Melissa Becker Designs

Melissa Becker Designs invites you to browse our site to explore new and original clothing patterns and a unique line of handmade buttons.

Well, here goes! I have waited to write this "About Us" page 'til last. It is the final step to be completed before launching this web site. I keep asking myself how one writes an "About Us" page when the assignment is actually to write "About Me." It's this "me" part that is difficult. Perhaps that is because… Melissa Becker Designs came about when my husband and I returned to northeastern Ohio in 1992 after eight years in the Chicago area. Well, let's be more specific… he was transferred and we decided it was best that I tag along with our boys. Having both grown up in Ohio, we looked forward to coming home, renewing friendships, being closer to grandparents, and raising our boys on familiar ground. A few months passed and we began to settle into our new home. I started thinking about going back to work in my field, Special Education. So, I gathered up all the artifacts of my former self - college transcripts, letters from colleagues, descriptions of jobs that I had held, etc., etc. Off they went to be evaluated and processed by the great state of Ohio. I knew my teaching certificates would be renewed soon and I'd be doing what I loved again before much longer.

In the interim, to pass the time, I started designing and sewing some fun jackets . One thing lead to another and before long I had a few original pieces in my soon-to-be favorite shop in Chagrin Falls. Beth, the shop owner, later to become a close friend, encouraged me to take my designs to a wholesale market near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, a showcase for the work of many American folk artists and artisans. Over the next few years I met a cornucopia of talented and creative people! My business underwent a change of direction and officially became Melissa Becker Designs. Before I realized what was happening I had opted for starting over in a new career. In the fall of 1996 I went to Houston, Texas to attend the International Quilt Market. Although I attended the market previously, shopping for fabric to develop my line of ready-made garments, this time was quite different. I established a connection that led me to what I am doing today. Through a series of coincidences I was fortunate to meet Jan Patek of Jan Patek Quilts, Inc. She was interested in my designs! Jan and I spent a couple of hours on the last day of Market sharing thoughts and discussing possibilities over coffee in a crowded area set up for weary buyers and exhibitors. When we parted Jan had a new jacket that was a Melissa Becker Designs original and vowed to call me after the first of the year.

January rolled around and, sure enough, she called. In the dead of winter I headed to Jan's home and studio in Cameron, Missouri to collaborate on designs that would later be published in one of her many books of quilt designs. That was it - I was hooked! As both friends and colleagues, this relationship continued. In the fall of 1998 I published the first set of designs under my own company name. More clothing designs followed and a line of handmade buttons, named Buttonlore, was born in the spring of 1999.

My business grows and changes with each passing year. I marvel at what has come to pass and wonder where we'll be a year or so from now. Melissa Becker Designs came about in search of… more time at home with my boys as they grow up, spending time creating and collaborating with friends and other artists, indulging myself in my love of textiles and clothing, acquiring new knowledge and skills, and finding opportunities to travel and teach. It has become all about my friends, my family, and my creative self. Just another stop along the way…