What makes Wendy Newman with Wendy Newman Designs a good neighbor?
Creativity has a way of evolving in unexpected directions, as exemplified by Wendy Newman's remarkable 51-year journey through fashion design and photography. What began as a desire to do something different with her photographs blossomed into Wendy Newman Designs, a business creating stunning wearable art through an innovative mandala technique.
Wendy transforms ordinary photographs into extraordinary multi-layered mandalas—sometimes 15 layers deep—all meticulously crafted in Photoshop from a single image. These intricate designs are then printed onto scarves, leggings, umbrellas, and bags using dye sublimation, ensuring vibrant colors that never fade even after countless washings. The magic of her mandalas lies in their versatility; when printed on a scarf, the complete image remains visible no matter how it's tied or worn.
The most surprising element of Wendy's designs came as a complete shock even to her—they're all naturally three-dimensional when viewed through special glasses (which she now includes with every purchase). This serendipitous discovery connects her work to that of Salvador Dalí, a connection first noted by a curator at the Dalí Museum in Spain who recognized similarities between their artistic visions.
While her design business flourishes through collaborations with prestigious clients like the Biltmore Estate and the Naples Winter Wine Festival, Wendy's heart truly shines through "Wendy's Cancer Warriors." For thirteen years, she has offered free professional photography services to terminally ill children and adults, creating precious memories for families facing cancer. Having lost her husband after his 26-year battle with cancer, this work gives her profound purpose—"the reason I get out of bed in the morning."
Discover the intersection of art, serendipity, and compassion at wendynewmandesigns.com, or reach out if you know someone with cancer who could benefit from Wendy's photography services at wendynewmanphotography.com. Experience how creativity combined with kindness creates something truly extraordinary.
To learn more about Wendy Newman Designs go to:
https://wendynewmandesigns.com/
Wendy Newman Designs
(828) 273-0346
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
We've got a very special guestin our studio and I'm excited to
learn all about them and theirbusiness.
And I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor.
And I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor, miss Wendy Newman
pardon me who is the owneroperator of Wendy Newman Designs
.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Wendy, welcome to the show.
Thanks, Skip.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We're thrilled.
We're thrilled to have you.
And I see you have somebeautiful designs behind you
there, so I'm really interestedin learning all about how that
came to be.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou kick us off by telling us
about what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I've been a photographer and a degree
fashion designer for 51 years,celebrating half a century.
It seems weird to say thosewords.
Half a century, it seems weirdto say those words.
And I think I got my firstprofessional photography job
(01:13):
when I was 18 years old and Iactually, the same year I had
obtained my fashion designdegree.
I went to college really earlyand I was actually working in
this couture salon and I wasmaking, I made my first gown for
someone and got my first paidjob at 18.
Also, I had done some designingand got paid, but that was my
(01:33):
first real job and it allhappened when I was 18 years old
, so it just seems like it wasyesterday.
But this business, wendy NewmanDesigns, got started.
Actually, it's all from myphotography and I wanted to do
something different with myphotographs and I got interested
in this mandala project.
I learned how to createmandalas multi-layered,
(01:55):
sometimes 10, 15 layers deep,all done on Photoshop, and I can
do it all from one photo, forinstance, a wedding.
I will take one of my picturesfrom a wedding and then I will
have the couple in the centerand I'll create the mandala and
then I'll have the flowers.
Maybe I'll have a location,whatever, maybe it's their rings
(02:18):
that are a different layer in amandala, different layer and a
mandala, and so then I take thatmandala and I will print it on
an heirloom piece like a silkscarf or an umbrella, or I have
done bags.
(02:39):
I do these vegan leather bags,all kinds of different things.
I really like the leggings.
They're fun and that's how Istarted this business, which was
a pair of leggings that I hadmade for my girlfriend who was
leaving Asheville.
We did yoga together, so I madeher my very first pair of
Asheville leggings.
What I had done is taken allthese unique photos of the
(03:01):
downtown buildings of Ashevilleand then I created the mandalas
and then I collaged them allinto a pair of leggings and I
wore them to this luncheon which, because we did yoga and I gave
her a pair and I actually madethem by hand I didn't have a
factory or anything, and I liketo call it launched at lunch
because that day, that luncheon,all these women, they ended up
(03:23):
buying a substantial amount ofproduct from me, but I didn't
even have a factory.
I had no way of doing it and Itold the girls.
I said they started throwingchecks at me.
I said, yeah, I don't know if Ican do this.
I don't even have a factory yetand I'm not going to make all
these by hand.
So I quickly got busy andlocated the factory but I didn't
like their fabric so I had toimport all my own fabric there.
(03:44):
Anyway, that's how it all gotstarted was at that one luncheon
.
And then companies startedfinding out about my work and
what I did and they were havingthese fundraisers and some of
them were just events or galas.
And, for instance, I did theinternational.
