She`s So Skirt!

In her mixed media work, Charleston artist Olan Quattro explores memory and myth. Her collages are constructed from the forgotten pieces of our lives. Each piece is first layered with old letters, photographs and notes and then painted. The layers represent the passing of time, the erosion of memory.

The pieces shown here are from her project, “September Fashion Issue,” in which she challenged herself to create a collage from every consecutive page of Vogue’s 2009 September issue.

Co-founders of Jersey Girl Sports, Angela Davis and Marcelle English met by chance, but came together by fate. Recently the two businesswomen sat down with skirt! to share their journey of faith in stepping out of corporate America and going out on their own.

Some people are just born beyond their years. Take Cody Jones. When she was in 6^th grade, she already had a reputation -- as the girl who could cut hair like a pro.  Throughout middle school, her clientele were the older girls who all wanted “wispies” – feathery layers and bangs.   

“By the time I was 12, I was already cutting my mom’s hair,” says Cody.  “Talk about trust!”

In a high-crazed fashion world, women are expected to look and dress in a certain way if they want to be taken seriously in this “man’s world.” However, pain is not beauty, and that is exactly what Mary Jane Caldwell, founder of Lady Jane Shoes, is all about. She gives pain and blister-filled high heels the boot, and replaces them with an even sexier stiletto. Think Carrie Bradshaw, but much more smarter and shoe savvy.

When asked, most writers will tell you that they were bit by the writing bug early in life. Debbie Ridpath Ohi, a Toronto-based freelance writer and illustrator, is no different. Having written her first chapter book in first grade, Debbie knew that writing would be her chosen path in life.

As soon as you open the doors to Piece of Cake you are taken in by the scrumptious aromas of all the goodies being baked to life in the kitchen.

Tracey can cook like a whirling, whisking banshee.

Unfortunately, we only got a slight glimpse of her talent on Top Chef: D.C., as this funny audience favorite was eliminated too soon. Luckily, we can get a taste of her skills at the highly acclaimed Ray's Killer Creek in Alpharetta, an upscale suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. She recently moved to the position after having the helm at Table 1280 in the Woodruff Arts Center for years.

If you talk to wig expert (or “wig-spert”) Rebecca about her job, the first impression you’ll get is that she’s extremely passionate about what she does. “I’ve never been so satisfied doing anything,” she admits. But it didn’t start out that way.

We first became acquainted with Freida during (what else?) Fashion Week.  

As a gorgeous, stylish woman, it's no shock that Freida is the Senior Logistics Operations Executive for a company as fashionable as Ralph Lauren.

"When people ask what I do, my typical response is 'Do you ever wonder how that item you’re wearing got to the place you purchased it?,'" she says. That's all Freida.

"I was sitting around one day and realized, 'Hey, there are no female Elvis tribute bands!' So I thought of the name Pelvis Breastlies and gathered some of my girlfriends," says Shawn, a DJ on 99X in Atlanta.

That's kind of how Shawn does things. She doesn't think, she just acts. And things always seem to work out.

When a family stands on a stage and sings together they can create musical history. The Von Traps, the Osmonds, the Jackson 5, Hanson...the list goes on and on.

The von Grey sisters won't be any different. They sound like a cross between The Dixie Chicks and Taylor Swift with soulful melodies and lyrics that are far beyond their years. Their ages range between 10 to 15 and I picture their house resembles something like a modern day Little Women.

Yelena stands tall.

Not just because she's 6'5", but because she has done a lot in her short life. At 3 years old, Chernobyl struck near her small hometown in Belarus. Soon her country disbanded from the Soviet Union and became a smaller, poorer state.

Two years ago the bottom fell out of the real estate market and Julie had to find a new way to support herself in this recession. She had forgone her Speech Communication degree from UGA to enter the lucrative real estate industry, but that was all changing. A spray tan fan, she talked to a friend who worked at a spa in Athens. Over a glass of wine, they ruminated about the idea of opening a mobile spray tan business that comes to your house.

Vroom Vroom, Tracy's behind the wheel of her own fast moving future.