Jodi Hilton for The New York TimesSigrid Olsen, an artist, has traded a spacious suburban home for a Gloucester, Mass.,

bungalow that doubles as a gallery.


A CUSTOMER walked up the bright blue steps into Sigrid Olsen’s gallery. Admiring the watercolors for sale in the first room, she wandered into the second, larger room, where more of Ms. Olsen’s fanciful, Caribbean-inspired paintings hang on one wall, above a low teak cabinet.


And there was Sigrid Olsen, the artist and fashion designer — well, she was a designer, until the Liz Claiborne empire eliminated her line, and her job, in January 2008 — calling out a friendly hello. Standing at a wooden counter, with a row of baskets of paints and brushes next to a bowl of fresh fruit, she was fixing a salad.


“Is this a cooking school?” the woman asked.


Actually, Ms. Olsen explained, she was just taking a break from work, and making herself some lunch. Smiling, she encouraged the woman to look around as long as she wanted.


Talk about working at home. Ms. Olsen is living in her gallery here at the Rocky Neck art colony in Gloucester with her husband, Curtis Sanders. Her new gallery and home are merged in the small but airy color-splashed, renovated bungalow that used to be their summer place and is now their year-round residence, and the incubator for Ms. Olsen’s post-Liz Claiborne reinvention of herself as an artist and entrepreneur.


“I get up around 6 or 7 and get right to work,” she said, talking on a recent overcast afternoon at her dining room table that doubles as a work space, and faces a wall of windows overlooking the street, the harbor full of fishing boats, and the jumble of galleries, shops and restaurants. “The sun comes up right there, on the cove. And then in the evening, you see the reflection of the light on all the houses. It changes all day long.”


After she lost her job, and her business, she decided it was time for radical change. At 54, she moved into the summer bungalow and began painting ceramics, cards and watercolors, returning to being the artist she was in her 20s, when she was living in a $60-a-month, 600-square-foot cabin with no indoor plumbing in Rockport, Mass. Living in her studio, and working in her home, got Ms. Olsen and Mr. Sanders thinking about selling their 3,600-square-foot house, in Hamilton, Mass., a 20-minute drive away. All that space and luxury — two decks for entertaining, four bedrooms, a separate apartment for visitors — no longer made sense. The taxes alone were about $12,000 a year. Then there was the constant hiring of people to paint the house, mow the lawn, and do repairs.


And Hamilton’s suburban location, closer to Logan Airport, and to Ms. Olsen’s former company office in Beverly, Mass., was no longer a draw.


Mr. Sanders, a former textile salesman who now works with Ms. Olsen, had joined his wife at the table. “No one ever dropped by in Hamilton,” he said.


Now, people drop by all the time: customers, tourists, other artists who are among their neighbors. In Hamilton, they had to drive to everything. In Rocky Neck, Ms. Olsen gets around on her bicycle — or by kayak.


“We loved the house in Hamilton,” she said, “but we had become alienated from it.”


Last November, despite some anxiety over the question of what they would do with all of their possessions, they sold the house in Hamilton, an affluent suburb where the average listing price for a four-bedroom house is $868,000, according to Trulia, the real estate Web site.


“It gives us the freedom to start a new business without having to depend on anyone else,” Ms. Olsen said. “What we’re doing now — all the new things — I’m doing it with my own money.”


Her new ventures include leading yoga and art retreats for women in Italy and running a second, small shop out of rented space in another part of Rocky Neck. She has written a cookbook. She is exploring ideas for another book, a television show and a hotel — in Gloucester, or maybe somewhere else.


The Rocky Neck house consists of about 1,200 square feet of combined living, work and gallery space all on one floor, over the garage. The garage provides additional work space for Ms. Olsen and a studio for her 90-year-old father, Dane van Sand, a painter, who lives nearby.


In preparation for the sale, Ms. Olsen and her husband gave away some of their furniture and other household goods to family members, and to a local charity. Then Mr. Sanders organized four garage sales over a series of several months.