Some of them were just eventsor galas and for instance, I did
the international, the NaplesWinter Wine Festival, which is
(04:08):
like the number one activity forthe wealthy done in Naples,
florida, at the Ritz-Carlton,and they raised something like
$20 million in a couple of hoursfrom this gala and I created
all the scarves and umbrellasfor that gala and those were
given to the donors as they werewalking in the door.
(04:30):
So it was, it was very, veryspecial.
That was one of the very firstevents I did.
And then I did wine festivalsafter that and I did art
festivals after that and allkinds of galas, like for the
Vizcaya Museum in Miami.
(04:50):
Biltmore ended up.
They were one of my firstclients, the Biltmore Estate,
and I'll never forget this.
I don't know if you know thestore Bellagio in Asheville,
biltmore Village.
They're not redone yet,unfortunately, but no,
everything is coming back in thevillage since Helene.
But what happened was I wore myoutfit into Bellagio, I was
(05:12):
buying a gift for mygirlfriend's birthday, and the
girl that was checking me outshe said where did you get that
outfit?
And I said oh, thank you.
I said I made this and she saidit.
And I said oh, thank you.
I said I made this and she saidreally, and I had, it was a, it
(05:33):
was one of my mandala scarvesand leggings and it had the city
hall building, which I think isa gorgeous building of
Asheville, and she said that isreally unique.
And I said well, thank you, andshe's going to have your card.
And I gave it to her and Iwalked out with my present and
went on my merry way and Ididn't even get to my car and I
got a phone call from the ownerand he said you don't know me.
He said, but he said my, mygirl that was.
(05:56):
She just checked you out.
She said that you were wearingsomething really wonderful and
he said I was wondering if Icould see it.
And I said well, I'm standingright outside your store so I'll
come back in.
I said where are you?
And so he told me.
He said I have all my buyershere today and I would really
like to meet you if you have achance.
I said sure.
I said I'm on my way to theGrove Park Inn and I said so
(06:18):
I've got about 10 minutesbecause I can't be late.
And I said so I don't want youto think I'm rude because I'm
going to be running out.
And he said no, no, no, comeback.
Do you want me to bring all thestuff that I was going to be
taking to the Grove Park Inn?
Because I have it with me.
He goes whatever you have,bring it in.
So I did.
I unzipped the garment bag,threw out the leggings and the
scarves and everything, and theywere all the buyers were there
(06:44):
at this table.
It was really funny because hesaid are you ready to take an
order?
And I went, uh, sure, oh, myGod, I didn't even know what to
do.
Um and so, and so I got my padout and took the order.
And, um, it was a verysubstantial order and it was
(07:04):
like, officially, my first largeorder, and I said OK.
So he said so.
You said you're going to theGrove Park Inn and I said, yeah,
he said well, there's only onetiny little problem with that we
have to be able to sell yourmerchandise in our store
exclusively.
And I didn't know how that wasgoing to work.
(07:25):
But I thought, you know, I'mjust getting started, why not,
I'm just going to go ahead anddo it.
And it turned out to be areally good thing for me to have
that blessing of him and getstarted.
And so I did it for a year.
But there were too many otheryoga studios and other stores
that wanted to carry my stuff,so after a year it just was not
(07:47):
a practical thing.
I needed more exposure and so,but I was very, very thankful
for that opportunity and that'show it just kind of got started,
organically.
People found out about it andit just grew.
Different events and fundraisersstarted asking me for, you know
(08:08):
, 200 umbrellas, 300 umbrellas,and the umbrella is the perfect
thing for what I do and what Ilike about the mandala is when
you put it on a scarf, no matterhow you tie it, you're going to
see the image, whereas if Ijust took a picture of a horse
on a scarf which I could do butyou start, you know, folding
(08:30):
that scarf and you might get thehorse's eyes or the horse's ear
or the horse's behind orwhatever, but you never get the
whole horse.
But when you have a mandala,you can actually get the entire
photo within that scarf and then, depending on how you wear that
scarf, sometimes you can getthe whole mandala.
And I have unique ways to tieand wear that scarf too, and
(08:50):
they're very large, oversizedscarves.
That's how it all started, withthose very few projects, and
then it just sort of blossomedfrom there organically.
I did fashion shows and allkinds of things like that.
In fact, at the AC Hotel indowntown Asheville, one of the,
(09:11):
they asked me if I would displaymy art on the walls, because
they have this, they still havethis running art hall up in
their bar, their bar, and thatgoes out to the rooftop bar, and
(09:32):
it was lovely, and I also had achance to display my umbrellas
at this very, very unique insidethis arena.
It was wonderful and the grandopening for that art show, with
all my art on the wall.
I actually did a fashion showwith the pieces some of them are
behind me of clothing, thescarves and the umbrellas.
(09:52):
So I did a whole fashion showin the a cappella lounge.
We ended up having hundreds ofpeople come totally unexpected,
no idea that was going to happen, and we raised quite a bit of
money for Arts for Life.
It was a fundraiser also, so itwas.
(10:13):
That is something else that I do.
