Lisa Shepard’s Cultured Expressions
At 12 years of age, many of us were trying on garments of adulthood. Our teen years were looming and beyond that was the great promise land of “grown-up” with all its myths and promises. So, we tried to answer the questions about “what we wanted to be” and “what we planned to do” when we grew up. We tried to imagine our adulthood. There are those whose adult lives evolved just as they dreamed at age 12. Lisa Shepard is one of those people.
A designer, writer, and textile artist, Lisa’s interest in sewing began to take root as a pre-teen. Her grandmother was a dressmaker and although she did not grow up watching her grandmother sew, she did benefit just the same. Lisa recalls that her grandmother entered a sewing contest. The prize was a Singer sewing machine. Her grandmother won the contest and the machine was given to Lisa. Lisa and the Singer became inseparable to the point that she exhausted the machine.
“I was sewing all the time. I burned up the machine.” That passion has not subsided since those young years. She made items for herself and her family. Lisa laughs that her mother still has most of those early creations.
These days, Lisa has her own company known as Cultured Expressions. She writes do-it-yourself sewing guides and, to date, has published 3 books. The latest, AFRICAN ACCENTS ON THE GO, was self-published in June 2007. “Self-publishing gives me control over the final product. It was a really good experience with the support of a really good printing company.”
Lisa also conducts workshops and sells a variety of African fabrics from her home. Buyers can make an appointment and travel to Lisa’s studio in Rahway, NJ for a very personal shopping experience. “People are surprised by my approach.” Lisa and her husband, a musician, open their home to buyers sharing tea and conversation.
Lisa Shepard’s creations employ a variety of fabrics and embellishments. Some feature brass Adinkra symbols that she obtains from a Ghanaian artist. She also uses vintage and recycled material. One such use of vintage material is a kente purse featuring a necklace of green glass beads. The necklace ended up being the perfect embellishment.
“Feel the fabric, embrace the culture” is Lisa’s philosophy of fabric. Her enduring love affair with African fabrics began in 1986 during her first trip to Senegal. Through many other trips to Ghana and Senegal, the love affair has deepened and expanded as has her sources for fabric and ideas. Lisa readily acknowledges the fabric as the primary inspiration for her creative work.
