Introductions

The Gypsy Cottage is the collective efforts of three artisans. We wanted to introduce ourselves and invite you to do the same!

Hi Dianne here! I was born & raised in southeast Louisiana. My "cottage" is nestled in the woods about an hour north of New Orleans. I have been happily married to my husband Clay for over 20 years and have 2 daughters, 2 sons, a grandson, a grand-daughter and a multitude of kids who call me Mama. My life is all about family.
I am a self taught seamstress and crafter. I inherited my love of sewing and beautiful fabric & trims from my Grandma Spears and my love of quilts and gypsy style from my Grandma Busby. I am a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University. I have done a multitude of things from accounting to hosting Extreme Cowboy Races and everything in between.

Hi Cally here! I am a 19 year old art student at Southeastern Louisiana University. I do multiple things with my art. I enjoy charcoal drawing, graphite drawing, wood burning and making jewelry. I help my mom (Dianne) by collaborating on the designs for her clothing and modeling their work. My daughter is what drives me to do my best work. I hope you enjoy my creations.

Hi Dawne here! I have been happily married for 20+ years and am the mother of twins, my son who is in the Army National Guard and has recently married and my daughter who has recently graduated from college.
I was born in Lombard, Illinois where I lived until my father was transferred to Atlanta, Ga. when I was 13. I went to Beauty College and became hairdresser there, which is where I met my husband, also a hairdresser. We married and had the twins. When they were 1 year old we moved to his hometown of Amite, LA. We wanted to raise them in a small town atmosphere, which turned out to be a good decision as they have both grown to be adults we are very proud of.

As for my sewing career I started sewing when I was 9 with no training, I guess I was a natural. I got my first sewing job with a local alterations shop while in beauty school. I learned all the ins & outs there. My next job was with an interior design workshop where I learned all their tips & tricks. We moved to LA and I met Dianne. We shared our love of sewing and soon opened our first business with me doing alteration and her sewing from scratch. It grew and I was soon doing alterations for 17 cleaners with several employees. In 2003 I gave it all up to become Mom, Dad, grounds keeper, taxi and everything else when my husband was deployed to Afghanistan. After he returned I went to work for a friend’s bridal shop doing alterations. After 7 years she closed to raise a family and I went back to work as a hairdresser. I am now an assistant manager of a local chain.
Dianne & I put our creative heads together and are once again working to create the items for our online store. I hope you enjoy our wonderful, fun items and your visit to The Gypsy Cottage!

We would love to met everyone who visits our blog......so please introduce yourself!