I photograph terminally illchildren.
I do this in the community forfree.
I've done it for 13 years herein Asheville and also sometimes
in Fort Myers.
When I go down there andthere's some terminally ill kids
that need to be photographed, Ido that.
The families are basically atthe end of their ropes and their
kids are not going to be aroundmuch longer, and so I'm happy
(10:34):
to be able to provide thoseservices and really the last
memories of their children.
And so that's how Arts for Lifecame in as one of the
benefactors of this and you canfind what I do.
It's Wendy's Cancer Warriorsand I'm on Facebook and it's
under Wendy's Cancer Warriors,and they do it all for free.
(10:55):
There's never a charge forprints, for the digital images
or the shoot, for anything, andoftentimes I can have hair and
makeup done.
I work with a makeup artist anda hairstylist and they'll do
all this for particularly thewoman.
Now I don't do just childrenanymore, because it's sort of
just exploded, and John Lee dida when he was here I guess it
(11:20):
was about four or five years agodid a story on me and then I
was dominated for person of theyear that year for this work
that I do with my cancerwarriors.
I'll tell you something it'sthe reason I get out of bed in
the morning is that Wendy'scancer warriors.
It gives me a great sense of of, of just good feeling all over.
(11:41):
I love doing what I do and I'mI feel very fortunate to do that
and I feel very I've.
I just my husband just passedaway of cancer and he's had it
for 26 years, so it's a causethat's very dear to my heart and
it's it's something I reallylike to do.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Wow, you have an amazing story.
I mean especially organically.
You know, you just happened tobump into this guy that says,
hey, we got a bunch of buyershere.
Can you come show us your stuff?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I mean that's just amazing to me it is, it's
serendipitous.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yes, and and there's no, absolutely no way that
you've been in business for 51years, you know that there's,
that there's that just not, not,not possible it's been a
journey.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
It really has.
And then, um, I love thephotography and, like all
photographers, you tend to think, okay, now, what can I?
What else can I do with myphotography?
And you know, I've worked withsome of the horse people at
Tryon and I photograph theirhorses and create these
beautiful masterpieces for themand it's, it's nice, it's, it's,
it's um, it's another way touse your photography and expand
(12:53):
it.
And I, as far as I know, I'mthe only person.
I know people that printphotographs onto fabric and then
create dresses and things likethat.
I don't know anyone that doesthe mandala work that I do.
And one mandala can take me upto well.
For instance, that winefestival that I did in Naples,
(13:15):
florida.
I did a scarf for them thattook me 360 hours to create,
because I had 35 differentwineries and their labels and
their bottles of wine on thisscarf.
Yeah, they're very timeconsuming.
An average mandala that has twoto three layers only takes me
(13:36):
about 20 hours.
So it's a very time consumingprocess because it has to be so
exact, just like the originalmandalas, which were done with
sand and then washed away.
It's just.
The whole impermanence of it isjust.
It's very gratifying.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Now do you use sublimation to put the actual
print on the fabric?
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
It's all dye sublimated, which is wonderful
for our environment becausethere's no water that's wasted.
Absolutely A lot of timesthat's what you're going to have
with dye sublimation.
It's really the way to go.
It's more expensive, but Ithink it's a better product.
What I like about the dyesublimation is that it doesn't
(14:22):
fade Leggings which typicallyfade after a couple of washings.
Mine never fade.
They're the same brillianceafter 50 washings.
Wow, yeah, Dye sublimation isthe way to go.
I'm impressed that you knewthat.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, I used to have a good friend who ran a
sublimation company and I wasjust amazed at how, you know, it
actually soaks into all thefabric.
It's not on the surface, it'sin the fabric.
That's an amazing process.
It's an amazing process.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
It really is, and that's a lot.
I only do the quality.
I only want quality products,because I wear all my stuff and
I want it to last forever and Iwant the colors to be vibrant
and, as you can see, behind methere's a lot of color, a lot of
color, bright, vibrant color.
Oh, and I didn't tell you this,all my work is 3D, and this is
(15:18):
another fun story.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, these are my 3D glasses and put
them on and when you lookthrough them, it's all 3D and it
really is.
And what's weird is I went toSpain.
I was at the Dali Museum andthere was a 3D exhibit, actually
, and the owner actually she was, I guess, the manager at the
time of the museum I wastraveling with Curate and we had
(15:44):
a food and wine tour and thatwas one of our things that we
did that day, and so I waswalking around and she came up
to me.
She said where did you get thatscarf?
And I was wearing a Dali scarfthat I had created from the Dali
Museum in St Petersburg, and soI told her that I'd made it,
and she said, oh, you make onefor us, us.
And I ended up doing one forthem as well.
And she said, oh, you like Dali.
(16:06):
And I said, oh, I love Dali,that's why I'm here.
And she said, no, you like Dali.
And I went okay, yeah, I likeDali.
