NEW YORK — Joy Teiken designed her first piece, a hat for her mother, almost out of necessity.
“It was 1989 and my mother was dying of breast cancer,” Teiken said. “So I made her a hat to wear to my brother’s wedding.” Following her mother’s death three weeks later, Teiken received her degree in teaching from the University of Minnesota, joined the Peace Corps and spent four years teaching in Botswana. Design was the furthest thing from her mind — until she returned home.
“When I came back to Minneapolis, I began teaching at an arts high school. A bunch of girls in the school wanted to start a fashion design course, so I learned how to sew and got really interested in fashion,” Teiken said. From there, she launched Joynoelle in 2003, and has since built her brand into what she expects will be a $1 million wholesale business by the end of 2006.
“I just did what came naturally. If a pattern-maker ever saw how I did this, she’d probably laugh,” Teiken said.
Her specialty has been creating one-of-a-kind dresses and coats influenced by decades such as the Thirties and Forties. The retro-inspired pieces accentuate the female form without revealing too much. “I use classic lines and try to make the female form look stunning,” she said. “It’s really about the details and the yummy fabrics.” Teiken uses fabrics such as silk, velvet and fur. She also uses tapestries and vintage fabrics.
The name of the collection, Joynoelle, combines Teiken’s first and middle names. Dresses wholesale between $400 and $2,250, and coats wholesale between $400 and $2,000. She has a showroom in Minneapolis, where she meets buyers by appointment. Joynoelle is available in Habit, a specialty boutique in Chicago, but she’s hoping it lands in high-end department stores and specialty boutiques nationwide.
“My vision has never changed,” Teiken said. “I think the idea of one-of-a-kind and limited-run pieces is incredibly worthwhile and could be an effective avenue for designers without financial backing who would otherwise not be able to appear in larger retail outlets.”
Today, the collection consists of about 40 to 50 one-of-a-kind pieces, such as a two-piece suit made from a vintage kimono or red-sashed halter dress. But Teiken says she knows if she wants to be successful, she’ll have to consider producing small runs of her designs. The process is already under way: She’s hired a handful of seamstresses to help with the sewing and she’s on the hunt for a New York showroom.
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“Each piece, for me, really starts with the fabric,” she said. “I know I’m going to have to do more than one piece eventually, but I want to do small runs. I’m afraid that if I do too much, the pieces might lose their personality.”
For this Midwestern designer, her creations are, admittedly, very un-Midwestern.
“Midwestern women don’t really like to be noticed that much, and my pieces definitely bring attention,” Teiken said.