CORNER BROOK — Growing up, Melanie Francis loved wearing clothes made by her mom Myra, an amateur seamstress.
She eventually developed that same passion as her mom, making her first little green miniskirt when she was in Grade 9 and then making a full-out graduation dress — a long grey satin design complete with a bow appliqué — when she was in Grade 10.
She continued to dabble in sewing while studying for her education degree, making the odd shirt or tank top. It would not be out of the ordinary for her to “whip up a dress” a couple hours before going out on a weekend night.
After spending two years working in the education field, the 25-year-old from Deer Lake has decided to put teaching full-time on hold and is trying to make a go of designing custom-made clothing as a career.
Francis relocated to St. John’s last June to concentrate on creating pieces that reflect her own zest for life. While it’s still an enterprise dependent largely on word-of-mouth and social media networking, Melanie Jacqueline Designs — thanks in part to a $5,000 grant from the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador — will have a walk-in boutique and studio open for business in downtown St. John’s in March.
A website is also under construction.
“This was a hard decision to make and it didn’t happen overnight,” she said of giving up a regular pay cheque. “I did a lot of thinking about it.”
She still fits in some substitute teaching once or twice a week.
“It’s not that I was not happy teaching,” she said. “This was just something I wanted to try and pursue. You don’t know until you try, so I’m going to give it a shot for this year and see what happens.”
The momentum gained simply from people hearing about what she was doing this past summer has kept her quite busy. This past fall, Francis organized a fashion show of her designs at Humphrey’s Restaurant and Bar in St. John’s and has sold 44 of the 52 pieces she made for that.
Francis doesn’t follow store-bought patterns and designs her own work, using high quality fabrics ordered in from New York’s fashion district. Last summer, she studied a course in fashion design at the Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art and Design to keep up on some of the latest trends in the business.
She also gained some invaluable insight while working on a production of “The Sound of Music” alongside Marie Sharpe, the award-winning head costume designer at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s, who has also worked with the TV show “Republic of Doyle.”
“Marie had no idea who I was, but I tortured her to give me a job,” laughed Francis. “The most I have learned has been from her in those few months — just paying attention to the fine details and technique and adapting it to my own stuff.”
She’s also landed contract work with the Dance Studio East dance school.
The Melanie Jacqueline Designs line focuses mainly on fun, brightly coloured skirts and dresses suitable for any age range or personal taste. Francis and her boyfriend, Darryl Couch — who owns Spun T-Shirts in St. John’s, also collaborate on a line of pieces containing vintage prints.
“I only do one-offs and I won’t make the same thing twice,” she said. “People always want something no one else has. I might do something in a different colour or make it a long-sleeve instead of a short, but it will always be different.”
She had actually thought about doing it while still teaching in Trout River last year, but Francis wants to do a fashion show in Corner Brook some time. Like the one she just did in St. John’s, she would recruit a bunch of friends to model her line of clothes and keep it as fun as the garments themselves.
Melanie Jacqueline Designs can be found on Facebook by searching Melanie Jacqueline or Francis can be reached vi
CORNER BROOK — Growing up, Melanie Francis loved wearing clothes made by her mom Myra, an amateur seamstress.
She eventually developed that same passion as her mom, making her first little green miniskirt when she was in Grade 9 and then making a full-out graduation dress — a long grey satin design complete with a bow appliqué — when she was in Grade 10.
She continued to dabble in sewing while studying for her education degree, making the odd shirt or tank top. It would not be out of the ordinary for her to “whip up a dress” a couple hours before going out on a weekend night.
After spending two years working in the education field, the 25-year-old from Deer Lake has decided to put teaching full-time on hold and is trying to make a go of designing custom-made clothing as a career.
Francis relocated to St. John’s last June to concentrate on creating pieces that reflect her own zest for life. While it’s still an enterprise dependent largely on word-of-mouth and social media networking, Melanie Jacqueline Designs — thanks in part to a $5,000 grant from the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador — will have a walk-in boutique and studio open for business in downtown St. John’s in March.
A website is also under construction.
“This was a hard decision to make and it didn’t happen overnight,” she said of giving up a regular pay cheque. “I did a lot of thinking about it.”
She still fits in some substitute teaching once or twice a week.
“It’s not that I was not happy teaching,” she said. “This was just something I wanted to try and pursue. You don’t know until you try, so I’m going to give it a shot for this year and see what happens.”
The momentum gained simply from people hearing about what she was doing this past summer has kept her quite busy. This past fall, Francis organized a fashion show of her designs at Humphrey’s Restaurant and Bar in St. John’s and has sold 44 of the 52 pieces she made for that.
Francis doesn’t follow store-bought patterns and designs her own work, using high quality fabrics ordered in from New York’s fashion district. Last summer, she studied a course in fashion design at the Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art and Design to keep up on some of the latest trends in the business.
She also gained some invaluable insight while working on a production of “The Sound of Music” alongside Marie Sharpe, the award-winning head costume designer at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s, who has also worked with the TV show “Republic of Doyle.”
“Marie had no idea who I was, but I tortured her to give me a job,” laughed Francis. “The most I have learned has been from her in those few months — just paying attention to the fine details and technique and adapting it to my own stuff.”
She’s also landed contract work with the Dance Studio East dance school.
The Melanie Jacqueline Designs line focuses mainly on fun, brightly coloured skirts and dresses suitable for any age range or personal taste. Francis and her boyfriend, Darryl Couch — who owns Spun T-Shirts in St. John’s, also collaborate on a line of pieces containing vintage prints.
“I only do one-offs and I won’t make the same thing twice,” she said. “People always want something no one else has. I might do something in a different colour or make it a long-sleeve instead of a short, but it will always be different.”
She had actually thought about doing it while still teaching in Trout River last year, but Francis wants to do a fashion show in Corner Brook some time. Like the one she just did in St. John’s, she would recruit a bunch of friends to model her line of clothes and keep it as fun as the garments themselves.
Melanie Jacqueline Designs can be found on Facebook by searching Melanie Jacqueline or Francis can be reached vi
