Chris McDowell learned how to sew from her mom. From her dad, she learned about building and architecture.
For her career, she’s merged both.
After traveling for many years, McDowell has been the resident costume and set designer at Bates College for the last decade. Two years ago, she also started Vintage Advantage, a line of hand-sewn, retro aprons.
Name: B. Christine McDowell (yes, “B” is my first name, but I go by Chris)
Age: 52
Lives: Auburn (born in Philly, but lived in eight different states)
Given that you’ve lived around the world, what is it about this job that drew you to Bates and Maine? After travelling professionally for four years, and paying New York City rents, I was attracted to a first-rate teaching job at a beautiful campus, in a state where people can afford nice homes AND have a lovely view complete with wildlife.
Highlight of the last theater production you worked on at Bates? My last show — “Marie and the Nutcracker” — was an original script, which is always a challenge (all the “bugs” aren’t worked out yet). The script also called for multiple masks (which I’d only made a few times before) and unusual characters, as well as over a dozen quick changes (some as short as 30 seconds to completely change clothes!).
What’s a production everyone should try to see once in their life? Though opera might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think that the Franco Zeffirelli-directed production of “La Boheme” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York is the coolest theatrical experience I’ve ever had. The sets are the height of four-story buildings! Plus the opera is heavenly, and fun!
Top 3 countries that you’ve visited and why? Oh, geez, I don’t know if I can narrow it down to three, but I’ll give you a short list:
1. South Africa: The people (the warmest and most inspirational I’ve ever met), the wildlife and phenomenal scenery.
2. U.K.: Culture culture culture! History history history! So much cool architecture and so many amazing museums, as well as every food option you could want.
3. Japan: EVERYTHING in that country is beautiful: the food, the architecture, the landscape, the cultural ephemera, the clothing — you name it.
4. Italy: There is NOTHING bad about Italy! Everything is cool about it — the people, the food, the countryside, the architecture. Did I mention the food?
5. Sri Lanka: The country is beautiful, the food is delicious and you have to learn to eat everything (even rice, which is served at every meal) without utensils! However, it’s hot and full of bugs. It’s filled with challenges for a tourist, but the payoff is great.
If you ever get a chance to go (fill-in-the-blank,) do it! I’m convinced that any foreign travel is exciting and beneficial to a person’s humanity. I can’t think of a single foreign country I visited (23 and counting) that was a personal disappointment. My most rewarding foreign travel has been to countries where English is not the primary language. I think having to work to communicate with others makes us better, and more compassionate, people. Also, my recommendation is to try weird new foods. One of my favorite things to do in any foreign country is walk into a grocery store and buy something that looks completely mysterious. If nothing else, you’ll have great stories to tell people at home about “that time I ate crickets.” In fact, crickets are surprisingly tasty.
Your retro aprons are very cool. What do you use as inspiration for the designs? Well, the aprons themselves are cut from actual original, vintage patterns. I wanted to be respectful of the cultural history of aprons and their uses (I try for the most part to choose fabrics that look appropriate for the original era of the aprons). The other aspect of my design inspiration is real, vintage textiles I use as accents on the aprons. Any time you go into a good vintage store, there are piles of vintage doilies, table scarves, tea towels, hankies and other linens that we don’t seem to use much in our modern lives. I wanted to be able to feature these beautiful and often one-of-a-kind items in the aprons, which makes every apron also one of a kind.
Does making aprons mean you also like to cook? I do like to cook. In the “If you ever get a chance to go (fill-in-the-blank,) do it!” category: I highly recommend taking a foreign cooking class at an adult education class. Last year I did the Thai cooking class at Lewiston Adult Ed, and now half of what I cook is made with coconut milk and galangal! I also find that aprons are super useful for the other messy pursuits in my life, like painting.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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