Welcome, fellow traveler! My name is Melissa Jordan, and I am the artist and owner of Compass Rose Studios. Pull up a camel saddle, have a cup of fragrant green tea, and let’s share tales of faraway places... Over the past fifteen years, I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world—Moscow, Samarkand, Bangkok, Cairo... (Click here to read about my latest journey to the former Soviet Union.) In my travels, I’ve had some wild adventures in some pretty exotic locales, and, everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve gathered wonderful handicrafts, fascinating folklore, and lots of other prizes to fill my home and my head with lots of ideas. Having spent ten years traveling throughout Russia and Central Asia, I am particularly fond of the rich cultures and beautiful art of the region—just ask anyone who’s been to my apartment! The colors, textures, and styles of Eurasia have influenced my life, my creativity, and the designs I have chosen for Compass Rose Studios. There’s a market out there being ignored... As a large woman, I’m often frustrated by the limited amount of unique clothing available in my size range. I like to express myself visually, and I love including elements of my global experience in what I wear. Living in a large urban area, I often see wonderful wearable art inspired by different cultures, but nothing I can wear, since most of these retailers seem to think that fashion—and interest in wearable art—ends at a size 12! Over the past year, I’ve encountered a number of women who share my frustration and would love to wear fun and funky original clothing. In response to this desire, I’ve started creating unique wearable art for women of size, using myself (a size 30-32) as model and fashion experiment. Using a variety of natural and synthetic fibers, I have designed a variety of jacket and coat templates for women of size, to which painted, hand-stamped images, beads, and other decorative touches are added to complement basic style and color. Each item is an original, handmade to order, with the customer choosing the elements of style to be included. Because I make each piece myself, no two items will ever be identical. In addition to unique articles of wearable art, I craft delightful hand stamped rice paper lamps and other nifty items that make wonderful gifts and home accents. (I have two Compass Rose stamped lamps in my home—and I keep a spare one to use as a “beacon” on my balcony when I’m expecting visitors!) They had it in my size, but the color was all wrong! How many times have you seen something really neat in a store, but found that either your size wasn’t available or the color available was dreadful on you? In creating my business concept, I’ve tried to alleviate that age-old problem by providing “cafeteria-style” options for my clients, allowing you to work with me to design a unique piece of art to wear or use. With each item I produce, you may choose fabric colors and patterns, stamp designs and colors, and, in the case of lamps, what style you want. I can provide you guidance and tell you what patterns work better with certain styles, but your own imagination is the only real limitation! The Compass Rose Philosophy of Clothing... Comfortable is good. Stylish is good. Comfortable, stylish, and unique is great! All the wearable art garments I make are designed for maximum comfort, enjoyability, and beauty. The Compass Rose Philosophy of Everything Else... If you like it, it’s cool-looking, and it’s calling your name, you should buy it! A Note on Compass Rose’s Stamps Compass Rose Studios uses great fabric stamps from Hot Potatoes!, as well as great stamps from Magenta and other ‘angel’ companies. Unique stamps designed by Compass Rose Studios will soon be available as well.   main | lamps | clothing | Uzbek fans | about | sizing links | feedback/ordering info | travel stories Copyright © 1998 Compass Rose Studios Site design and HTML by Qdesign of Bethesda, Maryland. If you experience any problems with this site, please let us know.