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, a BS in Psychology from the University of Texas, a Masters in Liberal Arts from St. Edwards University, as well as her degree from the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York (FIT), has enabled her to create a unique program for her students. After graduating from the University of Texas , Mary Margaret was accepted at the world-renowned Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Graduating at the top of her class, she 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. Her vast experience as a designer has enabled her 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. I taught my niece to sew when she was five, but she also plays soccer and basketball, and dances and sings. Her friends want to learn how to sew, and so do their mothers and aunts, and even some of their fathers and brothers!"

The idea behind the creation of this program was that it would be available for anyone who wanted to investigate design and to appreciate the effort that a designer puts into a collection, as well as understanding all of the skills one must learn to succeed at this trade. This is not a degree program, the students do not need to pass an admission test, and 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!

ASHLEY RAINS was a student at our school, and after taking all of our courses, she joined our list of instructors. Her sewing skills and design skills are immaculate, and her enthusiasm is abundant. She is skilled in both modern clothing and movie-quality costume design. She wins almost every competition she enters, whether it is Victorian costumes or clothes for your pets! She is willing to tackle any design question and is now teaching some of the Sewing Classes, Flat Pattern, Felting and others. After a very short learning curve, in which I realized that she could master any sewing or construction skill, I asked her to become one of our instructors.

JORDAN MARTIN has experience working in many different aspects of fashion design. She is especially skilled in Draping and teaches that class on Thursday evenings. She is also teaches some of the sewing and marketing classes. Jordan is a graduate of UT.

KATIE YATES is very skilled in all aspects of sewing! She teaches all of our Children's Advanced Sewing classes and many of our other Children's Sewing classes. She is also now teaching some Adult Beginning & Intermediate Sewing courses, including Lingerie Design.

STEPHANIE JIMENEZ teaches all of our Children's Fashion Illustration classes as well as some adult classes. She is a very talented illustration and a graduate of UT. Stephanie is also the owner and designer of her own jewelry line that is carried in stores all over Austin. http://www.stephaniejimenezjewelry.com

MELISSA TAYLOR is simply amazing when it comes to Fashion Illustration! She teaches our Tuesday evening Illustration course and Wednesday evening Advanced Fashion Illustration. Her newest class is All About Knits on Monday evenings.

My mission at Austin School of Fashion Design is to create a unique program with the most talented and experienced instructors available in Austin. If you desire to examine the fashion industry, as well as some of the couture techniques to sewing, the flat pattern and draping approaches to designing, and you want to investigate the professional skills needed to be a designer, our program will provide you with instructors that are professional, enthusiastic, motivating, and skilled. So check out the extensive list of classes we teach on the Classes page.