OuR board of directors
Catherine Stephenson
Catherine Stephenson, Board Chairperson, owned her own couture dressmaking business for 35 years in Portland, Oregon. She was one of the original founders of what is now known as the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. Catherine also was on the faculty of Art Institute of Portland as an Adjunct Professor of Apparel Design for 17 years, where she taught classes in couture sewing, draping, textiles and advanced garment construction. She has been a strong advocate for the Master Certification Program and has had a prominent role in its formation and continuing development. Currently she is retired and living in Mexico where she continues to design and make women’s clothing under the label Ajijic Chic.
Vandarra Robbins
Vandarra Robbins, Director of Operations, is a founding member of the NJ Chapter of Association of Sewing and Design Professionals and has served as President, Vice- President and evaluator for the chapter jurying committee. She spent four years as the resident sewing expert “Meg Carter” at McCall Patterns, after which she became the Creative Director at HTC, INC (formerly Handler Textiles) and Precision Custom Coatings. She has also free lanced for Isaac Mizrahi and been a guest lecturer at FIT. Vandarra began her business in 1993 teaching, creating custom bridal, and tailoring. In 2012 she decided to concentrate on teaching and has opened Sewphistication at the Couture Hand giving instruction in garment construction and fit. Presently she conducts garment construction and fit workshops to sewing groups in the NY, NJ and PA areas.
Mimi Jackson
Mimi Jackson is a collaborative custom clothing designer and dressmaker who has owned her own custom clothing business since 1997. A native New Yorker, she studied fashion design at Fashion Institute of Technology, and later supplemented that training with costume design experience while studying at Washington University in St. Louis. As the creator of www.findadressmaker.com, (a dressmaker and sewing teacher referral website) she helps potential clients find appropriate sewing professionals to execute their projects. Her experiences working for the Butterick/Vogue pattern company, textile companies, high end designers, and wardrobe and costume for movie and television productions, have all fueled her insatiable appetite for many aspects of the custom sewing profession. As a member of this board, she hopes to help facilitate, inspire, encourage, and encourage other sewing and design professionals to pursue the mastery of their craft.
Barbie McCormick
Barbie started Sew Good in 1994, joined ASDP in 1996, and completed the MSDP certification in 2014. She does a wide variety of sewing related work, including alterations, men’s tailoring, custom bridal, pattern making, private lessons, technical editing, and prototypes. More information and photographs of her work can be found at www.BarbieMcCormick.com. She also collaborates with colleague Linda Homan to teach 3-6 day long Couture Sewing workshops in Palm Springs, through www.LoveCoutureSewing.com. She continues to attend sewing conferences and related workshops to learn and teach as much as she can!
Angela Wolf
Angela Wolf, fashion designer and sewing expert, is the the anchor of the PBS series It’s Sew Easy, hosts a facebook live show Behind the Scenes, and founder of the Angela Wolf Pattern Collection. She teaches online classes on Craftsy, Patternreview, and www.AngelaWolf.com. Author of How to Start a Home-based Fashion Design Business, has contributed to both Threads, SewStylish, and Sew News magazines, blogger, vlogger, spokesperson, and brand ambassador.
Angela started sewing at a young age and continued to design women’s apparel all thru college. With an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for fashion and sewing, she launched and ran a successful custom apparel and alteration business for over 18 years. With the success of It’s Sew Easy tv, Angela changed her business focus toward the home sewer and now spends much of her time consulting, speaking, and teaching all over the country. She is the winner of 2008 Passion for Fashion, 2012 American Sewing Expo’s teacher of year, and in 2016 received Outstanding Industry Contribution award. When she’s is not sewing, you will find her fishing on Lake Michigan or in the Florida Keys with her husband Winn, on the Win-n-Angel! You can find Angela at www.AngelaWolf.com
Linda Macke
Linda Macke received her Apparel Construction and Design Certificate from Phoenix College in 1991. She was on the Advisory Board for the Fashion Design Program at Phoenix College from 1991-96. Linda was a guest lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in October 1999. She was also a co-chairperson and presenter at the 1999 Association of Sewing and Design Professionals (ASDP) National Educational Conference in New Jersey. Linda had an alteration and custom clothing business for 20 years and currently is a retired member of ASDP.
Linda has been a charter member of the ASDP since 1991. Linda co-chaired the committee that created the original mission statement for ASDP. She was an active member of both the Arizona and New Jersey Chapters and was an evaluator for the New Jersey Chapter’s Referral Evaluation program from 2000- 2008. Linda has attended all the ASDP National Educational Conferences from 1994 to 2019. Linda was the ASDP Region 1 Director from 2006-2007 and served as ASDP’s VP of Certification Programs from 2009-2014.
Linda won the Most Whimsical Closure award in the reversible wool contest sponsored by Threads Magazine and Joanne Fabrics in 2001. Her award winning suit can be seen in Threads Magazine, October/November 2001 issue, pg. 40.
Julianne Bramson
Julianne Bramson – Owner of Fashion in Harmony, an independent pattern company in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in designs utilizing the amazing bias cut. In June of 2014, Julianne and (retired business partner) Susan Lenahan published their book, Bias Cut Blueprints which details their unique method of creating garments that are cut and sewn on the straight-of-grain, but worn on the true bias.
Julianne developed her love for clothing as artistic self-expression at a young age. With artistic parents and grandparents, she was always surrounded by innovative thinking and the desire to be expressive. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Home Economics with concentrations in Fashion Design and Art History.
Julianne Bramson creates distinctive designs based on the bias cut. Her unique method of creating bias cut garments puts the majority of the seams on the straight-of-grain, while the garment hangs on the true bias. This method helped Julianne win the “Best Overall” prize in the 2009 ASDP/Threads Challenge for her design of a “luxurious bias-cut velvet dress” (Threads Magazine, Issue #148). Julianne has written several articles for Threads Magazine and teaches about bias-cut garment design all over the country.
You may see photos of her work and get information about the book, Bias Cut Blueprints, through the company website: www.fashioninharmony.com.
Jil Konopacki
Jil Konopacki has been a member of the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals since 2007. Jil owned a small sewing business in my home doing custom clothing and alterations. She was juried by the NJ chapter in 2009 and received a certificate in Women’s Tailoring. Jil is an active member of the New Jersey Chapter; having served as Chapter Representative, 1st Vice President for Programming, President and now Treasurer. Since 2015, she have served as the Recording Secretary for the MSDP/MAS board. She had worked full-time as an Administrative Assistant in banking for 30 years until retirement in 2015. Both before and after retirement from the bank, Jil sewed for myself, my family and customers. She found the challenge of re-purposing wedding gowns into christening dresses was truly rewarding to see a young mother realize the long lasting effect that a gown usually wore once can have within a family. Using a pattern known as the Tuscany Tote, she is inspired by interesting cotton prints and put four together to make tote bags unique to the customer. In early 2018, Jil’s business closed, and now only sew for her family.