Ms. Olsen did not attend the sales, preferring not to watch people haggling over her things. Like her 50 pairs of size 10 designer shoes. Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Prada. The slightly worn pairs went for $25. A pair of dusty rose silk Yves Saint Laurent stilettos, a gift from Mr. Sanders, but still in the box and never worn, went for $50.


“They were really beautiful,” Ms. Olsen said.


She and her husband grinned at each other across the table.


“They hurt your feet,” he said.


“There was the hurting the feet part,” she said. “I used to buy shoes that you would wear into the taxi, into the restaurant and back home. What’s the point of that?”


“Now I wear ballet slippers all the time,” she said. “You have to walk.”


At the moment, she was wearing no shoes. She doesn’t miss the house, she said, or anything in it, except sometimes, the two-sided fireplace with the granite hearth that was in the family room. It was a great place for people to hang out while she was cooking. And, she said, it was a mistake to sell her art books.


What about her husband? “My CD’s,” he said. “I regret that. That was a mistake.” He had 3,500 of them. Country, blues, jazz, rock. They went to a collector, after he put them on his computer, and iPod. But the iPod is not the same, he said. The music sounded better on the CD’s.


He shrugged. He can live without the CD’s. “I still think we should have less,” he said.


The sign over the porch says Sigrid Olsen Art, not Sigrid Olsen Home, and a lot of customers do a double take when they walk in the door. The first room, with the hand-painted ceramics displayed on a table, is clearly a shop. But then customers turn right, into the much larger, second room, and register the galley kitchen and the dining room that opens into the living room, with the pair of white sofas, and the framed family pictures on the wall.


Sometimes Ms. Olsen, or her part-time gallery manager and Web graphics designer, Erin Arnason, whose desk is across from the kitchen, overhear them trying to figure it out. “They’ll say, ‘Sigrid Olsen can’t live here,’ ” Ms. Olsen said. “Or they’ll say, ‘But where does she live?’ ”


She walked across the room, and opened the door, with the opaque stained glass windows, into the minimally furnished bedroom, with one wall painted hot pink, windows overlooking the small backyard, and its separate bathroom — there is a half bathroom in the gallery — and walk-in closet, with its neatly organized racks of clothing and, in the corner, a tall dresser.


“This is the secret — having everything in the closet,” she said.


Mr. Sanders, who was listening, called out something about what she was leaving out. Ms. Olsen laughed. “There are two secrets,” she said. “The other secret is having Curtis as a husband. He’s a neatnik.”


And, yes, she said, the small space means they’re thrown together more than they were in their old house. “We like it,” she said.


All in all, she said, smaller, and closer — to her husband, and her customers — has turned out to be better.


Now, she said, she feels more grounded, and creatively inspired, than she has in years. Part of that is having customers wandering around. “Sometimes people will come in and I’ll say, ‘I’m thinking of doing this — what do you think of that?’ ” she said.


That, she said, is her kind of market research — market research in her own home. 

Designer Sigrid Olsen has a new gig—and a decidedly sunny outlook.

BY BRIGID SWEENEY

Photo by Jesse Burke.

When parent company Liz Claiborne shuttered Sigrid Olsen's clothing line last summer, abruptly halting her 25-year fashion career, plenty of female baby boomers shed a tear. Not Olsen; instead, the 56-year-old designer let out a sigh of relief. "Under Claiborne, there was so much focus on the finances," she says. "I didn't want those concerns to dictate my life anymore." Determined to devote more time to her painting and printmaking, the New England native stopped jetting to Europe and New York, and moved to live full time in the heart of Gloucester's picturesque Rocky Neck artist colony.

Olsen may no longer be the creative director of a $100 million business, but her definition of "relaxing" looks little like vacation. This summer she opened Isla Beach House, a shop bearing her trademark island-casual vibe and selling colorful knits and maxi dresses, statement necklaces made by her daughter, and woven nylon totes from Mexico, all priced under $200. Once it closes for the season in October, Olsen will lead "inspiration retreats" with her sister, a yoga teacher on Martha's Vineyard. And, when her noncompete clause with Claiborne expires next year, she just might launch a new clothing line, too. "I want to keep things simple and lighten the load," Olsen says. "But I'm also a compulsive creative." 

