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 Let me tell you some things about myself. I was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a middle-class Anglo-Irish family. We lived in the southern outskirts of the city with views of the Dublin Mountains to the south. My father was a businessman, who owned and ran his own business, specialising in making Irish linen products such as tablecloths and sheets. They sold all over the world including Bloomingdales, New York. My mother was a school teacher of young children with special needs.

I always had an interest in fabrics and trims, my favorite toy was my mother’s button box. I used the remnants from dad’s linen sample case to make crafts, then moved on to make clothes. My interest in European culture allowed me to study art from a variety of periods and countries, thus giving me insight into clothing design, embroidery and other art forms. I was also interested in other areas of the visual arts, such as painting, as well as in music and dance. I took classical guitar lessons at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and studied classical and modern dance at the Evelyn Burchell school of Dance for many years. When I was 14, I pursued a summer course in design at the Grafton Academy of Dress Designing. This was an introductory course for potential designers and included sketching, pattern making and garment construction.

After completing secondary school I studied for two years at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin with a Major in Fashion and Textile Design. During my time in Art school I felt I needed practical experience so I got a part-time job with Peerless Fashions Limited (Private Collection), a missy suit and coat company, working with Peter Fitzsimons, a prominent Designer in Ireland at that time. As an Assistant Designer I gained valuable experience in pattern making, garment construction, design room processes and sample cloth selection. Peter would let me have some of the beautiful European fabrics he sampled to use for my college projects. I traveled to London for design research at the Victoria and Albert Museum. During the summer of 1981 I exhibited a collection of garments in the Futura Fashion Fair, as part of a promotion by the International Clothing Distribution Company, we had fashion shows twice daily during the trade fair. After two years in Art College, I took the State sponsored Anco Industrial Training Authority (Ireland) course in Entrepreneurial Development, run by a team of  Business Consultants, and received a Certificate in Business Management.

At this point I felt I needed to broaden my horizons, my Art College education, while very good from an artistic perspective lacked the practical application so necessary in the industry, so I made a big move and transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. There I received a Degree in Applied Science, Magna Cum Laude, with a Major in Fashion Design, specialization in Design Studio. Not long after moving to New York, I met my future husband, Paul Dennis Sporer, who had finished his Masters Degree, and who at the time was working as a financial analyst. We married after I graduated FIT, and we continued to live in New York City.

My first job for two years was as Assistant Designer at Abe Schrader Corp, a classic Seventh Avenue style moderate sized manufacturer of missy woven dresses, suits and knit suits. My position involved working with the designer and pattern maker on all aspects of line development, doing flat sketches by hand for sample requests, ordering trims and supervising the sample hands. Then for another two years I worked as Assistant Designer at Villager, a moderate sized manufacturer of missy coordinated sportswear. It was at this company that I developed specialized knowledge in sweater knitting of all kinds. The position involved developing design ideas for sweaters and cut and sew knitwear to coordinate with woven sportswear. I sketched original designs, implemented the line plan, group sheets, and participated in pre-editing of the line with the design team in preparation for style adoption meetings. I worked with domestic and international manufacturers through agents. During these years, I also created artwork for studios to sell to companies of all kinds.

With this experience I was able to get my first position as a Designer. This was at Directions USA, a small company specializing in doing projects for a variety of companies. The main line was a mens and womens sweater collection, another was mens Wills & Co. knit shirts. This was when I was first introduced to the use of computers in clothing design, it was 1989, and the idea of using CAD in fashion was in its infancy. Many thought that CAD in clothing design would not become universal, but I could see the value of its productivity enhancing features, so I embraced it. I made comments and suggestions to programmers which were incorporated into later versions of professional CAD software. With this knowledge I moved on to my next position as Designer of womens and childrens sweaters and knits at May Department Stores International. The Company was the largest department store group in the United States at the time. I brought in the Premier computer design system which later became Primavision, for designing, graphing, color combos, and line planning. I developed concepts and product for the company's private label sweater and knit programs in the following departments: womens better, moderate and weekend wear, in missy, petite, large sizes; juniors, girls 7-14, girls 4-6X, toddlers, infants; hats, scarves and gloves; also some mens and young mens. I reported directly to Divisional VP of Knitwear and VP of Production. I had been there for five years when May Co relocated to St Louis, Missouri, I decided to remain in New York.

My next position was with Baby Togs, which at the time was one of the largest manufacturers of children’s clothing. I was there for almost ten years as a Senior Designer. I produced a high volume of designs per season, for the BT Kids brand and private label wovens, knits and sweaters for boys and girls newborn, infants, toddlers; boys 4-7, girls 4-6x, and girls 7-14. Here, I used the Primavision computer system for all phases of design and also Illustrator and Photoshop. I also developed special programmes for major retailers, such as Kids R Us, Dillards, Kohls, Macy's, Walmart, JC Penny and Mothercare in the UK.

After leaving Baby Togs in 2003, I wanted some breathing space to try new things so I developed a freelance business working with a variety of companies. I designed a layette collection for Buster Brown, created kids sweaters, knit accessories, bedroom and bathroom co-ordinates, beach towels, Christmas stockings and other products for Company Kids. I did many projects for Li & Fung, who had the license for McKids clothes. This involved not only designing the kids apparel but also a large visual project to promote the ideas to McDonalds Corp. Another Li & Fung project was designing Junior knit tops for Faded Glory. I did projects for Kahn Lucus, Happy Kids, Gerson & Gerson and designed a line for Renzo Co in Chicago. I also did regular work for The Children’s Place which turned into a permanent position as Senior Graphic Artist in the Newborn area.

In 2008, after Mamiye Bros Inc acquired  Little Me I was hired as Senior Designer, then promoted to Senior Design Manager. This presented a great opportunity to play a major creative roll in rebuilding a brand. I design an extensive line of apparel including diverse collections, classifications and many special projects. The company now has regained its position as the preeminent better baby brand in the US, product can be seen in many better department stores and online at LittleMe.com. We also developed a modern baby brand called Offspring. At the beginning of 2020, I was promoted to Design Director-Newborn and work closely with the Division President.

My other interests include oil painting, and I have painted many landscapes of scenes from Ireland, France, and the Hudson Valley, where we live, and still life’s with flowers and fruit. I like to combine the spontaneity of the impressionists with the attention to detail of the classical masters. It is also my desire to develop an art business in the future.