Hey everyone, well this process of re-designing me is crazy! But I am loving every minute of it!  I was hired as an ambassador for the Art Institute of New York City and covered my first event this past Thursday and Friday. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed working with the staff and talking to the new students coming in. I also had the awesome pleasure of meeting an Ai alumni, Ms. Willie Hall. She was

recently featured in JET magazine and she is doing her thing with her fashion shows all over the US.  She has been doing NY Fashion week for 19 seasons and she will be at the Art Institute in July to do a casting call for a show that she is doing and also interviewing for interns to work with her for NY Fashion week in September. You know I will be the first one there! Ms. Hall and I got a chance to talk one on one about her experiences at the Art Institute and where her career is taking her now. She gave me some great advice and told me that she was enjoying every minute of her status now! She gave credit to GOD for bringing her this far and also said that it's a lot of hard work. Ms. Hall went on to say that "People think that it's all glamorous and it is but not without putting the hard work, effort and dedication that it takes to make it work." I asked Ms. Hall how come we don't see more of a representation of African American designers in the forefront of the industry. She replied, "They are out there but you don't see them because they are satisfied with being where they are. They just have their little boutique and do a little show here and there but they're not willing to do what it takes to take it to the next level, and that's what you have to do, never be satisfied and always take it to the next level."  I LOVE IT!!! That's what it's all about, taking it to the next level! That's what I'm about to do!!! Remember the name Terri Todd cause you will see it BIG TIME!!!

A LOT GOING ON!!!

I know it's been a minute since I last posted, but a lot has been going on!!! Just finished my finals and I aced both of my classes!! I received an A in my Introduction to the fashion industry and an A in clothing construction 1!!! Now I am going into my 2nd quarter and I will be taking 3 classes this time: Clothing construction 2, pattern making 1, and Fundamentals of Concepts and Designs. I've also been invited to enter a fashion contest to benefit AIDS awareness! You have to design outfits made from household products and you are given a budget $20. The winner gets $500 and a professionally promoted NY Fashion Show!!! Then I was invited to interview for the Ambassadors Club at my school. WHEN I get accepted, I will be one of the faces for the Art Institute of New York City!!! Also just got a 1 day intern for a new up-coming bridal designer, Saratina by Sarah Jassir!! She's done work for a lot of celebs and is featured in The Knot and other well known websites and magazines!

On another note, I will be hosting a WOMEN DESTINED FOR GREATNESS 1 day conference tomorrow! I am so excited about that because I really have a passion to inspire and motivate women to see their God given potential and make changes in their life! I am expecting a good turn out and a great time in God and with my sisters!!!  More to come and I will be sure to post some pics!!!

My First Adult Collection: The Jean Reconstruction Project!

I was asked by one of my former students to be a designer for a fashion show at Bridgeport University in Bidgeport, CT. This would be my first show designing for adults instead of kids! Not knowing the sizes of my models and how the show was suppose to go, I decided to do a reconstruction project and recycle some old jeans. The models were all college students so I tried to make the outfits kinda urban yet classy. My collection may not have been revealing enough for this crowd but I loved it! I am beginning to find my style as a designer and I know that it will evolve into sophisticated, classy, unique collaboration of who I am. 


So here are some random pics, hope you enjoy!

Long, flowy spring/summer dress

Criss Cross tutu w/jean tube top

Black jean skirt w/yellow printed tube top

White jean party dress w/black tutu (attached w/safety pins!)

Blue jean sun dress off the shoulders

African inspired dark blue jean haulter

Final walk

Designer pose - Me!

Anne Bowen Exhibit: Huge Success!!!

We started off with a blank canvas with only two photo copied images from an artist that most of us had never heard of for inspiration. No one thought that we would be able to pull it off including us! But WE DID IT!! The students from The Art Institute of New York City pulled it off and the results were AMAZING!!

Critics are saying that this was one of the most creative and outstanding exhibits that they had ever seen! The artwork made the Anne Bowen Collection look phenomenal! No one knew what it would end up looking like. We just started putting our heads together and coming up with ideas. We wanted the main archway to resemble the

original artist's image as close as possible and it took some chicken wire, velcro, a lot of yarn and four hours later we finally came out with a structure that was clearly an unbelievable start to Anne's marvelous collection. 

The collection was called ONENESS by Anne Bowen and included elegant cocktail and evening dresses. From hews of smokey gray and silver to creams, purples and blacks, the exhibit was magnificent! 

This was the first cage that stood at the entrance of the tunnel.  The beautiful models were wearing charcoal gray and silver.