77 Rocky Neck Ave., Gloucester, 978-281-1766,isla-beachhouse.com.

by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler - The Glam Gals

Did you happen to read our recent blog on where Sigrid Olsen is now?
I (JoJami) recently interviewed the beautiful fashion designer so you can hear her story on how she has re-invented herself now that she no longer designs for her namesake label.
After 25 years of working “like a mouse in a cage” and never having time to take a vacation or a yoga class, Sigrid now runs her boutique/art studio only a few steps from her home in Massachusetts.
Moreover, not to be missed is her upcoming Yoga/Art retreat that she will be teaching with her Yogini sister in Tuscany. We have heard that her retreats are first class and life-changing!

At a recent session of the Smart Talk Series in Wilmington, I was honored to meet Karen Menke, the chairwoman of the organization. She picked me out of the crowd to compliment me on the jacket I was wearing and we struck up a conversation.

So imagine how excited I was when Karen invited me backstage to talk to the latest guest speaker, Jane Pauley. Looking stunning in a tailored white and gray suit, Ms. Pauley lectured about the importance of reinventing ourselves. In these tough economic times, she told us not to see being laid-off as a negative, but as a chance for reinvention.

Not only that, she also brought with her Sigrid Olsen, the fashion designer and artist, to share the Smart Talk stage with her. I had the honor to chat with Olsen back stage.

Olsen (age 55) said she started her career as an artist and morphed onto the fashion scene 25 years ago, heading up her name-brand clothing empire. She designed for “real” women, using bright colors and simple classic designs that became her trademark.

However, a few years ago that all changed. With the economy sinking, Sigrid left her business to start fresh.

“My company had become so large that I did not get to do what I loved to do, which is creative based,” she said, "I ended up just being the head of my company and doing meetings all day. I had lost touch with my roots and doing my passion which is art . . . I am much happier now.”

So what does that “now” look like?

Olsen, who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, runs a retail boutique called Isla Beach House, just a few steps down the road from her home. She sells her sunny, beach-inspired art, pottery and other unique finds at the boutique. Her line is great for summer dressing, and the styles are, as Olsen puts it, “ageless.” I love that!

I also picked her brain a bit on where she likes to shop (besides her own store, of course). Sigrid admits that it is hard to shop after 50, but she likes to mix her bargain finds from Target and J. Crew in with designer clothing.

“Accessories are also key to looking pulled together. I like to find new artists and help promote them in my store," she said with a twinkle in her eye. She is obviously passionate about her new venture.

A self-professed “doer” Sigrid is living her passion and thanks to her creativity we can now bring a piece of her colorful world into ours!

So if you’re seeking a place to be inspired and dress up too, check out next year’s Smart Talk series at the Hotel du Pont.

Smart Talk Series:http://www.smarttalkwomen.com/

Isla Beach House by Sigrid Olsen:http://www.isla-beachhouse.com/

Sigrid Olsen:http://www.sigridolsenart.com/

In search of champagne decor on a beer budget? These 20 local sources hold stylish surprises worth checking out.

By Regina Cole June 14, 2009

Isla Beach House Sigrid Olsen's individualistic sunny sensibility informed her eponymous clothing line; now she turns her artist's eye to painting and home decor with a store on Gloucester's Rocky Neck. A 12-inch nickel-and-glass hurricane lamp has a considerable, sleek presence. For indoor or outdoor spaces, it sells for $88.

77 Rocky Neck Avenue/Madfish Wharf, Gloucester, 978-281-1766

Artist Sigrid Olsen, left, in Marlboro yesterday with Susanne Morreale Leeber, president of the Marlboro Area Chamber of Commerce. (T&G Staff/TOM RETTIG)

Famed designer in Marlboro

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

MARLBORO— Sigrid Olsen, the well-known artist and textile designer who sold her multimillion-dollar clothing line to Liz Claiborne Co. 10 years ago, believes we are all reinventing ourselves, particularly in today’s economy.

