07/30/2026
People often ask if my woodworking background has been a disadvantage while learning fashion.
It’s actually been one of my biggest advantages.
Furniture design taught me to think about structure, proportion, materials, and how every part contributes to the whole. Those questions don’t disappear in clothing—they simply move from supporting a chair to supporting a person.
Working with wood also changed the way I approach leather. They’re both natural, fibrous materials. They bend, stretch, shrink, and respond to their environment. Understanding how one behaves has made it easier to experiment with the other.
The biggest surprise, though, has been how often woodworking solves fashion problems.
When the wood collar on our halter top began separating from the leather, the solution wasn’t buried in a fashion textbook. It was sitting on a shelf in my woodworking shop. A structural epoxy I’d trusted for years turned out to be exactly what the garment needed.
That’s happened over and over while building this collection.
I’m borrowing techniques from furniture making. Construction methods from leather goods. Design principles from industrial design. Then testing them on the human body.
Some experiments fail spectacularly.
Some become the beginning of something new.
I still don’t know how to sew, but I’ve learned that originality often comes from asking questions no one else thinks to ask. Sometimes the best way to move a craft forward is to bring another craft into the room.
See the results hit the runway at KC Fashion Week on September 26th. Tickets available now Kansas City Fashion Week — use code MADISON26 for 20% off.