This collection to the right was my favorite! The cream colored cage made the whole exhibit pop! The models were fierce!

The models in the purple cage were very elegant,

And the models in the black and silver cages were just looking sexy!

Don't worry, I will be back to add some more pics later but that's it for now.

Class Field Trip!!

Hey everyone! Today I went on a field trip with my Introduction to the Fashion Industry class and our professor Richard Killeany. Richard, as he allows us to call him, has been a professional seamstress for years! He's worked for Walmart designing ans making linens and such. He also teaches at Pratt Institute and another prestigious fashion school who's name escapes me at the moment. Anyway, I also have him for clothing construction 1 and I have to say that this man really knows his stuff!!! He can spot name brands a mile away! As far as fashion and celebrities go, this man is a walking Vogue magazine!!!  For Richard to be so young he is extremely knowledgeable not only about fashion but the history of fashion as well. A lot of the students think that he's mean and tough but what do they know, they're all between the ages of 18 and 21 and the concept of bringing books and materials to class and actually doing some work is equivalent to working an 8 hour job! (They're not doing anything unless you pay them for it!)  Any how I think Richard is great! He really knows his stuff and I am learning a lot and having fun! I hope to get him for some other classes as I move on. 

My classmates and I get along well but of course I am the mother in every class so far. Richard said that I bring energy to the class. (They don't know who I am! LOL!) But at any rate, I am having the time of my life learning about the fashion industry! I feel like this is part of what I'm suppose to be doing and where I am suppose to be in my life right now! IT FEELS FABULOUS! 
I enjoyed walking around the garment district today but I have to say it took a lot to keep up with Richard and my new found friend KEE-KEE! They walk too fast!!! Oh and Kee-Kee's from Newark, NJ yall and LOUD!!! But she is one of the funniest and coolest little chicks you ever want to meet!

That's Kee-Kee in the pink shirt!

Another classmate of mine, Chris (the guy cut off on the right) just got finished doing an intern for Michael Kors! He said it was great! He got to go back stage and take pictures of some of the celebs and models. He suppose to be tagging me the pics on FB. Some of the other students also did the Robert Verdi intern and said that he was so much fun and very nice. I wanted to do that one too but this intern with Anne Bowen is taking up most of my free time so I'm glad I just stuck with one.

Now back to what I was saying; It was very exciting walking around the garment district in New York which is everywhere

from 37th to 40th St. between 6th and 9th Ave. You know when you are in the center of the garment district when you see the big needle through the button and the big man on the sewing machine on 7th Ave. AKA Fashion Ave.Our trip included some pretty interesting stops along the way. The first stop we made was at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) to check out the fashion museums. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures in there so I don't have any of that stop. We stopped at a lot of notions and trim stores. We even went into one of the most famous fabric stores in NY from the reality fashion design show Project Runway; MOOD!

I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the store! I guess that I was   overwhelmed by just being in there! Being in a fabric store is like a kid in a candy store for me! We also went into M&J Trimmings which is also a featured spot for Project Runway! We ended our trip in front of the tents at Bryant Park on 40th and although I had a good time, I was ready to go! Me and my girl Kee-Kee hit the path back home and soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out! Just had to get up and tell you guys about my fun and exciting day. 


Well I'm back off to sleep now. I have a long day tomorrow! This whole weekend as a matter of fact! I will be busy preparing for the Anne Bowen exhibit which is on Monday night! Wish you all could come but it's by invitation only! But trust me, I will write about it next week sometime! Oh and have lots of pics!  See ya!

WORKING HARD!

If you have been following me on my Anne Bowen internship, yesterday we went to look over the venue where the exhibit will be held. It is a beautiful place, nice and bright. We had to develop a floor plan and decide what materials will be needed. Anne is drawing her inspiration from the artist Chiharu-Shiota and it is our 

job as interns to help make her vision come true. I also have been selected to be one of the team leaders on this project! What does this mean? Well it means that I am partly responsible for making sure that the intern team continues to work together smoothly. Well I have been making daily trips into the city and it has been exciting and exhausting at the same time. I can't wait to see how all of this will turn out!! I'll let you know more next time.

My First Designer Intern!