“Especially women my age, over 50. In many cases, their life circumstances have changed: the kids have grown up, they’re undergoing job change or just re-examining their lives. But too many of us spend too much time going after material things rather than what makes us happy,” Ms. Olsen said in a telephone interview this week from her home in the artist colony of Rocky Neck in Gloucester.

At 55, Ms. Olsen is reinventing herself and focusing on filling her life with peace and happiness after a hectic 25-year run in the apparel business. The Woodbury, Conn., native told her compelling life story yesterday at the Women’s Business Council luncheon meeting hosted by the Marlboro Regional Chamber of Commerce at Embassy Suites Hotel.

After graduating from the Montserrat College of Art with degrees in painting and print making, she started a cottage industry in her barn. She had a group of people who made things out of the textiles she printed. From there, she started making clothes, which she describes as “colorful, whimsical, simple and stylish.” A man she met put up $30,000 to develop a line of samples of shorts, T-shirts and blouses to take to a trade show. Then they met a venture capitalist who invested $150,000 in the company.

In 1999, Sigrid Olsen’s brand was one of 25 smaller companies Liz Claiborne acquired. Although the sale price was reportedly about $50 million, Ms. Olsen said she only received about $2 million because she was the minority owner of her company. Within three years, Liz Claiborne opened 54 Sigrid Olsen stores, including four in Massachusetts, in Chestnut Hill, Burlington, Hingham and on Newbury Street in Boston. Her line was also being sold in thousands of other stores across the country. Annual peak sales were over $100 million.

Sigrid Olsen was one of the top-performing companies in 2005 when the founder was diagnosed with breast cancer, requiring a double mastectomy. She considered herself fortunate to not have had to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. In 2006, company sales started to level off and finally there was negative growth. Last year, Liz Claiborne closed the Sigrid Olsen stores, but retained the trademark. Under a non-compete agreement, Ms. Olsen is prohibited from designing any clothes until 2010. But she can never put her name on a clothing label unless she gets permission from Liz Claiborne Co.

Ms. Olsen said she has come to terms with that. Since then she “started stretching her wings in a different direction,” including hand-painted ceramics, cards and stationery sold at ISLA Beach House, her studio and retail store near her home. She has also begun holding inspirational retreats focusing on yoga and art for women. The first one was in Mexico in January. The next one will be in Italy in October. She has also written a cookbook and is working on a book and possible future television production, called “Sigrid Style,” about interior design, entertainment, fashion food, travel and wellness. Her goal is to put island-inspired women’s clothing boutiques in hotels and help create an environment that would support retreats.

Ms. Olsen now calls the loss of her clothing label a “blessing in disguise.”

“I don’t think I would have (begun the retreats and other ventures) if I had continued working the hours as a fashion designer,” she said.

Sigrid Olsen, artist & designer

June 10, 2009 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler - The Glam Gals

If you’re over 40, chances are you’ve bought at least one item of clothing from designer Sigrid Olsen.

Last night, I (JoJami) had a chance to met up with Sigrid, who was one of the speakersat the Smart Talk Series in Wilmington, DE.

Olsen (age 55) said she started out in her career as an artist and morphed onto the fashion scene 25 years ago, heading up her name brand clothing empire. She designed for “real” women, using bright colors and simple classic designs that became her trademark.

However, a few years ago that all changed.With the economy sinking,Sigrid left her business to start fresh. “My company had become so large that I did not get to do what I loved to do, which is creative based.

“I ended up just being the head of my company and doing meetings all day. I had lost touch with my roots and doing my passion which is art…. I am much happier now.”

ISLA beach house

So what does that “now” look like?

Olsen, who lives in Gloucester, MA, now runs aretail boutique, called ISLA Beach house, just a few steps down the road from her home, where she sells her sunny, beach-inspired art, pottery and other unique finds.

“I like to find new artists and help promote them”, she said with a twinkle in her eye. She is obviously passionate about her new venture!

