Teaching a passion for fashion Designer opens lab to
develop talent of future Ralph Laurens
By LESLIE EVERTON BRICE For the
Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/11/04
Karron
English of Canton started teaching classes in fashion design as a way
to keep in touch with her passion for her profession. Now, with the
opening of English Design Laboratory, her career is poised to take a
new turn.
English
worked in New York for 10 years, designing apparel lines for
the likes of Bugle Boy and the Limited Corp. When her husband's job was
transferred to Georgia, she took a job with Coca-Cola, working with its
apparel licensees. But the urge to design and create was still there.
Karron
English works with concept boards as she prepares to open her English
Design Laboratory in Kennesaw. English, who worked in fashion in New
York for 10 years, hopes to fill a niche for local young people
interested in fashion design.
ENGLISH
DESIGN LABORATORY
• Where:
4329 Bells Ferry Road, Kennesaw
Update: We're Moving!
Here is our new location:
English Design Laboratory, Inc.
3660 Canton Road, Suite 210
Marietta, Ga 30066
"I started teaching design to
kids at the Cherokee Arts Council and
at Towne Lake Arts Center," said English, who graduated in 1986 from
the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "It was something I
needed to do to stimulate myself, but it's turned into something bigger
that could really become serious."
English Design Laboratory is
the first fashion design art lab in the
Cobb-Cherokee County area. Located on Bells Ferry Road in Kennesaw
about a quarter-mile from I-575, the lab is easily accessible to both
Cobb and Cherokee patrons.
"I realized that there were
kids in the Cobb and Cherokee area who
would love to get into fashion design, who have a real passion for it,"
English said. "And their parents would love to help them but didn't
know where to go. It's a niche that hasn't been filled here."
Four- and 5-year-olds are in
mommy-and-me classes. Working (and
playing) with paper dolls, the children will learn how to design a
mini-collection.
The focus is to "create an
early interest in fashion," English said. "It's a lot of fun for them,
and very hands-on."
By the the time the children
hit ages nine to 12, they're sketching
fashion figures and learning how to put together "picture boards" for
presentations.
"For me, I love to see the
individuality they each have," English
said. "I give the foundation, and they take that and develop their own
styles. And the interesting thing is, they all really do have their own
styles. What they zero in on is always different from whatever the
person next to them is doing."
The teenage students are
focused, English said. If they come to the
classes, they've probably already decided that fashion design is their
passion.
"They want to do this [as a
career], but sometimes they'll say things like, 'Can you really make
money doing this?' " she said.
"I say, 'Well, let's ask Ralph
Lauren what he thinks.' "
Each class has a maximum of
eight students, which allows for one-on-one instruction.
"Now I see what teachers get
out of teaching," English said. "When
you see that light bulb go on in their heads, it's just amazing."