Our Team
TRISH GINTER (AKA SMASHINGDARLING #1)
Trish was destined to become a fashionista before she could even spell the word. She was sewing by age 12, and at age 15 (possibly in defiance of child labor laws) was doing freelance design for a dance costume company. She is armed with a BFA in fashion from FIT specializing in Couture, and a boundless enthusiasm for her work and the indie fashion movement.
There are few areas of the fashion world that Trish has not experienced firsthand, from design to production, corporate to indie, bridal to babywear, and everything in between. After college she advanced quickly in the NYC fashion industry, beginning as an assistant designer for an American design house that owned the licenses for Christian Dior sleepwear and lingerie where she eventually became head designer for Dior Junior, the children's sleepwear line.
But the constraints of corporate life are surely not for everyone and with no looking back Trish pushed ahead to pursue her dreams, opening a studio and retail store in the Connecticut River Valley featuring her own designs which has now been going strong for over 13 years.
SmashingDarling is the culmination of Trish's experiences in the fashion world and her life's work as an independent designer. Her greatest hope is that SmashingDarling will give indie designers like herself a place to connect with and draw inspiration from other designers, as well as provide an easy and powerful way to market their designs online and sell to a wider audience than ever before.
She believes passionately that true fashion is nowhere to be found in the cookie-cutter megamalls of the world, and that the future lies not with the big-name fashion houses but with the creative freedom and individuality that can only be found in independent fashion.
CONTACT ME: trish[at]smashingdarling[dot]com
CONNECT WITH ME ON: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Biznik, Stylehive, IQONS, Myspace
JULIE RORRER (AKA SMASHINGDARLING #2)
Julie has been a little bit of everywhere, done a little bit of everything ... the true independent woman at heart. She has lived in San Antonio, Dallas, Boston, Newport, Savannah, the mountains of North Carolina, and now calls the Connecticut River Valley home.
She has a diverse background in fine art, earning a BFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design in 1995, with further studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Her life and career has led her in various directions, from photography and design to cosmetics and manufacturing... and most recently motherhood! An artist at heart and an entrepreneur in spirit, Julie has always been interested in the process of creation.
She believes strongly in the importance of beautifully designed, hand-crafted products over mass-produced, consumer-driven, disposable fashion and with SmashingDarling.com hopes to help bring new exposure to the wonderful and inspirational people who continue to create fashion that thinks outside the mall.
CONTACT ME: julie[at]smashingdarling[dot]com
CONNECT WITH ME ON: LinkedIn, Twitter, Stylehive, Facebook, Biznik
MAUREEN 'MO' PUIA ( AKA MODARLING )
CONTACT ME: mo[at]smashingdarling[dot]com
CONNECT WITH ME ON: LinkedIn, Twitter, Stylehive, Facebook, Myspace
