ABOUT CARLA RENEECarla Renee (Zimbelman) Westerbeck is a professional pattern maker and fashion designer with over a decade of experience creating beautiful wedding gowns, custom patterns, and original handbags for blushing brides to be. She currently creates and works from her studio in Rancho Cordova, CA, and collaborates with brides and other clients worldwide.
Carla has been sewing and dreaming in sketches and fabrics since 1991; she was 10. In high school, she knew she wanted to design and create gowns. In 2001 Carla started college at FIDM in San Francisco and started part-time retail work at a bridal shop in Sacramento. Carla graduated in 2003 from The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in San Francisco, CA with a degree in Fashion Design. From there she began her design career and further honed her skills for two years as a seamstress, pattern-maker, and assistant designer at Miosa Couture in Sacramento, CA. In her free time Carla can often be found creating original patterns and designs from the art and books that most inspire her, as well as from her own fanciful imagination. These creations became the foundation from which she began her business designing made to order gowns, dresses, and handbags in 2004. Since then Carla has been working with brides and other fashion enthusiasts as a freelance designer, pattern-maker, and couturier. Designing custom patterns and lacework are Carla’s greatest joys as an artist. Carla Renee was also published in the 2007 issues of "The Knot" magazine and "Sacramento Bride and Groom". To lend to her impressive CV, Carla also had the honor of teaching for four years at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, CA, where she taught over twelve different courses in the fashion department. Among them were Flat Pattern Making 1 & 2, CAD (for patterns), Garment Construction, Couture Techniques, and Textile Design, and more. Carla loved working with the aspiring designers and students who came to her for her design expertise and experience, and learned a lot from the teaching experience too! Carla loves engaging with her clients, in a way that brings their visions to life in a meaningful and beautiful way. She also stays abreast of all the trends of the fashion and bridal design world, as well as developments in design technology. I'd Love to hear from you! |