What she was trying to tell methat I didn't understand,
because her English was sobroken, was that my work was
similar to Dali's and and Inever knew this till I got back
and my son and it didn't dawn onme and I had to keep up with
(16:27):
our tour group, which was only14 people.
I said I'm really sorry, I haveto go, but I ended up taking
some of my pictures from thatmuseum and then I created them
and sent them a scarf.
And what was so ironic aboutabout all of it is I came home
and my son said mom, you gottasee something.
(16:47):
He said I want to take youdowntown and it was a head shop
downtown and I said okay, we goin and he goes look.
And he pointed to this piece offabric on the wall and I said,
okay, I don't understand.
He goes, pick up those glasseson the counter and look at it.
And I immediately, when I sawthe fabric and it said 3D
(17:07):
tapestry.
I said well, it's not atapestry, it's just a piece of
fabric.
I know what a tapestry is, it'sheavenly work.
You know this is not a tapestry.
But that wasn't even the point.
When I put the glasses on, Iwent oh my God, he goes, mom,
open up your umbrella because itwas raining outside.
I had my umbrella with me and Ilooked at the umbrella through
those glasses.
He said your stuff is all 3d.
And I freaked out.
(17:28):
I went, oh my god, this is likeso amazing.
And I came home, I put theglasses I actually got a pair of
glasses from the store and Ilooked at everything and I went,
oh no.
So then I had to print my own3d glasses so I could put it
with every product that I sold.
I wanted people to see how thiswas just too cool.
It really was, and it's themandala and it's the color and
(17:49):
texture of the portion of thephotograph that I use that
creates that depth and that 3deffect, and the glasses are just
like amazing.
So and I didn't even know thisuntil I'd been doing it for a
year- Wow, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So, do you do you when you somebody buys an outfit
.
So when somebody buys an outfit, do you give them a pair of
glasses too.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Oh, with every product, every single product
that I make you get the glasseswith it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Wow, very cool, very cool it is fun.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It's not a selling point, but it is a nice little
fun extra conversation point forthe product.
Little fun extra conversationpoint for for the product.
What I didn't know was that Iguess one out of every um 4 000
people actually see in 3d.
Uh, they, they, they're minedali was one of them by the way,
and they, they, they can seethat concept of 3d.
(18:43):
I didn't, obviously.
I didn't know this.
Ok, until I learned it I wentwow, that's really cool.
And it's sort of like one outof every four people are born
with perfect pitch, but if youdon't develop it, by the time
you're age four you start tolose it.
Hmm.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Yes, a little fact there, a little factoid, all
right Well cool Little factthere.
Little factoid, All right, Wellcool.
Well, let's switch gears forjust a second Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Oh, I love bike riding.
I love it.
I do that four times a week.
I do Pilates every single dayof my life and I like to go over
to club Pilates, but whenthey're not open on a holiday or
whatever, I'll just do it athome.
I do not have a reformer andthat's my favorite piece of
equipment.
And I tell you something,pilates is really hard.
What else do I like to do?
(19:34):
I love to golf that's a realfavorite.
I like to read and I love tocook.
But I'm health-oriented.
I grew up at a health resortcalled Shangri-La in Bonita
Springs, florida, so I have anextensive health background.
My father almost died of cancerat 28, and he started eating
(19:55):
nothing but fruits, vegetables,nuts and seeds all organically
grown, opened up this placecalled Shangri-La.
People from all over the worldcame there Barbra Streisand,
hackett, andre sagobi, all thesepeople were regulars at
shangri-la and there were notelevisions at shangri-la and
you learned how to eat and getback to nature and eat real,
(20:17):
whole foods no chicken, no fish,no meat, no dairy, no breads,
no spices, just whole, organic.
And I was the sprout girl atShangri-La and I grew 27
different kinds of sprouts somein dirt, some in jars for 150
(20:38):
people a day.
We fed that came from all overthe world to learn how to eat
and how to be healthy and how tomeditate and exercise and what
was best for them.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
So, wow, fascinating, Absolutely fascinating.
Well, if, wendy, if you couldthink of one thing that you
would like our listeners toremember about Wendy Newman
designs, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
I would.
I would say, if you don'tremember anything else, remember
that if you know someone thathas some form of cancer and they
need pictures to have them,just call me.
It's a totally free service andI do this for grownups,
children, whoever needs myservice, I am available to them.
(21:23):
I travel some, you know,depending on how far it is, and
I go to hospitals if they needthat.
I've done that many times.
But I would say, if that's theone thing you have to remember,
remember that.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Awesome, wonderful thing to remember, and you
mentioned this briefly.
But if, for those of ourlisteners that are interested in
, they do know somebody that hassome form of cancer and or
they're super interested in inchecking out some leggings or an
outfit with some 3d glasses,how can we learn more?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Um, wendy Newman designscom.
Um is where you can find mywebsite, and I've done over I
don't know 16 cities now.
Um, and I have all kinds ofdifferentimaginable leggings,
from festivals to whatever.
