Meredith Alex, (right center) With Visitors To Her Mad Girl World Studio at 275 Commercial Street
By Carol McCracken (Post # 284)
Last week nationally known fashion designer Meredith Alex opened her funky studio at 275 Commercial Street; it’s called Mad Girl World. It was the culmination of years of hard work for this energetic 41 year old woman who compares herself to Pippy Long Stockings.
This week the impish bit of a woman was refocused on her next big project. Meredith has been commissisoned by the upcoming, Harvest on the Harbor, food festival to design and install haute couture installations that promote the theme of delicious Maine food and wine.
Displayed on the right wall in the back of her new studio are pencil sketches of those installations. They are now her focus. Meredith has been occupied with collecting material to make this gallery of gowns come alive. Committed to the greening of our environment, Meredith says that at least 80% of the material used in her installations are recycled material. Soon she’ll be assembling these installations which will be part of the Harvest on the Harbor extravaganza.
Her gallery of gowns will be displayed at the Grand Tasting on Thursday, October 22 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Ocean Gateway Pier and the Food & Wine Marketplace on Saurday, October 24 from noon to 4:00 p.m. also at the Ocean Gateway Pier as well. (A Harvest on the Harbor insert in the October issue of “Down East” magazine features a drawing of one her “themed gowns.”) Meredith welcomes the public to come to her studio and watch her assemble the installations.
She’s been informed that two of her installations will be used prior to the October event in public venues to promote the Harvest prior to its happening.
A Maine native, Meredith grew up on a farm where creativity was very much a part of her life. She graduated the California Institute of the Arts where her interest was on costume and set design. She designed costumes and sets for dance performances in the Los Angeles area. She even did a stint for ABC television. Meredith returned to rural Maine and lived on a farm again. Just this past January, she moved to the Hill. She wants to expand her business and be closer to the Portland Jetport as well.
Meanwhile, Meredith has participated in events in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. In Maine, she participated in the 60th anniversary of the Farnsworth Museum and in an International Conferece in Climate Change, Orono. On February 9, she participated in the Governor’s Ball on Tourism. That’s where a rep of the Harvest on the Harbor saw her work and later asked her to be a part of it.
Meredith has three children who currently live in Belfast where they attend school.
Meredith loves living on Washington Avenue. She says that a “fun, whimsical outlook on life energizes me. I’m passionate about inspiring and making a difference.”
For more information, please visit HarvestOnTheHarbor.com and madgirlworld.com (Attendees must be at least 21 years + to attend Harvest on the Harbor.) You may call Meredith at (207) 322-3900.