Artist's Bio:
Jordan began her career 40 years ago in Honolulu, Hawaii. In order to keep her new son with her 24 hours a day; she opened her own boutique at the age of 19, on Kalakaua Ave. This fledgling beginning led to three store locations and a small factory, which employed around 15 people. Her unconventional beginning as a clothing designer had its drawbacks, but also its advantages. The mo
st important of these was having no one saying, “You can’t do that” in her life, which led to and encouraged innovative approaches to creating both product and marketing. Jordan soon became known for her artistic approach to producing clothing, which usually involved hand-painting. At the age of 28, encouraged by a friend from Vogue magazines, Jordan relocated to the mainland and began her wholesale designer business. During the next thirty years, she set fashion industry standards for hand-painted luxury apparel and was recognized nationally as the first to hand-paint animals (always close to her heart) on matte jersey evening wear. Feature articles in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Town and Country, and La Official helped to propel her career. Her accounts included Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman, Sakowitz, Nieman Marcus as well as the best specialty stores in the country such as Nan Duskin, Claire Perone, Martha’s, etc. Her clothing has also been seen on guests of the Tonight Show as well as seen at award shows and on society pages around the country. The 1980s brought big changes in Jordan’s life and career direction. While designing and helping the private label manufacturing of a large major retailer in Texas, she met a cow on a friend's California horse ranch during a three-day rest stop between Tokyo and Texas. When she realized everything she thought she knew about cows was untrue, she began to wonder what else she thought she knew but didn’t. She did know that she was disillusioned with the fashion industry and decided to leave the fast track lane and a two pack a day cigarette habit, take her adopted cow, and literally head for the hills. Jordan found a secluded little piece of heaven in the hills of California, turned off her phone and started life over again. Her family soon expanded from Bambie the cow to homeless horses, dogs, cats, coyotes, birds, etc. She stopped smoking and begun to focus on her art without distraction. Five years later, rested, refocused and with a new perspective on values, she decided to re-enter the industry and set up a new business, her way. She organized a non-profit business venue that would enable her to hire women that needed a chance to start over as well. After shipping to a couple of stores, the old frustrating chain of events began again. The demand for markdown allowances, returns, late invoice payments and co-op advertising had gotten worse than ever, making it virtually impossible to make a profit. This prompted Jordan to rethink her approach to marketing. She decided to forget the conventional retail industry all together and focus on her art couture concept of private clientele business, cutting out all the middle people. She realized that the one group of women whose needs could be answered with this type of business was the still very active and very powerful woman over 50 that the industry had all but ignored with their tunnel vision emphases on youth and the pursuit of the entertainment industry. This forgotten woman not only recognizes quality of design but also appreciates originality and individual service. Jordan Art Couture was born, whose mission to create timeless art apparel for the customer to collect and wear for many years has found an eager market. Produced in an artist's studio, not a factory, Jordan creates everything she designs from white…Whether 4 ply silk, silk chiffon, lamb suede or lace, it is all dyed or painted to compose. Even all detail such as trim, cording, and closures are handmade by artists or contracted with other artists. Matching details can also include handbags, boots or shoes. The fit is always the customer's as all pieces are custom finished or designed and made from scratch. Two years into her non-profit status, Jordan realized the extraordinary expense of maintaining the legal status was not practical so she is now just a private company. But the values and direction of her efforts have not changed. Her sole purpose for her art is to raise the publics conscience of the plight of the helpless, whether human, plant or animal. She is always on the lookout for charity events with the same goals that she can provide the entertainment for and support with a percentage of business written. Wherever her path leads her in her future, Jordan says, “I used to believe that cows had a full set of teeth, were stupid and automatically made milk. I also believed that financial security was the answer to peace of mind. Now, I understand that the sharing of love is the answer.”
