[Music] Freedom is being open for whatever opportunity is given to you.

Sometimes you have to bust some of those doors down yourself but sometime God gifts you very special people in your life and that's amazing.

I grew up here at Cincinnati, Ohio.

The big influence in my life was Gerri Reid, my mother.

She was was full of talent and ideas.

She sewed and we were always around her sewing.

My sister didn't get the sewing bug but I got it.

I would be at her feet.

I would be picking up the scraps.

Something that she might be throwing away and I would grab it.

She also modeled.

We would go and see her doing all these fabulous fashion shows so more than likely, that was the impetus to me wanting to go into fashion design.

I ended up at University of Cincinnati in a fashion design program.

I loved it.

When I graduated I went directly to New York.

There was just so much happening with all the designers in New York City.

So I'm walking down the street with the New York walk.

You can't walk slow.

They'll run you over and this lady comes up to me and she says miss, miss, where did you get that handbag and I'm not slowing down.

That's why I said I made it and I just kept walking, just kept walking.

She said miss, miss, here's my card.

Can you bring me your collection?

Can we meet next week?

That was the start of my handbag career.

I had my own studio and I had about six people working for me.

This was the most popular bag that was sold all over the country even overseas.

I love challenges and so this this bag is a challenge right here.

This accordion bag.

I went through a couple of iterations and it came out beautifully.

My handbags was featured in Women's Wear Daily which is the biggest publication in the industry.

That was huge but when the stock market crashed the boutique stores stopped buying my designs.

I decided to go home looking for whatever that next step is and I was delivered a professor's job at University of Cincinnati.

It was one of the most magical things for me to be teaching students about the industry that I worked in and that I loved to them so it was awesome.

These are pieces that I haven't seen before.

I collect handbags and one of my favorite handbags of all times I didn't realize okay this is Cynthia Lockhart and not knowing one day I would meet her and get to know her as a quilt maker.

I like the combination of the African fabric.

Absolutely.

Dr Mazloomi took me in under the Women of Colors Quilter Network.

You'll make your artwork and then she decides either it gets in the show or it doesn't get in the show and mine have always gotten in the show.

The reason why it's called dancing colors Her mentorship, her energy, her strength to continue to have this organization there are no words.

This piece is called Created To Be Me.

There are doves.

There is a big heart.

It's talking about whom ever is created to be who they ultimately become.

I'm created to be me.

I was born to do what I'm doing right now.

The first time I met you was down at the Arts consortium.

One day I get a call from Sara that the Smithsonian wanted Created To Be Me.

It belonged to Sara and now it is at the Renwick Gallery for everyone to see.

When you purchase it you're actually opening up it up to the world - Right.

because if it's going to be in my studio they're not going to see it.

For an artist to be in collections like the Smithsonian and big institutions that does a lot for them personally and it also does a lot for their career and I love to support artists in any way shape or form that I can.

Amazing Grace is one of my favorite pieces of art that I've created, tons of work manipulating the fabric adding different stones and and beads and quilting it so when I was making this piece and of course I hadn't named it yet and then I hung it, I put it up on my wall.

The piece actually moved from flat into a different form in front of my eyes and so it was just like it was, it's just, it's like thank you Lord.

I couldn't have done that by myself.

you know so it was God's grace that gave me that that particular quilt [Singing] Amazing grace [Singing] how sweet the sound [Singing] that saved [Singing] a wretch like me [Singing] I once was lost [Singing] but now I'm found [Singing] I was blind [Singing} but now, now, now I see.