MaryGwyneth ~ Fine Wearable Art and Exquisitely Crafted Clothing

Great news! My Facebook page, Twitter, and Website are all linked up!

Mary — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:42:20 +0000

Great news! I’ve linked my website, Facebook page, and Twitter page all with a great tool called Posterous!

I’m checking now to see if this is posting everywhere.

Rose’s Edge collection is coming soon….

Artwear by MaryGwyneth Coming Soon: The Rose’s Edge Collection

Mary — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:21:43 +0000

Artwear by MaryGwyneth: Rose's Edge Collection Preview, hand dyed silk dupioni ruffled short jacket

Artwear by MaryGwyneth

COMING SOON for Fall 2010

The Rose’s Edge Collection

Hand dyed and embellished silk dupioni in luscious, heart-caressing fall colors

All original designs for jackets, wraps, hats, handbags, plus a lovely gown will be shown on an upscale fashion doll

See them in the designer’s home gallery as part of the fall 2010 self-guided SLC Arts Council Artists’ Studio Tour

Saturday-Sunday, November 6-7, 2010

Designer selling accessories

Mary — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:26:35 +0000

Designer selling accessories

SHOW APRIL 24: Colton woman hopes to augment line of higher-end clothing

By MARTHA ELLEN

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2010

COLTON — Wearable-art designer Mary Gwyneth Holland has started an accessory line of hats, headbands, belts and bags to augment her higher-end, custom clothing.

“I think I need to go the traditional way of moving up the craft ladder, because you need to keep the cash flow going,” she said. “I have a huge amount of money invested in inventory.”

Ms. Holland will have a spring show of her collection from noon to 3 p.m. April 24 at her home, 365 Hanson Road.

She was a finalist in the 2010 Niche Awards for her hand-beaded white peacock coat of silk charmeuse and chenille yarn. Niche is a trade magazine for independent retailers of fine crafts.

As part of her spring collection, Ms. Holland will showcase pieces designed as part of the white peacock line, such as a sports jacket of corduroy and silk and an embellished laced-back bustier, but she also will have examples of MaryGwyneth Accessories.

Ms. Holland fashions silk, chiffon, leather, chenille, organza, wool, brocade, buttons, crystals, freshwater pearls and beads into a bohemian line of pins, wristlets, barrettes, corsages and short capes that start at $49.

With a line of accessories more affordable than her clothing, which is priced in the thousands of dollars, she said she hopes to make herself better known.

Although the Niche award garnered her a lot of attention, Ms. Holland is still working on business basics. When she wasn’t designing and sewing last year, she was developing her Web site, working on the photography of the collection, and pricing her work.

“I’m an emerging artist still,” she said. “I need to get my name out there. I never appreciated how important marketing is.”

Once orders start coming in, her plan is to hire a staff to make the accessories while she focuses again on high-end clothing.

“The field is a lot less dense in the craft end,” she said. “Besides, I don’t really follow fashion trends.”

ON THE NET

Mary Gwyneth Holland collection: www.marygwyneth.com

Link to Watertown Daily Times Article

Link to NorthCountryNow article

Spring 2010 Show of Selected Samples from the White Peacock Collection by MaryGwyneth

Mary — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:48:27 +0000

Fiber artist MARYGWYNETH presents selected samples from the 2010 White Peacock Collection

Special offer on Golden Garden Accessories

Saturday, April 24, 2010 ~ 12 – 3pm

365 Hanson Road, Colton, New York 13625

See an announcement also on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Bustier, MaryGwyneth, MaryGwyneth Show, Spring 2010, White Peacock, White Peacock Collection

Woman finds NICHE in fashion

Mary — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:56:47 +0000

Clothing designer Mary G. Holland sews at her home in Colton as a feline friend keeps her company.

Woman finds NICHE in fashion

HAUTE COUTURE: Colton retiree’s white peacock coat creation a craft award finalist

By MARTHA ELLEN

TIMES STAFF WRITER

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009

COLTON — Mary Gwyneth Holland has entered the world of haute couture from a first career in information technology that paid the bills but didn’t touch her heart.

Ms. Holland, 365 Hanson Road, is a finalist in the 2010 NICHE Awards for her one-of-a-kind hand-beaded white peacock coat of silk charmeuse and chenille yarn. NICHE is a trade magazine for independent retailers of fine crafts.

“I have always loved manipulating fabric,” she said. “I’ve been sewing and making my own patterns since I was 10.”

Her entry is among 161 out of nearly 1,000 submissions that made it to the finals. Judging is based on technical excellence, market viability and distinctness.

Winners will be announced Feb. 12 in Philadelphia during the Buyers Market of American Craft, where Ms. Holland hopes to make a splash with a design collection —which could include a sports jacket, bathing suit, evening tops and cocktail dresses — modeled around the white peacock theme.

She will retail the white peacock coat, so named because it resembles a peacock’s plumage, and an accompanying gown for $105,000. Her goal is to establish a made-to-order clothing line through boutiques that cater to the wealthy.

“This is sort of my entry into the market,” she said. “I’d love to be able to find an investor so I could take this to a whole other level.”

Ms. Holland’s upbringing was marked by needlework. Her grandmother was known for her fine embroidery. Her mother, Marjorie, preferred knitting and knew how to sew. Off-the-rack clothes never fit Ms. Holland well, so she learned to make alterations.

After she took early retirement in 2007 from her job as information technology director at SUNY Canton, she thought about a second career. She had a lot of talents from which to choose.

She designed the straw bale house in which she and her husband, Robert P. Spengler, live and served as its general contractor when it was built. She did a lot of the home’s mosaic and tile work, designed and finished the woodwork, some of which is hand-carved, and is also a painter.

