Drawing-I found peace & quiet from my noisy family.
Desperately needed a vinyl skirt–got sewing lessons.
Boston Museum School, a traveling fellowship, Europe.
Needed a job–terrible waitress, no typing skills.
Voila! Collection No.1 sold to Henri Bendel.
Moved to New York, toiled away on 7th Avenue as a designer for 8 years–Enough!
Collection No.2 The Carlyle Hotel, 3 models, an accordion player and a portfolio of drawings.
Stock Market Crash–Collection No.2–Ferme!
Off to Paris lugging my huge portfolio–Fiasco!
New York-Needed a job.
Lugged my portfolio to Bloomingdales
(by this time it was small so I could run before they slammed the door).
"Your drawings are sooo French" the creative director said.
The Vivre La France campaign was more fun than I’d had in years.
Chesley “The Illustrator” opens her studio. On to Bendel's, the magazines,
Paris Couture shows, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, book launches
and the Chicago Art Institute.
Louis Vuitton and Chanel came calling The Artiste for special events.
Voila! Collection No.3 The Artiste smock coat.
And so it goes– Drawing and Designing…
Contact Chesley at:
[email protected] | 917.797.9818