Each year Cynthia creates one collection of about twenty deliciously ornate one-of-a-kind garments for those who like their look to be unique. Please feel free to peruse our gallery page with examples of present and past work.
ONE OF A KIND Each
item of wearable art is a unique, one-of-a-kind product hand made by
Cynthia Emerlye in her home studio in Pomfret, Vermont.
FABRIC Cynthia's
work is crafted from the finest materials. Garments of natural fiber
are of wool, silk, linen, hemp, or silk velvet. Many of her winter wear
pieces are built from polarfleece bought exclusively from Malden Mills
in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She has found that polarfleece is by far
the preferred fabric of her customers. It is warm light, comfortable,
washable, and surprisingly durable.
DESIGNS Each
item has a decoration which is machine-appliqued onto both the front
and the back. Additional decorative pieces of fabric may also be used,
such as silk, brocade, linen, velvet…. Machine embroidered stitching
completes the design, giving it a look of unusual elegance.
STYLE: All
of Cynthia's garments are designed to acomodate women of various sizes
and shapes. The polarfleece garments have a "give" which assures
comfort for many body types. Each style is cut wide under the arm to
accommodate multiple bust sizes. Free-flowing comfort is the aim.
About the Artist
Cynthia
began sewing early in life. With a mother who taught for the Singer
company, and a grandmother whose hands were always busy, she learned
sewing, fiber arts, and handwork from an early age. She began her own
clothing designs at age ten when she hand-fashioned out of red corduroy
a two-piece bathing suit as a Mother’s Day gift. (Needless to say, the
bathing suit seemed to fit her better than her mother and she wore it
with pride to the neighborhood beach . It fell apart as she stepped out
of the water!) Although she had been sewing fanciful items for
herself and her children for years, in Vermont she began experimenting
with the Polarfleece fabric made by Malden Mills. As she loathes doing
anything simple, she soon embellished her items with complex applique
and top-stitching.. After several people offered her children money for
the clothing they were wearing, she decided in 1997 to offer her
designs for sale. Thus began a modest wearable art business.
Cynthia’s clothing ( all one-of-a-kind) has been sold at local craft
shows and in boutiques and galleries in Northern New England . In 2001
her work was included in the DeCordova Museum Wearable Art show in
Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has had clients from Paris, London, New
York, Denver, and California as well.
