About Aria

I’ve had a passion for sewing ever since my mother handed me my first threaded needle alys-cohen-on-sept-13-2012and taught me to sew a button back onto a pair of my overalls when I was just three.  I loved watching my mom do the dishes and put buttons back on things that I tore off.  Since little ones love to be like mommy, she let me be.  While the love of washing dishes has  long since worn off, I still love to sew and design and sew some more.

In 1999, before my high school class had walked across the platform, I started my little business back when a single photo on an AOL Hometown page was impressive.  In those days, I focused almost exclusively on Titanic reproductions, and first expanded into Moulin Rouge.  Over the coming years, this became a part-time pursuit.

Until March 2008, I was an e-mail security analyst by day, spending a good chunk of time aching to have some sequins in my hands instead.  When the company unexpectedly laid off a large chunk of its workforce right before this nightmare called the Recession, I found myself among the newly-unemployed, and am took it as a sign that the time was right to return to my creative endeavors full-time: sewing and dance, especially ballet.  I will soon take up ballroom again, and favor Vienese waltzing and East Coast swing.

In the past I favored the Edwardian era, though an favoring the Regency era a bit more, perhaps due to the modern daily wearability of those gowns.

On a personal note, I was born in 1980.  I’m a Californian, born and bred, though currently live in Washington State with my husband, Cody, our daughter, Charlotte, and a handful of animals.  For those who are curious, they are Emma and Luthien, two golden retrievers named after the Jane Austen character and an obscure Lord of the Rings character, a Norfolk Terrier named Juliet, a ragdoll cat known as Loki, and a black and white kitten named Thor.

Cody is my absolute best friend and biggest supporter of my dreams.  He’s a very selfless man who inspires me to strive to be a better person and to reach for dreams I had given up on.  I don’t know how I could possibly deserve him.  He is a wonderful, doting father to our precious little girl.  Though this small business is my thing, they are both an active part of it, whether it’s running to the store to get me more thread, or giving me critical input, and I could not do this without their support.

I can frequently be found at Oregon Ballet Theatre productions, traveling Broadway shows, the opera, or the symphony, often with Charlotte and/or Cody in tow.  I am fortunate that they both enjoy live stage productions, and Cody is just as likely, if not more so than I, to check on what’s coming up.

Not much a fan of TV, I prefer to read.  My favorite books tend to fun toward fantasy and historical fiction.  Tokien’s incredible development of Middle Earth and its characters has made all his books my favorites, from The Hobbit to Lord of the Rings and beyond.  In terms of “historical” fiction, I very much enjoy all of Philipa Greggory’s books, especially the ones about the Tudors, and the works of Jane Austen (hence the name of one of our dogs).  I also write books, and have two that are published under my pen name.

Between Cody, Charlotte, our animals, and the extreme privilege of getting to pursue my dreams, I am beyond fortunate with my life.

~Aria