"Come'on who doesn't love a compliment. It makes your day, all day. That is what I want MJC to do, make the girl smile from ear to ear. I want her to love what she is wearing and be proud of how she looks. I want MJC to showcase the sweetness of the child. I try to keep the silhouettes simple for that reason, it's not about the fancy embroidery, it is about the darling girl wearing it.   I want your little girl not to fight with you on what to wear, I want her to be comfortable and I want her to be happy!  And that is it."

Hi there. No, my name is not Matilda, but if I had a baby girl, that would be her name. Instead I have two wonderful boys named Joe and Gabe (a.k.a. The Beast). This, of course, does not mean that you can call your girl Matilda, because someday….

   

But until then, Matilda Jane Clothing it is.

OK, here’s how it goes. When I was in fifth grade, I made a quilt. Then I turned the quilt in to a pair of pants. And then I made similar pants for a few friends, including Becki Tryban. It seemed Becki and I created lots of things – things like pants, skirts, blankets, basketball court murals, even two-by-four sculptures (oh Sally Sullivan, do you still have yours?). Our minds were always in tornado mode, I just had to keep creating. I never went to art school, and I never had any proper training, but I did have…

A Mom who showed me how to change a bobbin, a brother who taught me to iron money, a sister who made me strong, a brother who protected me, and another sister who lets me reinvent myself every single day, and a Dad who was always there.

Yep, that’s how it all began…an adventurous girl…brought up in a great family…always allowed to explore her own world.

My own world.

So now: Take a girl who is always right (I really am, and I don’t even mean to be!), add the most spectacular husband every, and you can do anything but take orders from a boss. So, I decided to take on the local hair-a-thon, sellin my own wares, and people actually bought them! Yep, La-Ti-Da. Ten years later, people are actually standing in line to buy my work. But I’m getting bored and voila –

Matilda Jane Clothing is born.

I wake up most nights thinking of great fabric combos (or is it combo #1 at McDonalds?)…this is so much fun, I actually make myself jealous. I’m designing a great line of clothing – it’s so unreal – I can’t believe I’m a clothing designer.

What I can’t say is that I started this company because I couldn’t find any fabulous clothes for my Lil’ Joe. Because truly, there are a slew of talented designers out there. What I can say is: I started this clothing line because I had to. My mind was swirling with ideas that were too exciting to go uncreated. It was consuming me! And with my neighbors and their strong support – who play a huge role in the shows, the production, even the photography and especially the laughter – I made it happen.

I’ll tell you what – do what you love, don’t look back and never take it for granted that you are able to choose the life that you lead. I still get butterflies every time I roll into an art fair. Kinda crazy, huh? It must be love.

Gosh, am I the luckiest girl alive or what?