Thanks Christine Armstrong for this piece-
Meet Olena, the creative force behind The Dress Shop located at 141 Bridge Street in Carleton Place. This Fashion Design Studio is a one stop location for stunning custom fashion made to fit you!
Born in a small rural village in the Ukraine, she went on to gain her degree in fashion design and technology from Kalynivka University. She then spent time working in England for designers Tomas Stadjefski, Matthew Williamson and Bruce Oldfield. Afterwards she came to Canada and worked for designers Richard Robinson and Muriel Dombret.
Olena then took a courageous leap and opened her own studio. The in house design line “Dominica Maazur” is Olena’s personal creations. The line named after her grandmother is founded on quality workmanship, and is crafted locally using 100% Canadian materials.
What Olena loves most about what she does is when she sees that sparkle in a womans’ eyes when she tries on her new outfit or dress. For Olena the most fulfilling part of the process is when they try on an outfit that makes them look and feel special and fits their body shape to perfection.
Her creativity is always flowing and she is inspired by everyday life and street fashion and even current events. Her best ideas always seem to come to her when she is alone in her car and driving. Once she has the inspiration for a new design she then embarks on the long process of transferring these ideas to a garment. She must then decide on the shape of the garment, and which fabric will give her the structure she desires. After long hours of cutting, sewing, and adjusting the piece until she is 110% satisfied, a new piece is born and is the most awesome and rewarding part of the design process for her.
What little spare time Olena has you can find her in her vegetable garden where she lives on a hobby farm. She finds the process of gardening relaxing as well as rewarding. When the weather turns colder and gardening season is over she turns to knitting for relaxation.
Olena has dedicated countless hours to come up with her own trusted classic patterns that are specifically designed to fit real women. She can create a stunning one of a kind outfit for any occasion. The process begins by selecting the shape of the garment form one of her patterns, from there a sample is tried on and your measurements are taken. Then comes the fun part of selecting the perfect fabric, making any adjustments such as adding or removing sleeves, and adding all the fine details.
If she had a magic wand she would love to see Carleton Place become a fashion hub full of trendy and unique boutiques,eateries and creative festivals to encourage daytrippers to make our town a destination to be.
Also on her wish list would be an all encompassing beautification plan that would begin on Highway 7 and continue along the main arteries to our historic downtown.
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