Debbie Bone-Harris is a textile artist whose wealth of design and creativity comes from a sensual love of materials and a passion for textiles that developed during a childhood spent on a sunny breakfast nook with her grandma, filled with an old Singer sewing machine and scraps of fabric. Her lifelong love of sewing and textiles stems from her passion for juxtaposing embroidery with unique custom designed garments and encrusted surfaces. The sewing machine is her tool of choice, while ribbons, fabrics, glorious threads, and fibers create the palette she works with.
Debbie’s Master of Arts thesis was “Chasing a Dream: Explorations in Embroidered Wearable Art”, where she studied some of the famous couture designers specializing in embroidery. Embroidery, whether by hand, machine or free motion, is more than just surface design in Debbie’s collections; it is an integral and decorative element in her designs. She regards dressmaking, particularly wearables, as an art. She has received numerous national and international awards at juried wearable art exhibitions and fashion shows. She has emceed various textile venues and has taught at sewing shops in the Pacific Northwest and around the country, specializing in free motion embroidery, surface embellishments, and vintage ribbon work. Embellishment and surface encrustation are just a few of her signature areas of expertise. Debbie can usually be seen with a needle in her hand when she isn’t at her sewing machine.
Deb is a member of the Surface Design Association, Association of Sewing and Design Profressionals, the American Sewing Guild, Visionary Textile Artists (VisTA), Beading Buddies, and other local sewing groups. Her studio and home are in Kennewick, Washington, in the mighty Pacific Northwest, and she surrounds herself with desert sands and three mighty rivers flowing through the Columbia Basin where she gathers much of her design inspiration.