Not to be one to sit still, Sigrid, found Yoga soon after her “retirement” and now runs her Yoga/Art fusionretreats all over the world.

A self professed “doer” Sigrid Olsen is living her passion and thanks to her creativity we can now bring a piece of her colorful world into ours!

Deborah (circa 2004) in her favorite Sigrid Olsen outfit

A cute story… Deborah tells me that back in around 2003 after havingtwo babies two years apart, she was feeling rather frumpy. She went to Florida and discovered Sigrid Olsen in Burdines and bought a ton ofher bright fun clothes.

Deb was so thrilled she even emailed Sigrid to tell her how happy her clothes made her feel, and what a perfect fit they were. Here’s Deb a couple of years later in those same Sigrid Olsen clothes that she wore and wore.

Doesn’t the robin’s egg blue and peach go beautifully with her Spring complexion?

Sigrid Olsen Photo By Meghan Colangel

by Kate Bowers

Posted Tuesday June 09, 2009

From WWD Issue 06/09/2009

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Amid shingled cottages and galleries in the seaside artist enclave of Rocky Neck (Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer and Mark Rothko are among those who painted here), designer Sigrid Olsen is crafting a post-recession second act.

Last year, Liz Claiborne Inc. shuttered Olsen’s namesake brand after failing to find a buyer. At its height, the misses label where Olsen served as creative director generated sales in excess of $100 million annually, but was undone by aggressive retail expansion — 54 stores in roughly four years — in a souring economy.

Yet whatever grief Olsen felt over the demise of the brand she spent 25 years building seems to have passed. At 56, she seems energized, leading art-and-yoga retreats and being featured on Jane Pauley’s “Smart Talk for Women” lecture series. She’s sold three homes, paring down (financially and spiritually) to a single house and gallery on Rocky Neck Avenue.

And a short bike peddle down the street, she’s planted the seed for her next brand: Isla Beach House, a 400-square-foot, red shingle cottage she opened in mid-May brimming with beachy-chic fashion, accessories, home decor and her own watercolor prints. Olsen plans to license the concept to coastal resorts worldwide, advising them on collections to buy and selling them Isla-branded wares. She sees this store as part functional business, part laboratory and part showroom for clients interested in licensing deals.

“We travel a lot and you’d be surprised how many places don’t have a boutique,” said Olsen. “We can help them get set up and provide direction every season.”

Already she has created two Isla fragrances (Palm, a coconut-vanilla blend, and Pareo, a tropical floral), pottery and home accessories under the label. Once her noncompete contract with Liz Claiborne expires in 2010, she intends to launch Isla Beach House clothing.

Her husband, Curtis Sanders, formerly a fashion industry sales representative, is her partner in the endeavor.

The first Isla Beach House, in a building originally built as a fish shack, sits on a wharf overlooking Smith Bay. Inside, the white walls and peaked, wide-planked ceiling, painted ocean blue, make it look like a tiny chapel. Dried starfish are piled into designs in the eaves.

She’s chosen small, relatively obscure lines with contemporary sensibility and deliberately kept everything under $200 retail.

Aside from Sanctuary pants, Olsen has chosen Chaudry printed maxidresses ($120), Love Shop printed silk sarongs ($70), shibori-dyed cotton pareos which double as scarves ($25), and fine jersey T-shirts from Rag Doll ($36 apiece), which she has hung from weathered hooks. Through the crafts Web site Etsy, Olsen found Willywaw, a line of canvas totes, and persuaded the artist to sell wholesale by trading a session of business advice. The totes, printed with unusual marine motifs like jellyfish and undulating seaweed ($28 to $50), have emerged as a strong seller.

She’s penned and self-published a cookbook, and is close to delivering her agent a book proposal on her personal style. But even with multiple projects percolating, Olsen is clearly itching to get back into designing clothing. And she has a vision of what she’d like to achieve.

“The missy designers focus on fit and underestimate their customer’s appetite for fashion, and the contemporary lines don’t look good if you’re over size four. I’m going for a hybrid of those two sensibilities,” she said simply.