A bit about my background...........My name is Arlene Cano,  and many years ago, I rode a Vespa motor scooter from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, California to study fashion and costume design at Los Angeles Trade Technical Institute.  Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the course, because life had different plans for me at the time.  When I was able to go back to school, I decided to take the safe, sensible road and go into the medical field to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant - which I did for 25 years.  During those years, I did continue to take classes in pattern making and millinery, and design and make clothes and costumes for myself, my friends and their children. 

I began designing cloth dolls and selling the patterns on-line and in catalogs as well as designing dolls and crafts for such magazines as, Better Homes and Gardens, Crafts and Things, Cloth Doll, and Soft Dolls and Animals.  Now I am at an age where I don't have to be sensible any more and can do anything I please (which is nice, but it took a long time to get here).  I now live in Bellingham, WA and have begun to design new dolls and have added something new to my repertoire, hats and fascinators. 

I love making hats and fascinators because it is pure creativity, when I finish a hat, I can go on to the next without writing and drawing patterns.  It also gives me an excuse to go back to L.A., Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., or where ever I want to shop for materials, and what is better than shopping for beautiful things and being able to charge it to your company. The other half of "us" is my husband, Jimmy.  He has the fun job of being the shipping and bookkeeping departments, and is my biggest fan.          

I hope you enjoy all of my creations as much as I enjoy making them for you.