When she graduates in 2012, Amanda Grisham plans to work as a women’s wear designer before starting her own brand for women who are “confident, classic, unafraid to be imperfect, and understand the appeal of being unique. I love a woman who feels beautiful simply being herself.”
“My design style is classic,” says Amanda Grisham. “I love designing for a woman who is proud to be a woman, drawing my inspiration from feminine heroes including Jackie Onassis, Sophia Loren, Diane Von Furstenberg and Ava Gardner. I love a woman who knows who she is, and I design for that woman.” Nicole Ognibene on the other hand says, “I like to design for the little girl who likes to look pretty but still wants to play on the playground with her brother. In most of my designs, I incorporate some sort of ruffle detailing or pink accent – my designs are feminine yet functional.”
This summer, Nicole and Amanda, both OSU undergraduates in apparel design, participated in a unique five-week internship experience working with Pati Palmer ’68 apparel design, founder and owner of the nationally renowned Palmer/Pletsch School of Sewing in Portland.
Nicole , who started sewing when she was six, is double majoring in apparel design and merchandising management and will go on to graduate school so she can teach at the college level. She says, “My ultimate goal is to inspire a passion for fashion and sewing in others just as my teachers and mentors have done for me.”
They worked with Pati almost daily, learning about sewing, marketing, and what it takes to manage a successful business. Pati was so impressed that at the end of the five weeks, she hired them both to help with special book and website projects. Their internship, which included lodging at a nearby hotel, was provided by Palmer/Pletsch and included classes in fitting pants, skirts, tops and dresses, tailoring jackets, and drafting patterns. Outside of class, Amanda learned how to set lights in the Palmer/Pletsch photography studio and use the company’s cameras and digital editing programs.
Amanda says one of the most valuable things she learned is that no body is perfect. “Every body has different proportions, higher and lower sides, slim and full sides,” she explains. “You truly have to fit the body the way the body is and not how you expect it to be. Constructing clothes in this way makes them incredibly more flattering and user friendly.” Nicole appreciated learning the practical aspects of tissue fitting, how to make welt pockets and how to alter different styles and silhouettes and the one on one time with Pati. “In addition to Pati teaching workshops, we had dinner at her house once a week and did a photo shoot with the garments we made at her photo studio,” says Nicole. “We even helped her edit her company’s book Looking Good and will get editing credit in the new edition. Pati has been extremely generous and she’s incredibly invested in seeing us succeed in the sewing industry.”
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