Well.....here's my story.  My mother was a tailor and I learned her skills and I also grew up in Western Canada where sewing skills are a valued and common attribute.  I ended up in New York...on eastern Long Island in a town called Southold running a construction company.  Life's weird huh?  My son was born to act  and I was appalled at the level of costuming and set design in the local theaters where he learned his craft.  So I started working for all the local theaters.  If I could start my life over I would make hats....they are my absolute joy but most theater groups want the rest of the costume too.  I'm also a fairly good painter. 

 My son and I have started our own theater company and it is doing well.  We work mainly with traditional Shakespeare...you know doublets, codpieces, farthingales....the works.  This suits me because I really don't have very much interest in the modern era of dress.  For example; our next play (opening in two weeks) is "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"  and I have not made a single costume for it.  Hate the fifties and sixties.  I have done the set and even that was a chore.

I have never charged a cent for my work but I own all of the costumes I ever made.  I am sort of a lending library of costumes.  I truly believe that there should be more cooperation and less competition between small theater groups and if you went into the theater to make money you were a fool.  It makes me happy to see my costumes used by another theater group or my backdrops borrowed by an opera company.

This brings me back to your question.  Yes I could take orders but I don't know what to charge.  I don't want to make boring costumes.  My time is limited, particularly now because we have "Taming of the Shrew" and "Othello" scheduled for this summer so that's about 30-40 costumes for me and a lot of set painting.  If you are interested in talking to me about your project send me the details. eeijoan@optonline.net