Master Sewing and Design Professional (MSDP) Certification ...

Master Sewing and Design Professional (MSDP) Certification Program Board Members

Catherine Stephenson [email protected]

Catherine Stephenson, Board Chairperson, has owned her own couture dressmaking business for 30 years. She was one of the founders of what is now known as the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. Catherine joined the faculty of the prestigious Art Institute of Portland as an Adjunct Professor of Apparel Design in 1998, where she regularly teaches 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.

Linda Macke, VP of Certification Programs Education: Phoenix College, Phoenix, Arizona Linda is a charter member of the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals and has served that organization as Region Director and National Representative. She also held offices in both the New Jersey and Phoenix chapters. She has served as an evaluator for the New Jersey chapter for 8 years. Linda owned her business, Altered Images for 20 years, and has been a guest lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Linda Macke [email protected]

Mimi Jackson [email protected]

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.

Linda Przybyszewski is an Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of Notre Dame where she teaches courses on the history of ideas, law, and culture, including the history of fashion and dress. She earned her B.A. in Humanities from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in American History from Stanford University. She is the recipient of several national fellowships, most recently from the American Council of Learned Societies. A dressmaker herself, Professor Przybyszewski has made everything from the dress she was married in to a coat for her dog. She is Linda Przybyszewski Linda.Przybyszewski.1 @nd.edu

Jules Cole [email protected]

Jules Cole graduated as a fashion designer from East Sydney College, Sydney, Australia. After graduation Jules worked as a fashion designer in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia for over 30 years. She has designed collections for many companies focusing on: teenage, children’s and women’s apparel. She has also worked as a designer in the area of haute couture. Jules also had her own business designing and stitching couture bridal gowns. After Jules immigrated to the USA in 2002 she began teaching as an adjunct instructor in fashion design programs. Her main area of expertise is the design process from concept to the production of a garment. She teaches design classes in leather, coats, collections, and stretch knits (sportswear, day wear, lingerie and swimwear). Jules also teaches classes in clothing construction, pattern making and draping. She has taught at Harper College, IL, International Academy of Design and Technology, IL and Mount Mary College, WI. In 2008 Jules co authored two textbooks for Fairchild Publishers (New York) for fashion design students. Professional Sewing Techniques for Designers and the Sample Workbook to Accompany Professional Sewing Techniques for Designers are both widely used throughout USA and also internationally as core textbooks in fashion design programs. Jules is presently writing another textbook on stitching knit fabrics (and garments), also for design students.