Couture Camp! Instructors
Rebecca Day - Master Artisan, Co-author: Merrick & Day books, instructor. Lincolnshire, England
Rebecca Day and her sister Catherine Merrick turned a mutual love of soft furnishings into a successful, quality curtain making company, recognized by professionals internationally.
Based in a delightful workroom in Lincolnshire, they have a list of clients who appreciate the best in the finest materials and hand finishing as well as the practical and technical knowledge which creates delightful window treatments.
As the sisters’ business developed, they realized how few reference books were available that covered the most difficult tricks of the trade. The result was a series of books which began in 1991 and continues today.
Catherine Merrick and Rebecca Day continue to flourish in Lincolnshire, a good centre for their clients from Scotland to southern England and London. They are much in demand for lectures on curtain history and making at home and abroad. Additionally, they hold frequent curtain making workshops and have been featured in major magazines throughout the world.
Couture Camp! Curriculum:
- Friday
Lecture - Rebecca will describe her process into the window treatment business, sharing stories of growth and challenges along the way. She will describe initial curtain projects, how the business expanded, the beginnings of writing and publishing books and how Merrick & Day came to teach and lecture on curtain making and design.
Current projects and styles and The English Method will be discussed.
Photos of projects including the recent Regency House will be discussed.
- Saturday and Sunday
Hands-on classes - Designing and Embellishing Top Treatments with Trumpets, Coronets and Cording. Attendees will review design ideas using trumpets, coronets, choux, cord, etc., calculate proportions and sizes for specific designs, make paper patterns for various single and double trumpets and coronets, complete fabric double trumpet and coronet and learn cording techniques.
Sherrie Horner - Master Artisan. San Francisco, California
Sherrie Horner was living in England when she decided to try making draperies for her old house. She dedicated herself to learning all she could about the craft - visiting historic houses in England, consulting with others who became mentors - and eventually opened her own workshop first in England, then in Portugal. Now in her San Francisco workroom, she preaches and teaches technique, process, and project management.
A major accomplishment in her experience has been fabricating and installing elegant and detailed custom window treatments for the King of Thailand’s palace.
Horner & Company provides services for design, production and installation. Building her workroom has been an organic and constant process. Meticulous standards are consistently applied to ensure that every piece created - from concept to execution - is sufficiently informed and consistently delivered.
Couture Camp! Curriculum:
- Friday
Lecture - Sherrie will share her story of initiation and progression in her career as a window treatment master artisan. Listen to Sherrie discuss the attainment, fabrication and installation of the King of Thailand’s Summer Palace. This project was large in scale and scope and Sherrie will tell how proportions and designs were created and developed using many custom trims and fabrics and the process therein. Photos and descriptions of this and other challenging projects will be shown.
- Saturday and Sunday
Group - Master Class
Bring your own specific issues or topics for Sherrie to discuss with the group to share techniques and approaches to challenging situations. Learn from the other questions attendees have and hear Sherrie’s resolutions, suggestions and methods for resolution.
Scot Robbins - Master Artisan, inventor and industry instructor. Hermitage, Tennessee
Master Artisan Scot Robbins is a designer and fabricator of fine custom window treatments. Scot has been featured on the cover of two industry magazines: D&WC Magazine and SewWhat? Magazine. Writer Brian Coleman featured Scot in the magazine Old House Interiors as well as his book "Window Dressings" in 2006.
Scot is the inventor of the Workroom Valet - Professional Fabrication Stand and the Designers WriteMate Portable Writing Surface.
Scott has achieved WFCP Master Level Status and is listed in the Manchester Who's Who Among Business Executives and Professionals. He holds an Associate Art Degree and a Bachelor's Degree in Design and Vision Promotion.
Scot Robbins & Company is the exclusive U.S. Distributor for the Parkhill Royale Swags and Tails System.
Couture Camp! Curriculum:
- Saturday and Sunday
The Classic Bed Corona - a demonstration and display of style and function.
Colette Wolff - Author: The Art of Manipulating Fabric. New York City, New York
An industry pioneer in the field of textile manipulation and the study thereof, Colette Wolff’s experimentation and techniques resulted in the popular book “The Art of Manipulating Fabric”, published in 1996.
For 30 years Colette has taught and lectured at quilt, embroidery, doll making, fiber art and wearable art guilds and at national conferences throughout the United States.
Her expertise, skill and vast knowledge of fabric manipulation will be a wonderful complement to the Couture Camp event.
Couture Camp! Curriculum:
- Friday
Lecture - Colette will describe her career development and discuss her methods of fabric manipulation and the wide variety of results that can be achieved. Samples, photos and descriptions will enlighten the attendees to the broad variety of underutilized embellishments available for window treatments and other decorative projects.
- Saturday and Sunday
Hands-on class - Specialty embellishment fabric techniques; demonstration and instruction.
