Designing: Moses Lake

Women's clothing designer starts jewelry design

MOSES LAKE - Anna He thinks women's fashion should be 80 percent function and 20 percent spice.

And she should know.

The 29-year-old fashion designer, who moved to Moses Lake in April, spent most of her life designing clothing. She worked for Eileen Fisher in New York and for Nordstrom in Seattle, until her husband started working for REC in April.

She said it is nice to take a break from the big city. She has time to work on her own projects, such as starting a jewelry design business and entering competitions.

"Now I finally have time to focus on my own designs," she said. "I never had time before because the end of the year is when you have to execute the designs for the next holiday season."

He recently was the alternate adult winner in the Washington Make It With Wool Contest, for a jacket and dress she made based off of a 1952 Butterick pattern.

"I thought it was really elegant," she said. "It was one of their best selling patterns in the 50s."

The contest, which is sponsored by the American Sheep Industry and the American Sheep Industry Women, requires people to make clothing from wool. She heard about it after she went to speak at one of their events in 2004.

"A lot of the reason for the contest is to inspire these teenage girls to sew," she said.

He is enjoying the change from Seattle and New York to Moses Lake, she said. She started designing jewelry and selling it during the farmer's market in Moses Lake and through her Web site, www.BonVogue.com.

"People all know each other, which for me is something totally new," she said. "There's a lot of culture and a lot of community here in Moses Lake."

She designs everything from earrings to necklaces, He said. Now she is accountable for more than the design - she also acts as the designer, manufacturer and salesperson. One of her customers from the farmer's market stopped to talk to her during the interview.

"Everybody needs some spice in their life," she said. "I remember which earrings she bought from me. Getting feedback like that is something new … (Customer service) is something I really have to learn too."

He is planning on adding instructor to her resume as well. She is holding classes at Big Bend Community College in design and teaching HTML.

"There's so many hidden talents here in Moses Lake," she said. "Somebody just needs to get them out."