You can find something that youcan relate to in the collection
(22:17):
, and I'd say that the bags andthe scarves especially the
scarves you know men are wearingscarves now, so that's kind of
a cool thing too but are two ofmy favorite items, and
particularly those people whoare event planners or any type
(22:38):
of fundraising committees If youneed a special project or you
need something special for yourdonors or whatever it is that
you need, we can do that here atWendy Newman Designs.
All you have to do is call me,and it's wendynumandesignscom,
and if you need pictures, it'swendynumandphotographycom.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
All right, very good.
Well, this has been absolutelyfascinating, wendy.
You've got a super interestingstory and multiple interesting
stories, and so I reallyappreciate you taking time out
of your busy schedule to spendsome time with me and our
listeners and want to thank youfor what you do in the community
for cancer patients and for thecommunity there in Asheville
(23:22):
and, moving forward, wish youand your family and Wendy Newman
Designs and and photography allthe best thank you so much.
Thanks for having me also weloved having you and would love
to have you back again, becauseI'm sure you've got more stories
we would love to hear thank youthank you for listening to the
good neighbor podcast.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
To nominate your favorite local businesses to be
featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom.
That's gnp try-citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
We've got a very special guestin our studio and I'm excited to
learn all about them and theirbusiness.
And I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor.
And I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor, miss Wendy Newman
pardon me who is the owneroperator of Wendy Newman Designs
.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Wendy, welcome to the show.
Thanks, Skip.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We're thrilled.
We're thrilled to have you.
And I see you have somebeautiful designs behind you
there, so I'm really interestedin learning all about how that
came to be.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou kick us off by telling us
about what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I've been a photographer and a degree
fashion designer for 51 years,celebrating half a century.
It seems weird to say thosewords.
Half a century, it seems weirdto say those words.
And I think I got my firstprofessional photography job
(01:13):
when I was 18 years old and Iactually, the same year I had
obtained my fashion designdegree.
I went to college really earlyand I was actually working in
this couture salon and I wasmaking, I made my first gown for
someone and got my first paidjob at 18.
Also, I had done some designingand got paid, but that was my
(01:33):
first real job and it allhappened when I was 18 years old
, so it just seems like it wasyesterday.
But this business, wendy NewmanDesigns, got started.
Actually, it's all from myphotography and I wanted to do
something different with myphotographs and I got interested
in this mandala project.
I learned how to createmandalas multi-layered,
(01:55):
sometimes 10, 15 layers deep,all done on Photoshop, and I can
do it all from one photo, forinstance, a wedding.
I will take one of my picturesfrom a wedding and then I will
have the couple in the centerand I'll create the mandala and
then I'll have the flowers.
Maybe I'll have a location,whatever, maybe it's their rings
(02:18):
that are a different layer in amandala, different layer and a
mandala, and so then I take thatmandala and I will print it on
an heirloom piece like a silkscarf or an umbrella, or I have
done bags.
(02:39):
I do these vegan leather bags,all kinds of different things.
I really like the leggings.
They're fun and that's how Istarted this business, which was
a pair of leggings that I hadmade for my girlfriend who was
leaving Asheville.
We did yoga together, so I madeher my very first pair of
Asheville leggings.
What I had done is taken allthese unique photos of the
(03:01):
downtown buildings of Ashevilleand then I created the mandalas
and then I collaged them allinto a pair of leggings and I
wore them to this luncheon which, because we did yoga and I gave
her a pair and I actually madethem by hand I didn't have a
factory or anything, and I liketo call it launched at lunch
because that day, that luncheon,all these women, they ended up
(03:23):
buying a substantial amount ofproduct from me, but I didn't
even have a factory.
I had no way of doing it and Itold the girls.
I said they started throwingchecks at me.
I said, yeah, I don't know if Ican do this.
I don't even have a factory yetand I'm not going to make all
these by hand.
So I quickly got busy andlocated the factory but I didn't
like their fabric so I had toimport all my own fabric there.
(03:44):
Anyway, that's how it all gotstarted was at that one luncheon
.
And then companies startedfinding out about my work and
what I did and they were havingthese fundraisers and some of
them were just events or galas.
And, for instance, I did theinternational.
Some of them were just eventsor galas and for instance, I did
the international, the NaplesWinter Wine Festival, which is
(04:08):
like the number one activity forthe wealthy done in Naples,
florida, at the Ritz-Carlton,and they raised something like
$20 million in a couple of hoursfrom this gala and I created
all the scarves and umbrellasfor that gala and those were
given to the donors as they werewalking in the door.
(04:30):
So it was, it was very, veryspecial.
That was one of the very firstevents I did.
And then I did wine festivalsafter that and I did art
festivals after that and allkinds of galas, like for the
Vizcaya Museum in Miami.
(04:50):
Biltmore ended up.
They were one of my firstclients, the Biltmore Estate,
and I'll never forget this.
I don't know if you know thestore Bellagio in Asheville,
biltmore Village.
