The former owner of the Albert Street Wild Child store that featured popular children’s clothing, Marlene Hamilton has set her sights on bigger customers.
“Now I do adult clothes,” the Thorold seamstress told ThoroldNews.
“They start at size 6 and go up to 24.”
A plethora of ponchos, wraps, tops, and scarves come in seasonal leopard skin prints, plaid, houndstooth and a multitude of other patterns. The talented designer sews a variety of fabrics, including Arctic and polar fleece, as well as washable wool blends, ideal for winter weather.
“I wash all my fabrics before I sew. I cater to custom orders. At no charge, I can make it for you the way you want,” she explained.
“My ponchos start at $40, and go up to $100, but the snaps are included in the price,” she added.
Her decorative snaps dress up the wraps with an added touch of flair.
“A lot of companies make interchangeable jewellery, but I take it a step farther. I make my own,“ she said, in the form of necklaces and bracelets.
“I can even make bracelets for adults to match their tops.”
The versatile creator also makes Velcro bracelets for kids, with interchangeable unicorn, Batman, dinosaur, Superman, Frozen, and other fun characters, priced at $8 each.
“I’ve been sewing since I was seven. My mom taught me,” said the mother of two daughters. “I do a lot of (craft) shows. I absolutely love what I do.”
Holiday shoppers can come meet Hamilton, and browse her homemade fashions at the Hardt Designs booth, during Thorold's 26th annual Christmas Art and Craft Show.
According to long-time organizer, Cathy Henderson, the two-day show runs on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16 and 17, and features “superb Christmas shopping at its best” at Thorold Secondary School on the corner of Ormond and St. David’s Road.
Mennonite Christmas cookies will be available for sale on Saturday only.
Both days, she said, “Thorold Secondary School will be filled again this year with an exceptional mix of handmade products including art, glass, clothing, seasonal decor, red twig dogwood arrangements, vintage, primitive decor, fine jewellery, hand-painted functional ceramics, photography, metal work, home and garden decor, accessories, children's clothing, pet products, edible art, rustic signage, skin and body Care, Alpaca fibre Products, 1812 Era Clothing, plus so much more.”
Admission costs $3 with all proceeds slated for the high school.
