Fashion Info You Need To Know No. 3Remember Beverly? Remember I told you I had more to tell you later?

Well she is now a published author!!!She granted SMF Designs an interview about herself, the book and her experience as a first time author.

SMF: First, tell us about your educational background and how you started sewing.BEVERLY: I have a B. S. in Home Economics-UT Austin, 1973 (the Earth was still cooling) and a MBA-UH-Victoria, 1999. I’m currently working on my PhD at Virginia Tech. I’ve been sewing since I was 12 years old, started off making Barbie doll clothing and progressed to my clothes as well as shirts for my father, clothing for my mother and grandmother (they taught me how to sew). I won the district sewing contest in 1968 in the Make-It-With-Wool Competition sponsored by the National Wool Council and went on to compete at the state level. I love sewing challenges with difficult fabrics and techniques. Sewing is one of my passions!SMF: Tell us what the book is about.BEVERLY: The book is about the apparel industry. The title is Apparel: Concepts and Practical Applications. It is a college textbook designed for students wanting to enter the fashion industry as buyers, managers, or even owners. It covers broad areas such as history of costume, a sampling of great designers, consumer behavior, textiles, industry standards, selecting clothing, shoes and handbags. SMF: How did you meet your co-author?BEVERLY: Barbara and I met at UH while I was teaching classes there. She became my mentor and one day I approached her and said, we needed to write a book for the course that I was teaching-Apparel Evaluation. She suggested that I go and research the feasibility of it. I don’t think she really thought I was serious.SMF: What made you write a text book and why a text book? BEVERLY: There was a big gap in available and timely textbooks for the Apparel Evaluation course which is taught in almost every university that has a consumer science or fashion department. I wanted to fill that gap.SMF: How much of the book did you write and how long did it take?BEVERLY: There are 13 chapters and I wrote 7 chapters and Barbara wrote 6. We divided it up based on our areas of expertise. From start to finish, it took from March 2005 to now, so about 3 1/2 years.SMF: What was the hardest and easiest part of writing this book?BEVERLY: Believe me, there was no easiest part to writing this book. Every single step was intense and sometimes the communication between us and the publishers was not always ideal.SMF: What is your best advice to someone who wants to write a text book?BEVERLY: Be prepared to spend lots of time working on it. And write everyday, even if you don’t feel like it. Deadlines creep up on you. Read as much as possible of other sources.SMF: How does it feel to be a published author? BEVERLY: It’s almost surreal. Hasn’t sunk in yet. When I received the first copy “hot off the press”, I wasn’t expecting it. When I held it in my hands, I literally cried. This was always a life

long dream of mine. God put everything in me to accomplish this goal. I made a lot of friends along the way, and perhaps some enemies (hopefully not too many).SMF: Will you write another book?BEVERLY: Fairchild has already started discussing the second edition. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to say that I’ll write another entire book. That’s up to God.Thank you Beverly for this great interview! We are so proud of your great accomplishment and look forward to all of the wonderful doors this will open for you. Congratulations!