They're not redone yet,unfortunately, but no,
everything is coming back in thevillage since Helene.
But what happened was I wore myoutfit into Bellagio, I was
(05:12):
buying a gift for mygirlfriend's birthday, and the
girl that was checking me outshe said where did you get that
outfit?
And I said oh, thank you.
I said I made this and she saidit.
And I said oh, thank you.
I said I made this and she saidreally, and I had, it was a, it
(05:33):
was one of my mandala scarvesand leggings and it had the city
hall building, which I think isa gorgeous building of
Asheville, and she said that isreally unique.
And I said well, thank you, andshe's going to have your card.
And I gave it to her and Iwalked out with my present and
went on my merry way and Ididn't even get to my car and I
got a phone call from the ownerand he said you don't know me.
He said, but he said my, mygirl that was.
(05:56):
She just checked you out.
She said that you were wearingsomething really wonderful and
he said I was wondering if Icould see it.
And I said well, I'm standingright outside your store so I'll
come back in.
I said where are you?
And so he told me.
He said I have all my buyershere today and I would really
like to meet you if you have achance.
I said sure.
I said I'm on my way to theGrove Park Inn and I said so
(06:18):
I've got about 10 minutesbecause I can't be late.
And I said so I don't want youto think I'm rude because I'm
going to be running out.
And he said no, no, no, comeback.
Do you want me to bring all thestuff that I was going to be
taking to the Grove Park Inn?
Because I have it with me.
He goes whatever you have,bring it in.
So I did.
I unzipped the garment bag,threw out the leggings and the
scarves and everything, and theywere all the buyers were there
(06:44):
at this table.
It was really funny because hesaid are you ready to take an
order?
And I went, uh, sure, oh, myGod, I didn't even know what to
do.
Um and so, and so I got my padout and took the order.
And, um, it was a verysubstantial order and it was
(07:04):
like, officially, my first largeorder, and I said OK.
So he said so.
You said you're going to theGrove Park Inn and I said, yeah,
he said well, there's only onetiny little problem with that we
have to be able to sell yourmerchandise in our store
exclusively.
And I didn't know how that wasgoing to work.
(07:25):
But I thought, you know, I'mjust getting started, why not,
I'm just going to go ahead anddo it.
And it turned out to be areally good thing for me to have
that blessing of him and getstarted.
And so I did it for a year.
But there were too many otheryoga studios and other stores
that wanted to carry my stuff,so after a year it just was not
(07:47):
a practical thing.
I needed more exposure and so,but I was very, very thankful
for that opportunity and that'show it just kind of got started,
organically.
People found out about it andit just grew.
Different events and fundraisersstarted asking me for, you know
(08:08):
, 200 umbrellas, 300 umbrellas,and the umbrella is the perfect
thing for what I do and what Ilike about the mandala is when
you put it on a scarf, no matterhow you tie it, you're going to
see the image, whereas if Ijust took a picture of a horse
on a scarf which I could do butyou start, you know, folding
(08:30):
that scarf and you might get thehorse's eyes or the horse's ear
or the horse's behind orwhatever, but you never get the
whole horse.
But when you have a mandala,you can actually get the entire
photo within that scarf and then, depending on how you wear that
scarf, sometimes you can getthe whole mandala.
And I have unique ways to tieand wear that scarf too, and
(08:50):
they're very large, oversizedscarves.
That's how it all started, withthose very few projects, and
then it just sort of blossomedfrom there organically.
I did fashion shows and allkinds of things like that.
In fact, at the AC Hotel indowntown Asheville, one of the,
(09:11):
they asked me if I would displaymy art on the walls, because
they have this, they still havethis running art hall up in
their bar, their bar, and thatgoes out to the rooftop bar, and
(09:32):
it was lovely, and I also had achance to display my umbrellas
at this very, very unique insidethis arena.
It was wonderful and the grandopening for that art show, with
all my art on the wall.
I actually did a fashion showwith the pieces some of them are
behind me of clothing, thescarves and the umbrellas.
(09:52):
So I did a whole fashion showin the a cappella lounge.
We ended up having hundreds ofpeople come totally unexpected,
no idea that was going to happen, and we raised quite a bit of
money for Arts for Life.
It was a fundraiser also, so itwas.
(10:13):
That is something else that I do.
I photograph terminally illchildren.
I do this in the community forfree.
I've done it for 13 years herein Asheville and also sometimes
in Fort Myers.
When I go down there andthere's some terminally ill kids
that need to be photographed, Ido that.
The families are basically atthe end of their ropes and their
kids are not going to be aroundmuch longer, and so I'm happy
(10:34):
to be able to provide thoseservices and really the last
memories of their children.
And so that's how Arts for Lifecame in as one of the
benefactors of this and you canfind what I do.
It's Wendy's Cancer Warriorsand I'm on Facebook and it's
under Wendy's Cancer Warriors,and they do it all for free.
(10:55):
There's never a charge forprints, for the digital images
or the shoot, for anything, andoftentimes I can have hair and
makeup done.