Creative Camp! Instructors
Joanna Braxton - Braxton Drapery Design, Orlando, Florida, Suncraft- Design Consultant, Altamonte Springs, Florida
Joanna began her career in 1984 sewing for an upholstery/drapery/carpet store. After learning the trade and working with them for about a year, she relocated and started a window treatment business of her own. In the 23 years of operating her business, she has won numerous awards and been featured in national trade magazines.
Joanna is known for 'thinking outside the box' and creating unique methods of fabricating unusual treatments. Her style preference is old world designs with historical accuracy. The period of time when excess was 'just enough' suits her best.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Historical Pelmets using Contemporary Methods
Carlette Cormier - CC'S Designs, Savannah, Georgia
Carlette has been designing and fabricating window treatments for 21 years. She was awarded the prestigious title of Workroom of the Year in 2004 by Window Fashions Magazine. Her beautiful fabrications and designs have been featured in Southern Living Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, and Savannah Magazine. Her work has also been published in numerous books, including Window Dressings by Brian Coleman, Window Top Treatments, Complete Photo Guide to Window Treatments and Dream Windows. Carlette has been an instructor for the Custom Home Furnishings Conferences and is a WFCP Specialist.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Creative Solutions on a Grand Scale
Leslie Fehling - Leslie Fehling Designs and Summerhill Sewing Retreats, Prosperity, PA
Leslie Fehling's award winning treatments, attention to detail and proficiency in specialty techniques have made her a sought after custom drapery and slipcover workroom/fabricator and instructor. Leslie has taught for the Custom Home Furnishings Conferences and now offers weekend sewing retreats at her beautiful home/workroom in Pennsylvania.
Creative Camp! Classes:
Sandy Gardner - Commonwealth Staging, LLC, Springfield, Virginia
Sandy Gardner is a professional home stager and redesigner. She began her career as a drapery workroom working from her home. For 15 years she enjoyed designing, fabricating, selling and sometimes installing window treatments and other soft furnishings. She then worked for a high end commercial workroom providing technical and design advice for prominent D.C. designers.o reality. She worked on such projects as the Capitol Hill Club, Westfield's Conference Center, the NSO show house, and many fine homes in the Washington area.
After receiving training as a professional home stager and redesigner, Sandy has joined the entrepreneurial field again and has her own business, Commonwealth Staging LLC. Her workroom background allows her to bring a touch of custom to home staging. In addition, she writes two email newsletters, Bits and Pieces from The Pillow Lady, and Staging News.
Creative Camp! Classes:
Sharon Greiner - Owner, Homestyle Interiors, Inc., Naperville, Illinois
Sharon started her home based retail design studio and workroomin 1986. In 1991 she opened her first retail location downtown Naperville, Il. After 17 years of owning a store, she chose to run her business from home once again so she can pursue writing books, giving seminars and teaching.
Sharon has won many awards with the Cavalcade of Homes, been published in magazines, and has taught Interior Decorators in her seminars. She is a member of WCAA and has reached WFCP certification Master level and is the author of "Paper Trail Forms".
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Customer Connection and Window Treatment Trunk Show
Donna-Marie Lee - Nest Feathers, Lake Jackson, Texas
Donna-Marie Lee owns a successful retail workroom in Lake Jackson, Texas. She is well known for her specialty tips and tricks and time saving techniques, as well as her ability to adapt treatments and installations in difficult situations. Donna-Marie is a member of WCAA and President of the Houston Area Custom Drapery Association.
Donna-Marie's husband and three wonderful children are proud of her many accomplishments.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Smocking (hands-on) (Saturday elective)
Peggy Morgans - Parkway Window Works, Pittsford, NY
Peggy Morgans owns a full-service wholesale workroom in Pittsford, NY. She has a chemical engineering degree and an MBA and is known for tackling unique and technically difficult projects. She recently shared an award for best workmanship and execution in D&WC magazine's Designer & Workroom Contest. She is a WCAA member and has been a member of the Greater Rochester Professional Workroom Association. Peggy has taught classes at the D&WC conference and her local workroom association.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Textiles in Depth (Saturday elective)
Chris Watt - The Pillow Lady, Saratoga, CA
Chris Watt is known as "The Pillow Lady" for her expertise in the construction of beautiful and unusual designer pillows. Her professional videos/dvds are jam packed with specific tips and details to ensure that you produce fine quality pillows and cushions efficiently and well. Chris has been a professional fabricator of drapery and home decor in the San Francisco area since 1976.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Unusual Roman Shades; Motorization; Planning for the Worst
Gillian Wendel - The Wendelworks, Pinehurst, TX
Gillian Wendel, owner of The Wendel Works, began her nationally recognized window fashions business in 1999. Serving clients in the Greater Houston area, Gillian provides window fashion designs, complete bed ensembles, upholstery, fabrication and installation. With a fully stocked library of fabrics, trims and hardware The Wendel Works can create a one-of-a-kind look that embodies the essence of the world of custom.
Creative Camp! Classes:
- Specialty Details; Design & Proportion
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