On Barbara Corey’s sewing desk is a yard stick and two hand weights. She is not your average clothing designer. In fact, she doesn’t even own a tape measure or sewing patterns in her store Corey & Co. (19 Pleasant Street). 

Corey, originally from Cleveland, has lived in Portland for the past six years. She’s quick to admit she’s not a tailor, but an artist before a fashionista. “I always ask myself if a painter would make this before I sew,” she says.

If you visit Corey & Co, you’ll never see anything twice. She focuses instead on creating shapes and concentrates on making something unique and functional, rather than thinking about what her customers would want to wear. Her pieces range from a skirt with a removable pocket to a unitard with a Swedish poem stenciled on it. She sells other designers too, including some local, but would eventually like to be able to focus on creating more of her own. “On average, I make one piece per day,” she says. “I’d really like to find a good stitcher to bring in here!” (If any FFF readers need a stitching gig, stop in her store!)

Corey’s background in painting and sculpture is evident in each piece - well-crafted, structural and her own vision. Though her customers range from the young, hip set to artists and local Mainers, Corey understands who the residents of Portland are, even if she’s not specifically designing for them. “Portland draws people that really are indescribable. They enjoy the urban aspect of the city but also focus on really enjoying life.”