Today we’d like to introduce you to Terry Worley.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my business 4 years ago when I turned 50. At that time, I had been volunteering for 10 years at my daughter’s ballet school as costume mistress and was already a 5-year cancer survivor. My daughter and husband gifted me with the idea of quitting work and starting my own business as a tutu and stage wear designer. They inspired me to start a new career, one that allowed me to use my talents in sewing and love of art and ballet. I promptly enrolled in tutu school (yes, that is a thing) and started making my samples. I return to tutu school organized by various industry leaders every year to learn new techniques and broaden my knowledge of the ballet and theater world.
I have sewn throughout the years, mainly projects for my children and the home, but dressmaking as well. My grandmother was a couture seamstress from Cuba who starting work as a sample and pattern maker for designers back in 1948 in the fashion district of NYC. I learned many things from her. When I went to tutu school, I realized that the traditional construction of ballet tutus had many techniques in common with the techniques I had learned from my grandmother in couture dressmaking. It has been a natural fit for me to pursue costuming and I feel that my next venture will take me into evening and bridal.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Custom tutus and stage wear is a small niche market. Tutus are also very labor intensive and have a huge time commitment. I work with clients in looking at all the options for their special costume. In some cases, I have made the base tutu and bodice and design and make the decorations, a separate plate, and overlay, as a separate piece that can be removed to redecorate the tutu for another role.
Also, getting my marketing to the right people. When I mention that I am a tutu maker, people automatically assume that I am making cutesy, flouncy tutus for their 2-year-olds. My best client is one that has the drive to do the endless, rigorous training that is a dancers life and understands classical ballet and its history and traditions. They will understand the work that goes into a proper, traditional tutu and how it is supposed to fit.
Please tell us about TUTUTerry.
All my tutus are unique. Some are inspired by artworks, others are collaborations with artistic directors and their vision or a collaboration with a client’s vision. My clients vary from ballet schools wanting a group of costumes to singular clients, mainly pre-professionals that are serious students of ballet and have a desire to pursue a career in dance.
Often times, these clients, from LA to Orange County and San Diego surrounding areas, will attend various competitions all over the world such as the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the International Ballet Competition (IBC) and the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet (CICB) and they have a clear idea of the look that they want for the repertoire choreography they will be presenting at the competition. In the end, though, I have an aesthetic that is unique to me and I think that comes out in all my creations.
The best part of tutu making is the design phase. I admit that this is where I spend a lot of time. I will be driving and designing in my head my next look. I favor rich brocades over solid colors and enjoy shopping for the unique trims and appliques, but mostly, I enjoy making my own. Whenever I see a lace or a fabric that I like, I will purchase some yardage and use it as a source for my own appliques by layering various laces and/or trims together to get a unique and new outcome. One of my recent projects I experimented with machine embroidery, making my own design on a tutu plate. This technique can be seen on the “Starry Night” tutu, which also won best new designer at the TUTU.com fashion show at the 2018 IBC.
All my tutus are created with passion and love for art and ballet. I am fortunate and blessed to have this chance in life to start a second career, a career that also allows me to be home with my autistic son. I am already enrolled for my next tutu school, this time to learn some tailoring techniques for a men’s ballet tunic. I plan on continuing to grow my business by expanding my inventory to web stores, and by attending future workshops and courses that allow me to bring new ideas into my creations.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I started with the idea of uniqueness for every client. However, I have found that clients do like particular designs of mine and want to have their own version of it. So I have become more flexible with the designs and reproducing them, with just a touch different for a particular client. I am beginning to think more of the retail space and being able to create a line that I can reproduce and sell here and abroad by selling online through other web stores.
Pricing:
- Each piece is a custom creation. A plain tutu and simple, un-decorated bodice starts at $500.
Contact Info:
- Website: tututerry.com
- Phone: 760-613-1761
- Email: tututerry50@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Martha Leebolt, Vladimir Zabezhinsky, Lauren Worley, Kalena Tano, Andrea Gianfortuna, Stephanie Maiorano, Toby Batley
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