When Debra decided to turn some of her vintage bedspread collection into clothes for her granddaughter, she had no idea what was about to blossom.
Her handmade creations for Lauren, now 8, evoked "oohs and ahhs," she said. And people naturally wanted to know who made them. So Debra, retired for two years, displayed some of her handiwork last December in Washington at a holiday crafts show.
More rave reviews prompted her to set up a shop at Artisans in Greenville called Mimi's Rose, which opened in April.
"I call her my little rose, and I'm Mimi, so it's Mimi's Rose," Debra said of the store's origin last week after a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., that was part pleasure, part treasure hunt for more unique designs.
About 125[***this count has increased to at least 250 at the current time] vintage spreads with countless designs now sit in the upstairs of Debra's 1890s home in Washington. Cutting them into pieces still comes with some hesitancy, but she said the end result is worth it.
Plus, her supply never seems to dwindle.
"They grow, and they multiply," Debra joked. "They're in this closet, they're in the closet in my design studio, they're in a storage tubs." [The chenille has taken up the better part of the design studio now]
She prospects at antique stores, flea markets and an occasional estate sale. Her latest trip to Tennessee resulted in eight more bedspreads.
"It's an addiction because they're all so different," Debra said. "They're becoming very hard to find. It's unimaginable what they did years ago, and they're still intact, and how pretty they are."
"I don't have any two [designs] that are the same, so when I'm making an outfit, I can maybe make two or three, depending on the amount of a fabric I have, and then it's gone. So they're really one-of-a-kind outfits."
All of her bedspreads are several decades old, dating before the 1960s when many were made with a polyester blend.
"They're all 100 percent cotton," she said. "I wouldn't even consider using a polyester because it's a totally different texture."
Although most of the clothes she makes are for infants and toddlers, Debra also designs for children and adults. Chenille baby shoes, bloomers, bibs and rag quilts are among the most popular items.
Debra will accept special requests and tailors them with lace, buttons and chenille. Mimi's Rose also sells home decor items that have been refinished and painted with the Shabby Chic rose theme.
Holiday clothing also is available, and several creations for Halloween are at Artisans.
"I have so much fun designing," Debra said. "You can take three or four pieces of one bedspread and use it with three or four other ones. Like a jacket could have two different sleeves and a front and back could have something different. And people love it because it's so unique."
Her favorite bedspread design – and the most rare – is a Rosebud pattern.
"They're very, very hard to find, and when you do find them they're about three (hundred) or four hundred dollars," she said.
The rarity of a fabric is reflected in the price of an item. But Debra said mothers and grandmothers don't mind paying a little extra for something that is unique and will likely become a family keepsake.
"The prices of the items that I make, specifically the clothing, depends upon which chenille I'm using," she said. "So they're not all the same prices.
"They're keepsakes, they're treasures. They're not something you will sell at a garage sale."
Debra said she enjoys being able to tap into her creativity, despite what mood she's in.
"Whatever kind of mood you're in that day, you can create it that day," she said. "If you want to be retro, if you want to be sassy, if you want to be shabby chic or if you want to be Victorian or if you want to be classy or elegant. I never know what it's going to look like until I'm done."
Debra, who began sewing in the seventh grade, owned a business in Chesapeake, Va., from 1983-94, selling curtains and various "country items." She moved to North Carolina when her husband, Terry, was transferred to Cherry Point and worked for various retail stores in management before retiring two years ago. Terry also recently retired, and they've spent their time working on their respective projects and traveling.
Almost two years later, Mimi's Rose is growing by leaps and bounds, almost as fast as my granddaughter, Lauren, who IS Mimi's Rose! Thanks for stopping by to read about Mimi's Rose. I hope you enjoy your vintage chenille treasures for many years to come!
