Our Final Writer For The Blog

Today I am unveiling the final writer for the Boutique Buyers Blog. I can't believe that we now have 4 authors, and we can cover many more topics, do more interviews, and have more contests. This last member of our writing team has brought many great ideas to the table, and she recently did an interview with a famous fabric designer, which we will be getting to at the end of the week. Thank you so much Laura for joining us, and thanks for doing this interview!


Where were you born and raised? I was born in Astoria and raised on Long Island. I moved into NYC when I was 18.

Where do you live now? I live in New York City, but would like to one day live on a farm upstate.

How many children do you have? Names and ages? Jennie--age 11

What are your hobbies (besides designing and sewing)? bird watching, photography, baking, party planning, gardening

What is your eBay ID? ginger10021

Do You Have An Etsy Store?

www.GingerLouiseClothing.etsy.com


How did you come up with your ID, is there a story behind it? Gingersnapps was the name of my former company. I closed that business 3 years ago, I wanted to use that name again but someone snagged it, so I kept the Ginger and added Louise which would have been the name of my second daughter if I ever had one.

Are you a member of a design group? How long have you been a member of that group?

I am looking into a few different groups.

How long have you been selling your designs? I have been a childrenswear designer for 20 years. I had 2 stores in Manhattan and a factory.

What got you started? Someone offered me a beautiful (little) store front on the upper east side for very reasonable rent. I was making dolls at the time and decided to try my hand at childrenswear. It was a great store. We lost the lease 5 years later but my business continued thru trunk shows up and down the east coast.

Have you noticed a change in your designs from when you first started? I use to use almost all cotton lycra. My designs were funky yet simple and sweet. Now I am able to use beautiful florals. The outfits I am designing now are more my style. More dresses and more feminine.

What is your inspiration for your designs? The fabric usually inspires me, but it could be anything from a children's book to a field of wild flowers or a vintage tin.

Are there any other designers you admire? CakeWalk Flowers By Zoe

What is your favorite design you have created? My favorite design is out of a Robert Kaufman print. Its brown with pink dots with a pink gingham trim.

Who is your favorite fabric designer? I love all fabric. I love the designers from Free Spirit and Micheal Miller but I also love combing 39th st and finding "treasure rolls" , I can usually spot a great fabric from the front door!

If you could max out your credit card at one store, what store would that be? Banana Republic

What can we expect from you in the future? Although "custom boutique" is not new to me, Ebay and Etsy are, I didn't know there was this big of a market online for selling handmade childrenswear. I am thrilled to have found this community and I am looking forward to exploring it. I have to say, I was pretty shocked a few months ago when I found all these fabulous designers on Ebay. I thought nobody sewed anymore. In all the years of being in business, I never met anyone else who did what I did. Who would think there were woman all over the country doing this, sometimes you get so involved in your own little corner of the world you forget there is anything else. So with that said, I am planning on slowly regrowing my business and this time it will be with all the beautiful floral prints I have always wanted to use. I am also opening an online fabric store. I would like to be ale to offer designers fabrics I find here in New York. There are these great printed cottons, 95% cotton, 5% Lycra. They are so great to work with and they wash really well. I will be posting them next week at my other Etsy shop www.vintagedelphinia.etsy.com.