BALTIMORE | 52 | WEDDINGS
W
hen it came time for Jill
Andrews to find a studio
for her new business venture,
the answer had been staring her
in the face—literally. Andrews’
Hampden home faced the Castle
at Keswick, a former police sta-
tion, originally built in 1899, that
was turned into office space.
Andrews admits it wasn’t love at
first sight. “The fireplace looked
like [pink] Spam. Everything was
green. There were big hideous
lights. I cried,” recalls Andrews of
the first time she walked around
the first-floor location. It was far
from the space she was imagining
for her custom gown and mix-
and-match bridal separates ate-
lier, but she let her creative vision
guide the renovation.
These days, her workroom is a
dreamy place drenched in natural
light with hardwood floors and a
row of sewing machines. A work
table is littered with muslin, seam
rippers, and handmade fabric
flowers from the century-old M&S
Schmalberg in New York City.
Nothing is tucked away or hid-
den from clients so that they can
connect the dots of the whole
dressmaking process. (It’s the ate-
lier version of an open kitchen.)
The sewing machines provide a
pleasant buzz, but there’s some-
thing else reverberating off the
walls. It’s the hum of excitement
as brides come in for their fittings,
their names etched on a giant
chalkboard next to their appoint-
ment time. During the weeks and
months needed to create a dress,
the brides, moms, aunts, and
grandmas become Andrews’ fam-
ily. There’s always one last twirl at
the final fitting, the dress zippedinto a pink garment bag. It’s bitter-
sweet saying goodbye.
Andrews grew up in Upstate
New York before moving to
Manhattan to attend the Fashion
Institute of Technology. After a
stint in London, she came to Bal-
timore and spent 14 years making
costumes for Center Stage. She
opened Jill Andrews Gowns as a
full-time gig in November 2009. In
the 10 years since, there have been
countless dresses, but Andrews
remembers every one—the fabric
detail, the way the sleeves lay,
the grommet and lace closure,
the bustle, the couple’s story. Her
dresses have been worn in Paris,
Santa Fe, Germany, Mexico, and,
of course, Baltimore. She has
transformed numerous outdated
wedding dresses from mom (think
oversized sleeves, heavy satin) into
sleek, modern gowns for daugh-
ters. Andrews dreams in inseams,
vintage lace, and silhouettes.
“Last night we had a client in
here,” says Andrews, “She was say-
ing, ‘I can’t believe you knew what
I wanted even before I did.’”
That seems to be Andrews’ gift,
something that is just innate. She
takes her job seriously and under-
stands the enormity of what she
is creating. “The amount of trust
that people put in us here, it makes
your heart want to explode.”
Says Andrews, “We become
part of their story.”An atelier filled with love, light, and fabric.
Jill Andrews Gowns
MAKER SPACEBY JANELLE ERLICHMAN DIAMOND | PHOTOGRAPHS BY RENÉE HOLLINGSHEADAISLE STYLE