See.....I'm not playing!! Today was the first day of my first internship with NYC bridal/evening wear designer, Anne Bowen at her penthouse studio! As part of the design team, we sat down and discussed concepts, floor plans and overall flow and development for the exhibit. We worked with an event planner Maryla who was very nice and Anne was absolutely FABULOUS!! And you know what was the best thing about being at this meeting?.........EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT I WAS ABOUT 24 YEARS OLD! INCLUDING ANNE!!! LMBO!!! Go me, Go me, Go me!!! As an intern there is a lot of work to do. We prepared the invitations which were going out to buyer from big named stores like Henri Bendel's and Bergdorf Goodman's just to name a few. The other invitations will be sent off to the press for magazine and newspaper coverage. We have to meet again on Tuesday and Wednesday to see the actual venue and go over the layout for the exhibit and then on Saturday and Sunday the real work begins!!! Had to reschedule the weekend get away with the hubby but he understands! (That's why I love him! He's so supportive!!) We have to wear all black for the exhibit on next Monday so you know I have to get it right!! You never know who will be in the place!! I'm going to try to take some pics if I can. Oh, and I get to invite one guest and my daughter Avion already said what time should she be there!!! She is the queen diva! (so she thinks)

Well, I post again soon to let you know how things are coming along. Try to keep up with this 44 year old, glama diva!! I holla! (LOL!)

How did I get here?

Last year was a year of finding out who I really was and was purposed to be. A lot of people, for a long time have been telling me that I would be someone great and very influential. That even my name "Terri Todd" sounds like I should be famous or something. I remember sometimes thinking to myself that a lot of these people are crazy! I mean what are they seeing that I don't see? I know that I'm good at a lot of things and I love talking to people. I'm either talking too much or not enough! Any way, at the beginning of 2010 I was desperately trying to identify myself. I mean I know Terri the wife, Terri the mother, Terri the sister, Terri the aunt, and now I have a new one added, Terri the grandmother! But who was Terri the individual? This was the million dollar question for me! 

I was brought up in the church, my dad was and still is a pastor and my mom was right by his side. For as long as I could remember my life has been centered around the church. It wasn't until I was 32 years old that I began my journey into this thing called "WOMANHOOD!" It was the end of winter, 1999, and mind you I was already married and had three children by this time! But I remember the day clearly, as I walked down the parking lot across the street from the church that I had grown up in. My dad and I had this big argument about the Day Care (that I started and now he wanted to take over). As I was walking down the lot, I heard a voice (God) whisper in my ear and said "If you stay, you'll lose everything, your marriage, your kids, and your relationship with your father, but if you go you will live and receive everything that I have for you!" Well tears started streaming down my face and I couldn't stop crying. The voice went on to say "Don't look back! Get in your car and don't look back! Keep looking straight ahead!" and as I put the key into the ignition and started my car, the voice said "Now close this chapter of your book, I am about to take you into a new chapter of your life! This chapter is called "WOMANHOOD!"  Long story short, it was then that I started learning how to take care of my family by myself without anyone's approval or unwanted advice. I began to stand on my own two feet and trust the decisions made by my husband and me.  This was by no means easy but it was certainly satisfying!

My mother died December 15th, 2007 only two weeks before her 69th birthday. If I hadn't left that day in 1999, I would not have been able to make it when God took her in 2007. God gave me eight years (the number of new beginnings) to mature and grow a little before He took her home. God does all things well!

Still growing and still learning, fast-forward to April of 2010 I get a call from a long time friend who remembered that I used to sew. I was always making my clothes as a teenager and made clothes for my kids  and different outfits for other people. I loved making clothes for little girls seeing that that was all I had. It was a secret long time dream when I graduated high school that my father would let me go to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC.  But I was discouraged by him from doing that because he said that it was good to do for a hobby but not for a career. So that ended up being a dream that was quietly tucked away..... until things began to happen last year! I started making tutus and outfits for little girls again and began doing fashion shows and getting into this whole fashion thing again!

 It woke up something in me and the possibilities of fulfilling that old dream that was tucked away!  But was I too old now? Was it too late for me to be pursuing this? But if I did, how would I do it and where should I go? I've done the college thing already, I have an AAS, a BS and 24 credits towards a Master's Degree! But going back to school with a bunch of young kids for FASHION DESIGN!!!!

Well by November (2010) I made up in my mind that I was going to do it! 2011 was going to be the start of RE-DESIGNING ME! I still had to finish up with 2010 and believe me it went out kicking and screaming!  In November I also got accepted into the Art Institute of New York City!!! This was soooo totally exciting for me but how was I going to pay for it??  I didn't have the answer to that either!!! But 2011 was fastly coming in and I was determined that I was not going in with the same perspective that i've been having. Things were going to be different and things were going to be better!