hello folks! welcome to the colony. what is the colony you ask? well...think of it as a hive of sorts. it's like a beehive where ideas are thunk up and super cute products by super talented artists and designers are available for your purchasing pleasure. in other words...the website is the hive and the designers are the worker bees and the products are the like the honey, but much less sticky of course and the whole shebang is called "the colony". oh.. and i'm the queen bee :). the colony has just begun to form so keep checking back to watch the hive grow and to see what fun stuff will be swarming around. - Jay McCarroll

 

 I was born in a little town in Pennsylvania in 1974. I was the last of six children. My father made septic tanks. My mother had a delicious hall closet stocked with remnants of fabrics and tins of buttons and bags of yarn. This was my favorite place in the house. My sisters were in the high school marching band and my brother was on the football team. I made myself costumes and twirled batons in the front yard. I suppose this is where it all started.

 

I studied Fashion Design at the former Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, now Philadelphia University, where I currently teach. I also studied at the London College of Fashion. While in London, I sold my clothes at Camden Market. I then decided I hated it and moved to Amsterdam. I sold at a few boutiques there and loved it but I was homesick and moved back to Philadelphia.

 

I put together small fashion collections in Philadelphia and sold at a few boutiques there. I moved back to the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania and opened a vintage shop for a few years. I discovered yoga. I auditioned for a reality show called Project Runway. I won the first season.

 

I met Molly Ringwald.

 

I live and work in Philadelphia.