Candy Glendening is addicted to color! She dyes fabric so she can have just the hue & texture she wants, and then uses it to make art quilts and “everyday art”. An avid blogger, she has had many publications in Interweave Press/F & W Media quilt magazines (22 at last count). These publishing opportunities led to her filming 8 different episodes of the PBS show “Quilting Arts TV”. The folks at Interweave also produced Candy illustrating her artistic process in two workshop DVDs: “Dyeing to Stitch: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Colorful Fabric Art” and “Free Motion Machine Sketching: Drawing with Thread from Birds to Botanicals”.

By day, she teaches Biology at the University of Redlands in Southern California. By night and weekend she also teaches quilting and dyeing. To view more of her work, or gain insight into her process and inspiration, please visit her website: CandiedFabrics.com

When Mara was 3-4-years-old, she started designing clothes by using washcloths while she was in the bathtub with her younger sister. When she visited relatives, she would make small things on their sewing machines. At 10-years-old, she made her first blouse with a zipper in the back and lace sleeves; it was from a Vogue pattern. She wore it in her 5^th grade pictures. By the age of 13-years-old, she made her first pair of jeans, followed by her first wedding gown at age 14 (not her own), and her first set of drapes at age 16.

Mara went on to start teaching the Serger Know-How classes 10 months after she started working at Redlands Sewing Center. These Know-How classes evolved into today’s Serger Clubs.

After a 30 year teaching career in Art, Phyllis retired in 2000 and returned to her love of fibers and fabrics as a creative outlet and means of personal expression. Traveling and hiking in many National Parks has left wonderful landscape images on film and in her mind. The landscape art quilt has become her subject of choice. Close ups of nature are also a favorite subject. She dyes many of her own fabrics and prefers adding some 3-D elements to her quilts. Over stuffing (trapunto), as well as shading with paint and colored pencil adds form, depth, and interest to her work. Needle Felted textures, yarns, thread painting by machine, and some hand embroidery are all used to add details to the landscapes. She has been giving workshops for quilters since 2002 and also teaches Thread Painting and Needle Felting classes.

Orchid was born in a family of fashion designers with both her mom and her grandmother designing wedding gowns. She learned the art of making patterns and her first dress at the age of 10, her first winter coat at 13. She said that from there on she was able to make anything, saying “it was so easy it was like drinking water.”

She went to college graduating as a Mechanical Design Drafter (CAD), but after few years in that field she decide to explore the field of Interior Design. She returned to school to achieve her new goal. She worked as an interior designer for a major RV company until the economy took a turn in 2008.

Finding it necessary to reinvent herself, she returned to her background of sewing, making wedding dresses, children’s outfits, and finally starting a small business making tailor making costumes for dogs in competitions, TV commercials, and dog fashion shows.

Dot started sewing when she watched her Mom and Grandmother creating many clothes and household items. After a few doll clothes made by hand she got to use her Grandmother’s Damascus Grand treadle sewing machine. Easy to learn on, a beautiful straight stitch and reverse was needle down using the hand wheel, swivel the fabric around, and stitch the other direction. “I will have that machine some day, but Mom still has it, so I’m in no hurry.” She’s been a school teacher for many years, and now uses her love of teaching and helping others learn with her classes.  “I was going to be a home economics teacher, but you had to follow the directions, so I taught elementary school.” Most of her sewing is garment creation and embellishment. Home Dec is also lots of fun for Dot.

Cindy’s love of sewing began at the age of eight, when her mother put a needle and embroidery threads into her hand. After finishing school and a career in the banking industry, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom. While raising four children, Cindy began teaching all the women in the neighborhood how to sew. This grew into a new career, and as the children grew up, she began teaching for a Redlands Sewing Machine Center. While working in this multi-line sewing machine store- both as a teacher and sales person, Cindy discovered her love of all things Bernina. Six years ago she began her travels with Bernina of America as a Sales Trainer and Education Consultant, and now does Free-lance teaching and sales for Bernina dealers, as well as coordinating clubs and classes for Redlands Sewing Center. Cindy has been published in Through The Needle magazine, and teaches and speaks  on a wide variety of sewing and embroidery topics throughout the country.

You may not know it but Michelle Telesio has been a part of Redlands Sewing Center since 2004.  You may not see her too often because she is hard at work in our office. Michelle conducts our Brother and Babylock machine classes, Beginning Sewing classes, and now she is our resident Scan N Cut go to person. She has a degree in Fashion Design from Brooks College and over 40 (gulp) years of sewing experience.