Jennifer Paganelli, An Interview.....

What would we do without all these beautiful fabrics to inspire us? A lot of woman that buy designer clothes give lots of credit to the designer, however being a designer myself, I can tell you that it is usually the fabric that inspires me. I will buy hundreds of yards of fabric and then just let it sit there. I look at it, carry swatches around with me and wait. Finally, a design comes forth. It's almost like the fabric takes on a life of it's own and says what it wants to be!

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to interview a couple of fabric designers. Today we are going to take a look into the life of a really talented designer and a sweetheart of a person, Jennifer Paganelli, aka Sis Boom.

Jennifer Paganelli lives in a beautiful farmhouse in Wilton, CT with her husband Peter,son Matt (18) and daughter Kate (15). Congratulations, Matt on your high school graduation! Jennifer is a self made woman. She studied illustration in high school, then worked in New York selling textiles for a furniture design company. For the last 10 years she has owned and operated her own company called Sis Boom. As you can see in the picture below, the fabrics she creates have a definite personality to them. The brilliant colors, the flow of the lines....and like all good designers her creativity keeps growing, her newest idea is to add a printed applique into the fabric. I can't wait to get my hands on that one. Jennifer creates about 50 different designs a year and they are available thru FreeSpirit. Her inspiration, and I quote, can come from "an iron gate or a picture in a magazine". She grew up in St. Croix, and I get a sense of that when I look at her work. Keep your eyes open for her next line called Flower Power! There are lots of retail stores all over the country that carry the Sis Boom fabric collection, these stores are listed on Jennifer's website.



Also, good news, if you don't sew and would love to get some of the beautiful items you see in the picture above, Jennifer and her family open their home twice a year, usually expecting a crowd of about 500 people, and sell everything from pillows and bags to halter dresses and quilts. (all made from sisboom fabrics) Everything is handmade and made locally, just the way we boutique buyers like it! If you would like to attend one of these, check out her blog JenniferPaganelli.typepad.com and her website www.Sisboom.com The shows take place in the spring and fall and dates will be announced. There are also lots of great seasonal craft ideas and lots of fun give aways on the blog.

I am going to end with Jennifer's words: Life has been very good to me, I could not be in a better place...I love the creative process..and I love when folks show us what they are working on with our fabrics...its so gratifying...I tell every one to believe in your dreams, pursue them and trust that no-one has a corner on anything, there is always room for one more!