About the creators
About Suzette L. Davidson, proprietor, artist and costume enthusiast
Suzette started costume-making in high school, for Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games and dramatic productions. She studied costume design and construction at the University of Maine before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. When the first of the “Lord of the Rings” films was released in 2001, some friends decided to revive the old D&D games. She designed Halloween costumes straight from Tolkien’s Shire and then Victorian-style outfits that called for an entirely different level of seamstress skills. Friends attending costume balls and the Dickens Faire enlisted Davidson to create their outfits. A history major at Mills College who had always enjoyed dressing up in vintage outfits, she was “drawn to designs heavy on detail and historical accuracy,” going online to find dress patterns from other eras. Davidson, who still uses her grandmother’s old Singer, finds sewing “a very comforting, reflective process.” She can be completely obsessed with researching, sewing, and finding the perfect fabric for a given project, sometimes re-making/re-cutting a costume out of lucky finds at thrift shops, yard sales and trades with other costumers from the Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild. Costume-making provides Davidson with a creative and intellectual outlet. She enjoys delving into the history of fashion and strives for authenticity in her creations. Malvena Pearl’s Emporium is located in Oakland, California. Suzette hopes that one day her California town will become a “sister city” of Oakland, Maine, the home of many of her childhood friends and relations.
About Sahrye Cohen, costume maker, designer and hair ornament creator
Sahrye is a Renaissance woman, a scientist, athlete and creative thinker whose current art forms include archery and science with Society for Creative Anachronism, 18th century wardrobe construction and the design of “Steampunk” accessories. She has painted silk and designed a chuppa for a wedding, received an award for a corset that she hand-embellished and has been an advocate and supporter of the Emporium since it’s beginning. Somewhere online there is a digital recording of her visit to Colonial Williamsburg, VA, in 2009, where she dressed in appropriate attire for the 1770s and toured the facilities of living history costume archives.
About Jacqueline Palacios, milliner, textile & fiber artist
With a lifelong interest in sewing, weaving and surface design, Jacque was thrilled to discover millinery in 1982. She focused on learning as many ways of making hats as she could, and for three years she worked at the San Francisco Opera, where she honed her millinery skills working with designers from all over North America and Europe.
About Beth Woolbright, paper and textile artist
Beth Woolbright’s work is inspired by natural forms, antique papers, vintage fashion and rabbits. She comes from a family of quilters and crafty folk. She’s been known to knit replicas of Dr. Who scarves, create cut-paper collages and was the official journal keeper for the ‘Suzette and Beth 2008 expedition to Paris and London.’ (there is a theme song, even.) Beth shares her home in Pacifica, California with her spouse, three cats and three rabbits.
