Being in Portland again felt like I was coming back home! Last summer I had an amazing time living there, interning for Pati Palmer and living with Melissa. We were super excited to be back together for the week, in her hometown! I got in on a Wednesday night and the very next morning we had an early appointment!

We were invited to visit a high school in Oregon City where the FACS department (Family and Consumer Science) received a grant for a classroom full of brand new Babylock sewing machines. The teacher had also been using our DIYStyle vodcasts, website and projects to teach the class how to sew.  How exciting! Melissa and I visited and talked to around 30 girls and guys about our experiences working in the sewing industry, what we do in school, and the opportunities you can get in the fashion industry. It was exciting to see a lot of students expressing an interest in design or fashion merchandising after graduating high school. We felt it was also important to talk to them about Melissa’s experience in business school as well as my experience with fashion design school……..every designer has to learn to be a good business person to be successful.

When I was in high school we only had someone come in and talk about fashion design school and not the importance of business school too. I hope that giving them our personal experience about college instead of a school recruiter helped them have a better view of what to expect after graduation.

 Thanks Oregon City High School and Jayne Vetter…..we had a great time……keep watching DIYStyle in the classroom (and at home too!).

 Allyce xxxooo