I work with a makeup artist anda hairstylist and they'll do
all this for particularly thewoman.
Now I don't do just childrenanymore, because it's sort of
just exploded, and John Lee dida when he was here I guess it
(11:20):
was about four or five years agodid a story on me and then I
was dominated for person of theyear that year for this work
that I do with my cancerwarriors.
I'll tell you something it'sthe reason I get out of bed in
the morning is that Wendy'scancer warriors.
It gives me a great sense of of, of just good feeling all over.
(11:41):
I love doing what I do and I'mI feel very fortunate to do that
and I feel very I've.
I just my husband just passedaway of cancer and he's had it
for 26 years, so it's a causethat's very dear to my heart and
it's it's something I reallylike to do.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Wow, you have an amazing story.
I mean especially organically.
You know, you just happened tobump into this guy that says,
hey, we got a bunch of buyershere.
Can you come show us your stuff?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I mean that's just amazing to me it is, it's
serendipitous.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yes, and and there's no, absolutely no way that
you've been in business for 51years, you know that there's,
that there's that just not, not,not possible it's been a
journey.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
It really has.
And then, um, I love thephotography and, like all
photographers, you tend to think, okay, now, what can I?
What else can I do with myphotography?
And you know, I've worked withsome of the horse people at
Tryon and I photograph theirhorses and create these
beautiful masterpieces for themand it's, it's nice, it's, it's,
it's um, it's another way touse your photography and expand
(12:53):
it.
And I, as far as I know, I'mthe only person.
I know people that printphotographs onto fabric and then
create dresses and things likethat.
I don't know anyone that doesthe mandala work that I do.
And one mandala can take me upto well.
For instance, that winefestival that I did in Naples,
(13:15):
florida.
I did a scarf for them thattook me 360 hours to create,
because I had 35 differentwineries and their labels and
their bottles of wine on thisscarf.
Yeah, they're very timeconsuming.
An average mandala that has twoto three layers only takes me
(13:36):
about 20 hours.
So it's a very time consumingprocess because it has to be so
exact, just like the originalmandalas, which were done with
sand and then washed away.
It's just.
The whole impermanence of it isjust.
It's very gratifying.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Now do you use sublimation to put the actual
print on the fabric?
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
It's all dye sublimated, which is wonderful
for our environment becausethere's no water that's wasted.
Absolutely A lot of timesthat's what you're going to have
with dye sublimation.
It's really the way to go.
It's more expensive, but Ithink it's a better product.
What I like about the dyesublimation is that it doesn't
(14:22):
fade Leggings which typicallyfade after a couple of washings.
Mine never fade.
They're the same brillianceafter 50 washings.
Wow, yeah, Dye sublimation isthe way to go.
I'm impressed that you knewthat.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, I used to have a good friend who ran a
sublimation company and I wasjust amazed at how, you know, it
actually soaks into all thefabric.
It's not on the surface, it'sin the fabric.
That's an amazing process.
It's an amazing process.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
It really is, and that's a lot.
I only do the quality.
I only want quality products,because I wear all my stuff and
I want it to last forever and Iwant the colors to be vibrant
and, as you can see, behind methere's a lot of color, a lot of
color, bright, vibrant color.
Oh, and I didn't tell you this,all my work is 3D, and this is
(15:18):
another fun story.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, these are my 3D glasses and put
them on and when you lookthrough them, it's all 3D and it
really is.
And what's weird is I went toSpain.
I was at the Dali Museum andthere was a 3D exhibit, actually
, and the owner actually she was, I guess, the manager at the
time of the museum I wastraveling with Curate and we had
(15:44):
a food and wine tour and thatwas one of our things that we
did that day, and so I waswalking around and she came up
to me.
She said where did you get thatscarf?
And I was wearing a Dali scarfthat I had created from the Dali
Museum in St Petersburg, and soI told her that I'd made it,
and she said, oh, you make onefor us, us.
And I ended up doing one forthem as well.
And she said, oh, you like Dali.
(16:06):
And I said, oh, I love Dali,that's why I'm here.
And she said, no, you like Dali.
And I went okay, yeah, I likeDali.
What she was trying to tell methat I didn't understand,
because her English was sobroken, was that my work was
similar to Dali's and and Inever knew this till I got back
and my son and it didn't dawn onme and I had to keep up with
(16:27):
our tour group, which was only14 people.
I said I'm really sorry, I haveto go, but I ended up taking
some of my pictures from thatmuseum and then I created them
and sent them a scarf.
And what was so ironic aboutabout all of it is I came home
and my son said mom, you gottasee something.
(16:47):
He said I want to take youdowntown and it was a head shop
downtown and I said okay, we goin and he goes look.
And he pointed to this piece offabric on the wall and I said,
okay, I don't understand.
He goes, pick up those glasseson the counter and look at it.
And I immediately, when I sawthe fabric and it said 3D
(17:07):
tapestry.
