Cassie Ridgway, Founder and Producer
Owner and Designer of Mag-Big
My name is Cassie; I’m an apparel and jewelry designer in Portland, OR. I also own a small boutique on Hawthorne called Mag-Big which singularly sells and curates local work. We are currently featuring over 200 artists from Portland, representing apparel, jewelry, houseware, craft, and visual art.
My goal in life is to stay committed to the arts. My shop offers sewing classes, DIY work shops, art openings, poetry nights, and many other exciting events to foster and support the creative community of Portland, OR.
December Carson, Founder and Producer
Co-Founder of Siren Nation
December Carson is the Artistic Director and Executive Director for The Siren Nation Women’s Music and Arts Festival. December is a native Portlander who loves the city she grew up in. She has over 15 years experience booking, managing and promoting local musical talent. As the owner of Siren Music Company she has been able to help create careers for musicians and bands around the country. In her spare time, she enjoys eating at Burgerville, listening to old-time music and square dancing.
Elizabeth Mollo, Backstage Manager
Elizabeth Mollo has been producing and backstage managing fashion shows in Portland since 2004, some of which include Portland Fashion Week, Fade to Light, the Doom Town/Sweet F.A. Rock and Roll Fashion Shows, and of course Alley 33. In addition to producing fashion shows, she writes for The Portland Mercury On Design Blog and is a seamstress for Krista West Vestments. She moved to Portland in 2000 from San Jose, CA and received her B.S. in Apparel Design from the Art Institute of Portland in 2005. In addition to loving all things fashion, she likes to dance, spend as much time outdoors as possible, and hang out at home with her boyfriend, pomeranian, and two cats.
http://in-vested.blogspot.com/
Skye Blue, Designer Liaison
Owner of Skye Blue Can Sew
Skye Blue Can Sew is proud to be a Portland based, woman owned, green tailoring business!
We are committed to being an environmentally sustainable business. By reusing and recreating clothing we diminish our reliance on the consumption of foreign made clothes and take a step toward conservation and conscious living.
Skye Blue Can Sew does basic alterations such as: hemming, taking in the waistline of pants, patching, replacing buttons and zippers. We also do custom designing, pattern making and one-of-a-kind items.
Beth Olson, Media & Design Coordinator
Owner of Beth Olson Creative
Beth Olson is a photographer, graphic designer and social marketer who focuses on supporting small businesses and local artists. She is constantly involved in group projects which aim to improve the livelihoods of creative people. When not designing or photographing things, she is director, board member or volunteer for a half dozen different art, design and event groups here in Portland. She has an intense love for geek culture, hoppy beer, all things Portland and has something of a potty mouth. She also finds talking about herself in the 3rd person extremely awkward yet somewhat liberating.
You can follow her adventures at www.PDXAdventures.blogspot.com
and design explorations at www.TypeWhore.blogspot.com
Amelia Blakeman
Amelia has been making clothing in one sense or another for over ten years now, currently designing under the eponymous label Amelia. She designs feminine, classic clothing inspired by special objects and the memories they evoke. You can find her clothing in local boutiques and online at helloamelia.com. Amelia hopes that every dress she makes with her own hands becomes a treasured part of someone’s wardrobe and accompanies them on wonderful adventures.
Amelia showed her work in the first annual Alley 33 show and is thrilled to be participating again this year on the stage and behind the scenes. She also spends her time learning new crafts, tending her aquarium, and trying to channel the dog whisperer.
Follow her at: http://helloamelia.com
Christine McKernan, Director of Infrastructure
Owner of Chalk-let candy bus
Bettie Newell, Fundraiser Coordinator
Photographer, Writer for Little Paper Cities
Bettie is a full-time mother, an amateur photographer and a part-time
business lawyer who blogs about photography, life and the crafty and
DIY culture in her beloved city at Little Paper Cities. You’ll pretty
much never catch her without her camera in hand and she’ll soon be
selling her prints in a new Etsy shop with the same name. Bettie likes
making new things out of old things, hanging out in thrift stores, and
avoiding direct sunlight. In between taking care of her two daughters
and her two little dogs, Bettie consults with small creative
businesses on everything from marketing to time management.
Erin Gilbert
Erin Gilbert has a bachelors in Sociology and works towards a Masters
in Fashion Design. Erin likes to call herself a fashion activist with
a passion for local and sustainable design especially through the use
of re-purposed materials. Often volunteering at SCRAP, the Oregon Food
Bank or working in the Vintage business she is found all around
Portland. Please feel free to contact her on facebook or by email-
6heartsgarden@gmail.com
Amber Arquette, Sponsorship Coordinator
Designer for Dress up Alice
Sewing and crafting most of her life. Amber started creating outfits
and costumes as soon as she could dress herself. She grew up around
singing sewing machines conducive of many memories of crinkly pattern
pieces and stuffed pincushions with her mother. You could say she grew
up in a house of home made. With Grandmothers, Mothers and Aunts all
sewing for necessity or hobby. You can see why her natural instinct to
create with fabric came easy. Living in Portland Or. since 1996 Amber
has seen Portland fashion start out on a little strip called Alberta
St. with reconstructed clothing to Project Runway and Fashion Week’s
edgy and unique garment barrage, inspiring and influencing the nation.
Or at least pulling eyes in our northern direction. Through the years
she has participated or organized a number of fashion shows in
Portland, been involved in community art projects, taught apparel
construction to youth and sewn costumes for two independent films.
Amber started sewing and designing for local stores in 1998. Leaving
her full time work in 2009 to dedicate herself to her clothing line
Dress Up Alice. Amber has been filling the racks of many Portland
boutiques and is now offered in California as well. All pieces are
designed and produced by hand in her home studio.
Laurel Dickman, Director of Marketing
Designer for The Bear and The Bird
Avery Bloom, Director of Social Networking
Owner/Designer for Recession Clothing
Courtney Amundsen, Fundraiser Volunteer Coordinator
Owner/Designer for Lazy Lolita Designs
Courtney is a single mom to three kids, which keeps her pretty busy. When she is not disciplining wayward youth, she is hand-dying and modifying vintage lingerie.
Marissa Sullivan, writer for Portland Mercury Fashion Blog and Thrillist
Christine Doyle, Owner/designer Sweet Cycle Apparel
Jasin Weiner, Owner/Designer Buffalo Apparel
Liz Haynes, Owner/Stylist of Red Velvet Parlour
Jenny Greenup, owner/designer for She-She Apparel
Whitney Holt, designer
