Mary Margaret Quadlander created this school after a 20 year career as a Fashion Designer, and four years as a faculty lecturer in Design at The University of Texas and St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.

Mary Margaret's education includes a BS in Psychology from the University of Texas, a Masters in Liberal Arts from St. Edwards University, as well as a Design degree from the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York (FIT). This diverse educational background has enabled her to create a unique program for her students. After graduating from the FIT,Mary Margaret was awarded a scholarship to the School of Design in Paris, France. Within three years of graduating, Mary Margaret had started her own company and established her manufacturing facility in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. For the next twenty years, her collections were in such stores as Neiman-Marcus, Tootsies, Cache, and the notable Grace Jones of Salado. When Grace Jones passed away in 2008, all of her memorabilia and papers to Mary Margaret, along with permission to write her life story. Grace's biography will have a book release in Fall 2011. All of these vast experiences as a designer and professional have enabled Mary Margaret to create the classes most suited to the needs of the student.

"I received the very best training in Fashion Design from FIT, but not everyone can move to New York to study. There was not really anything available in Austin, especially a program that covered all of the design courses from sewing to advanced flat pattern, illustration and portfolio. I opened the design studio with the thought of teaching those advanced classes, but almost immediately there were requests to teach Beginning Sewing. There was a whole generation of women (and men) who never learned any of the sewing and needle craft arts that had been so important to prior ancestors. With the freedom women began to experience from the fight for woman's liberation, a lot of the skills that our mothers learned were thrown out the window. I am grateful for the liberation, but as we sit glued to the TV watching Project Runway and one cooking show after another, I realize that a whole generation threw Home Economics 101 out the window, and now we want to put some of it back into our lives."

The idea behind the creation of this program was that it would be available for anyone who wanted to investigate design so as to appreciate the effort that a designer puts into a collection, as well as understanding all of the skills one must learn in order to succeed at this trade. This is not a degree program,so the students do not need to pass an admission test. The students are not given grades. I want the school to be a learning experience motivated only by the student's desire to learn.

"Several of my students have already started their own collections, and sold the collections to the stores, which shows what a motivated student can do!"