“Probably my biggest challenge was focusing on what I wanted to do,” she said.

Ms. Holland took a class through Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative, which helps rural entrepreneurs bring their products to a global marketplace. The program was started several years ago through the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce with the help of former U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“After a lot of research and fact-finding, Mary decided to focus on fashion design,” said Ruby J. Sprowls, NATC senior business development officer. “Late last year, everything came together.”

Haute couture is French for high dressmaking and refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing.

Ms. Holland submitted three of her original clothing pieces in different categories to the magazine contest, but only the white peacock made it to the finals.

“It is without a doubt a work of art. It’s an extraordinary piece of dressmaking,” Mrs. Sprowls said. “Everything she put into this gown is couture — the meticulous attention to detail, the whole construction process. She is worthy of being associated with that history. I’m confident she’s going to win this.”

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20091119/CURR04/311199993/-1/curr

Mary G. Holland of MaryGwyneth, LLC named 2010 NICHE Awards Finalist

Mary — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:16:09 +0000

Wearable Art Designer Mary Holland Named a 2010 NICHE Awards Finalist

Wearable art designer Mary Gwyneth Holland of Colton, NY is a finalist in the prestigious 2010 NICHE Awards for her one-of-a-kind piece entitled “White Peacock Coat”. The artisan learned this week that her entry was selected by NICHE magazine.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 06, 2009 – Mary Holland Named a 2010 NICHE Awards Finalist

Baltimore MD (November 6, 2009) – Wearable art designer Mary Gwyneth Holland of Colton, NY is a finalist in the prestigious 2010 NICHE Awards for her one-of-a-kind piece entitled “White Peacock Coat”. The artisan learned this week that her entry in the Fiber: Surface Design category was selected by a panel of expert judges for the exclusive North American trade publication NICHE magazine. The magazine is published by the Baltimore-based Rosen Group for independent retailers of fine craft in the United States and Canada.

Holland is one of only 161 entries out of nearly 1,000 submissions overall that were named as finalists in this year’s competition. Her dramatic hand-beaded two-piece bolero-coat is made of white silk charmeuse and textured all over with couched quilting in champagne-colored silk and rayon chenille yarn.

“I am honored to have been chosen by NICHE as a finalist,” said Mary Gwyneth Holland. “Growing up on a farm in northern New York State, my family had a majestic pet peacock. It was stirring those childhood memories of the extraordinary romantic beauty and other-worldly elegance of these birds that inspired me bring the rare white peacock to fabric and beadwork in the White Peacock Coat.”

Judging is based on three main criteria:

Technical excellence, both in surface design and form
Market viability
A distinct quality of unique, original and creative thought

Winners of the 2010 NICHE Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Philadelphia on Friday, February 12, 2010, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, held in conjunction with the Buyers Market of American Craft.

Mary Gwyneth Holland is mentored by the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative – a partnership with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and PathStone Enterprise Center (formerly known as Rural Opportunities Inc.) – which incubates rural entrepreneurs and assists them with bringing their products to a global marketplace. The program was established several years ago with the collaboration of former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and now Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

“NATC is tremendously excited to see the success of this talented designer,’ says Ruby Sprowls, Senior Business Development Officer of the NATC. “Mary Gwyneth Holland’s creative designs and unique sense for fashion and wearable art is fabulous. This national recognition by NICHE is very reflective of her talents and secures her a bright future globally in wearable art design.”

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Sidebar: A premiere meet the designer and open-gallery of Mary Gwyneth Holland’s 2010 Originals Collection designs will be shown in affiliation with the Saint Lawrence County Art’s Council Artists’ Studio Tour on Saturday and Sunday, November 7-8, 2009 from 10am – 4pm at the artist’s home at 365 Hanson Road, Colton NY 13625.

More information about Mary Gwyneth Holland and her collection is available on her recently launched website at www.marygwyneth.com

Background: NICHE magazine, www.NICHEmag.com, is the exclusive trade publication for independent retailers of American and Canadian fine craft. NICHE is published by The Rosen Group, a Baltimore-based arts marketing, publishing and advocacy firm. The Rosen Group also publishes AmericanStyle magazine, www.AmericanStyle.com, an arts lifestyle magazine for enthusiasts, collectors and travelers, and produces the Buyers Market of American Craft, www.AmericanCraft.com, the nation’s largest wholesale tradeshow of fine craft made by U.S. and Canadian artists, as well as the new NICHE: The Show exposition at Bally’s Las Vegas in June 2010.

Photo Credit: Sauro Photographic Art, Syracuse NY

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http://www.americancraft.com/NICHE_Awards/2010Fiber.html

http://www.prlog.org/10403662-wearable-art-designer-mary-holland-named-2010-niche-awards-finalist.html

http://www.stellarmarketingsolutions.com/site/2009/11/08/mary-gwyneth-holland-niche-awards-finalist/

Gallery Preview of the 2010 Collection

Jessica — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:54:21 +0000

Mary Gwyneth Holland is hosting a special gallery preview of her 2010 Originals Collection as part of the Saint Lawrence County Art’s Council Artists’ Studio Tour. Her collection features One-of-a-kind and limited edition special occasion wearable art and nature-inspired designs. These pieces are made from the finest fabrics including dupioni and silk charmeuse. Her designs also feature exquisite and intricate embroidery and bead work.

Holland’s first open gallery show of her impressive collection is being held Saturday and Sunday November 7-8, 2009 from 10:00am – 4:00pm at 365 Hanson Road, Colton NY 13625.
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