I am a wife and a mother of 5 grown children. I have been sewing for over 40 years! As a little girl I loved creating with fabric; sewing Barbie doll clothes, making stuffed animals and toys, I soon moved on to designing clothes for myself and others. In junior high and high school I attended many community college evening classes covering topics such as how to sew with knits and leather, and the design and creation of patterns.

In grade 9 I had my first professional sewing order making junior high basketball uniforms for my school. As a teenager I was on the advisory board for the Lethbridge (Community) College Fashion Design program, of which I was a student in it’s first year in 1988-89. After college I worked for a couple years as a pattern maker in a local aerobic wear/sportswear company. However, it was while creating my own wedding dress in 1990 that I found my favourite thing to sew.

I ventured out on my own and started my home based custom sewing company. I made custom fitted women’s suits, blouses, dresses, skirts and coats, but my favourite garments to work on were for weddings: wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and mother of the bride/groom outfits. Once my third child was born I deliberately took on less and less jobs, choosing to spend more time raising my children. I re-entered the work force in 2010 doing alterations at Once Upon a Bride in Lethbridge, Alberta.

When Once Upon a Bride discontinued their in-store alteration services in 2011 I started Isabel’s Designs from my home. Since then I have had the joy of helping over 2,000 bridal parties with their gowns.