BH-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 3, 1988 Home Economics Fashioned This Woman’s Career BY LOU ANN GOOD proves. She said, “Home econom- LANCASTER While back- ics he > IPed 1 P ed me B et where lam to-school students stagger sche- dules with extra-curricular activi- . And where Tammy Rue is today ties and studies, home economics ,^ ie h»ghly competitive field of is one subject that is liable to be fashion design. She designs sports dropped. According to recent wear or Leoniak Look , a trends, interest in sewing is on a contemporaiy woman s clothing downward spiral. bne seUs sweaters, coordi- And that trend is one that Tama- nate ® a °d dresses, in fashionable raStermer Rue of Lancaster disap- boutiques and specialty stores Pat Leonlak, the designer who founded the Leonlak Look, said, “Tammy’s great at designing. Few people can sketch and design their own patterns.” One-of-a-kind wedding gown a were designed by Tammy for her own wedding, and Matron of Honor Victoria Macolll modeled the fashioned after the 1920 s styles. nationwide. Barbara Shenk, a home eco nomist at Hcmpfield High School, was the major force encouraging Tammy as a student.” Tammy, who has a natural talent in clothing and fashion, recalls, “Mrs. Shenk taught me a lot about designing and fashion. I always enjoyed working with colors, and coordi nating and accessorizing outfits.” Tammy started sewing in the sixth grade. Not long after that she began to improvise patterns to cre ate her own look. In eighth grade she placed third in a sewing contest sponsored by a national teen maga zine. In senior high she placed first in a local farm show sewing com petition and second in the state. She also placed both first and sec ond in tailoring contests sponsored by the Lancaster Women’s Club. “Barb Shenk was really an inspira tion to me. She recognized my talent and interest and encouraged me to look for a college that offered design.” Tammy chose Drexel Universi ty. She found the studies demand ing. There was a large number of dropouts. She said, “I think they intentionally made it tough, because it’s even tougher in the working world to survive. It’s an extremely competitive field.” Students’ sketches and projects were critiqued by the instructor and classmates. Usually students were required to submit ten sketch es with suitable fabric swatches attached. After the instructor selected one sketch, the student worked on making either a flat pat tern or a draped muslin one and then stitched the original. Patterns needed to be made in the standard size eight or ten so the models could wear them. Tammy said, “It’s an expensive course because we needed to purchase our own fabric for all our projects and make them for models, not ourselves.” Classes in home economics proved to be a plus for Tammy when she attended Drexel. Many of the students did not have a back ground in sewing. Tammy recalls, “Having tailoring skills really helped.” Besides sewing skills, an art background is helpful for desig ners. “You must be able to get your ideas across on paper. A drawing course that teaches basic figure drawing with proportions with some sewing ability is beneficial.” Tammy admits she finds the sew ing part easier than drawing, but it’s no problem getting my ideas on paper, ” she said. Seeing her completed projects modeled on stage was the most rewarding aspect for Tammy while attending Drexel, “but it was tough to finish all projects in the speci fied time frame.” Tammy considers herself fortu nate to have landed a job designing since there are not many designer positions. She said most graduates of the course need to begin their career as pattern makers or assis tant designers working on specifi cations. To fuel creativity when feeling unmotivated, Tammy finds flipping through fashion maga zines or looking at fabric causes ideas to start flowing. Tammy doesn’t limit her talents to a 9 to 5 job. Recently she designed all the gowns for her bri dal party. The gowns imitated the 1920 s fashions featuring dropped waists, dolman sleeves, uneven hemlines and hand appliqued shoulders, hips and cuffs. Her wedding has sparked a crea tive urge within her to design one of-a-kind wedding gowns. She Here she creations Tammy Rue, a fas jsigner, got a headstart in her career by taking home economic courses. Both the dress on the rack and the outfit she is wearing Is one of Tammy’s original designs. said, “But I couldn’t use sales reps or anything. I’d probably need to sell out of a shop where people would come in with ideas and I’d make them or I’d design my own ideas.” For now, Tammy finds it excit ing to work for a company that has grown from two sewers to more than 40, with five sales representa tives who promote Leoniak designs nationwide. Tammy and founder, Pat Leoniak, who con tinues to design sweater outfits, select fabrics and work with sketches and ideas. Pat said, “It’s difficult to find people who can design and make their own pat terns.” She regrets that fewer stu dents are taking sewing courses. She said, “It was in a home eco nomics class at Hempfield that The Denver Fair The 1988 Denver Fair will be held from Tuesday, September 13, through the following Saturday at the Denver Memorial Park. The fair will open on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. The baked-goods auc tion will take place at 6:30 p.m. The crowning of the queen will be at 7:00 p.m. and the jello-eating contest will start at 7:30 p.m. Tucs day evening will be Buddy Night. Bring a friend along to the fair and you and your buddy will be able to go on the rides from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. for the price of only one per son. The Recreation Center will be closed on Tuesday for judging. The annual parade will be on Wednesday, September 14, ing promptly at 7:00 p.m. The rain dale is Thursday at the same time. Trophies will be awarded in the following categories: commercial floats; non-commercial floats; youth group floats; baton groups, with or without drum lines; high school bands; and a miscellaneous category. Two judges’ trophies also will be awarded. Tammy first heard about me.” Pat had spoken about career opportun ities in fashions; years later, when Tammy graduated and was job searching, she remembered that home economics class and looked up Pat Leoniak. *The Leoniak Look was created by Lancaster’s nationally known fashion designer, Pat Leoniak. Her clothing, which bears her name, is sold from Los Angeles to New York, from Miami to Palm Springs. Leoniak sweaters, sports wear and dresses have been selling in fashionable boutiques and spe cialty stores including Blooming dales, Elizabeth Arden, Lord & Taylor, Bendels, and Ann Taylor. Their Lancaster store is located at 1401 Oregon Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601. Thursday, September 15, will be Family Night from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Families can go on all rides for the price of one during that lime. The sheep show will start at 6:30 p.m. and the Look Alike Lip Sync Talent Show will begin at 7:00 p.m. with registration at 6:30. On Friday, free entertainment will be provided by the “Country Rockets” from 7:30 to 10:45 p.m. The beef show will begin at 7:00 p.m. with an auction of fat steers to follow. The Cow Chip Poker will begin on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. The pet show starts at noon with the pet and baby parade scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and wheelbarrow race at 3:00 p.m.There will be a matinee from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. when everyone can ride the rides for one price. The “Mudflaps” will per form from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. The fair will have an arts & crafts show, and agricultural, hor ticultural, canned goods, baked goods, and commercial displays.
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