the job I could come back to my own line later. I got the job.
In 1999 I partnered with a backer friend, developed a line under my own name, Pamela Thompson and opened a signature store on E. 9th Street in NYC's East Village. Another monumental milestone was now coming to life and I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had even if short lived. Differences of opinion on how the shop should be run led the shop to close eventually and I went back to work full time.
My next attempt to launch a line was in 2008. I was now a seasoned designer and knew my customer. With no backer but my own shallow pockets, I launched my own vignette ?dress line called Pamela Thompson. I did everything myself from design, production, sales and shipping. I worked during nights and weekends and pounded the pavement to sell sell sell. The dress line was very successful and the stores were looking to next season for more merchandise. Then along came....LILY...my daughter, who became my world and led to my next and current venture....Tiny Frock Shop.
I was heavily involved in graphic design for Heatherette. I designed prints, tee shirt graphics, pins, patches, labels, hangtags, embroideries, appliques, show programs, line sheets and more. Heatherette was a real factory of creativity and the sky was the limit.
Heatherette started as a celebrity-centric press driven line. What I brought to the table was wearability, merchandising and the ability to design a full Collection. The press picked up pretty quickly on the change once we moved to the Empire State Building and hailed the new Heathertte Collection as a possible contender to be the next big Designer line.
There have been many incarnations of "my line" over the years. When I first got to NYC and started working I was not exactly in the part of the industry I wanted to be in or felt connected to. Because of that, I decided to start a line with my best friend Wendy (who was also a NYC DJ) which we did after work called Space Girl.
At that time we were heavily involved in the NYC club kid scene and were super inspired by all things futuristic. When we started the line it was one of the first club wear lines in NYC and was sold to various boutiques in the US and Japan, including Patricia Field, Untitled and 99th Floor. We worked with amazing photographers, club promoters, shop owners, club kids like Candis Cayne, Girlina, Reign Voltaire, Young Richard, Michael Alig, Amanda Lepore and Peter A.
We had two fashion shows in the clubs, the first one in NYC's Limelight and the second as a part of Alternative Fashion Week at the Palladium sponsored by Absolut Vodka. Our first big show was as a part of Girls Rule at NY Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Daphne Rubin Vega from RENT walked the show.
We ended up getting a bunch of press and had to change our name since there was a junior label in California named Spacegirlz that had bigger pockets than us. The name then changed to Lilytank and Wendy decided to stop working on the line and dedicate herself to DJing.
As Lilytank, the line was represented by a NY showroom and we were featured again in Girls Rule for a second time as part of NY Fashion Week. Robyn walked for me this time and it was amazing!
Soon after that, I saw an ad for Anna Sui in WWD and applied. It was my dream and I always knew if I was lucky enough to get the job I could come back to my own line later. I got the job.
In 1999 I partnered with a backer friend, developed a line under my own name, Pamela Thompson and opened a signature store on E. 9th Street in NYC's East Village. Another monumental milestone was now coming to life and I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had even if short lived. Differences of opinion on how the shop should be run led the shop to close eventually and I went back to work full time.
My next attempt to launch a line was in 2008. I was now a seasoned designer and knew my customer. With no backer but my own shallow pockets, I launched my own vignette ?dress line called Pamela Thompson. I did everything myself from design, production, sales and shipping. I worked during nights and weekends and pounded the pavement to sell sell sell. The dress line was very successful and the stores were looking to next season for more merchandise. Then along came....LILY...my daughter, who became my world and led to my next and current venture....Tiny Frock Shop.
Since I was in charge of all aspects of my own Collections and had very little money, I quickly learned to produce graphics in 1993 by hand and in 1996 taught myself to use a computer. Although the fashion industry seems like a very "forward" industry, it is actually quite old school in many respects. I didn't start actually using a computer at my day job until I worked at Dollhouse in 2000.
After Heatherette, I went to Soundgirl. It was a cute little young contemporary label that had that young, Japanese, fun look to it. I came from a higher end but edgy background so I was able to bring more detailing, a broader product range, higher end fabrications and editorial look to the line. I was named Creative Director and developed a spin off line from Soundgirl called Re:sound. It was a bit higher in pricepoint and more sophisticated but still fun.
Toward the end of working at Soundgirl, I was also working on my own dress line during my off hours and had my daughter Lily. I left Soundgirl before Lily was born and moved to Chicago and shortly after started Tiny Frock Shop!
There was a lot of buzz around Soundgirl long before I started at the company but I like to think I elevated the design to a fun sub-designer level.