I said well, it's not atapestry, it's just a piece of
fabric.
I know what a tapestry is, it'sheavenly work.
You know this is not a tapestry.
But that wasn't even the point.
When I put the glasses on, Iwent oh my God, he goes, mom,
open up your umbrella because itwas raining outside.
I had my umbrella with me and Ilooked at the umbrella through
those glasses.
He said your stuff is all 3d.
And I freaked out.
(17:28):
I went, oh my god, this is likeso amazing.
And I came home, I put theglasses I actually got a pair of
glasses from the store and Ilooked at everything and I went,
oh no.
So then I had to print my own3d glasses so I could put it
with every product that I sold.
I wanted people to see how thiswas just too cool.
It really was, and it's themandala and it's the color and
(17:49):
texture of the portion of thephotograph that I use that
creates that depth and that 3deffect, and the glasses are just
like amazing.
So and I didn't even know thisuntil I'd been doing it for a
year- Wow, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So, do you do you when you somebody buys an outfit
.
So when somebody buys an outfit, do you give them a pair of
glasses too.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Oh, with every product, every single product
that I make you get the glasseswith it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Wow, very cool, very cool it is fun.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It's not a selling point, but it is a nice little
fun extra conversation point forthe product.
Little fun extra conversationpoint for for the product.
What I didn't know was that Iguess one out of every um 4 000
people actually see in 3d.
Uh, they, they, they're minedali was one of them by the way,
and they, they, they can seethat concept of 3d.
(18:43):
I didn't, obviously.
I didn't know this.
Ok, until I learned it I wentwow, that's really cool.
And it's sort of like one outof every four people are born
with perfect pitch, but if youdon't develop it, by the time
you're age four you start tolose it.
Hmm.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Yes, a little fact there, a little factoid, all
right Well cool Little factthere.
Little factoid, All right, Wellcool.
Well, let's switch gears forjust a second Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Oh, I love bike riding.
I love it.
I do that four times a week.
I do Pilates every single dayof my life and I like to go over
to club Pilates, but whenthey're not open on a holiday or
whatever, I'll just do it athome.
I do not have a reformer andthat's my favorite piece of
equipment.
And I tell you something,pilates is really hard.
What else do I like to do?
(19:34):
I love to golf that's a realfavorite.
I like to read and I love tocook.
But I'm health-oriented.
I grew up at a health resortcalled Shangri-La in Bonita
Springs, florida, so I have anextensive health background.
My father almost died of cancerat 28, and he started eating
(19:55):
nothing but fruits, vegetables,nuts and seeds all organically
grown, opened up this placecalled Shangri-La.
People from all over the worldcame there Barbra Streisand,
hackett, andre sagobi, all thesepeople were regulars at
shangri-la and there were notelevisions at shangri-la and
you learned how to eat and getback to nature and eat real,
(20:17):
whole foods no chicken, no fish,no meat, no dairy, no breads,
no spices, just whole, organic.
And I was the sprout girl atShangri-La and I grew 27
different kinds of sprouts somein dirt, some in jars for 150
(20:38):
people a day.
We fed that came from all overthe world to learn how to eat
and how to be healthy and how tomeditate and exercise and what
was best for them.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
So, wow, fascinating, Absolutely fascinating.
Well, if, wendy, if you couldthink of one thing that you
would like our listeners toremember about Wendy Newman
designs, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
I would.
I would say, if you don'tremember anything else, remember
that if you know someone thathas some form of cancer and they
need pictures to have them,just call me.
It's a totally free service andI do this for grownups,
children, whoever needs myservice, I am available to them.
(21:23):
I travel some, you know,depending on how far it is, and
I go to hospitals if they needthat.
I've done that many times.
But I would say, if that's theone thing you have to remember,
remember that.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Awesome, wonderful thing to remember, and you
mentioned this briefly.
But if, for those of ourlisteners that are interested in
, they do know somebody that hassome form of cancer and or
they're super interested in inchecking out some leggings or an
outfit with some 3d glasses,how can we learn more?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Um, wendy Newman designscom.
Um is where you can find mywebsite, and I've done over I
don't know 16 cities now.
Um, and I have all kinds ofdifferentimaginable leggings,
from festivals to whatever.
You can find something that youcan relate to in the collection
(22:17):
, and I'd say that the bags andthe scarves especially the
scarves you know men are wearingscarves now, so that's kind of
a cool thing too but are two ofmy favorite items, and
particularly those people whoare event planners or any type
(22:38):
of fundraising committees If youneed a special project or you
need something special for yourdonors or whatever it is that
you need, we can do that here atWendy Newman Designs.
All you have to do is call me,and it's wendynumandesignscom,
and if you need pictures, it'swendynumandphotographycom.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
All right, very good.
Well, this has been absolutelyfascinating, wendy.
You've got a super interestingstory and multiple interesting
stories, and so I reallyappreciate you taking time out
of your busy schedule to spendsome time with me and our
listeners and want to thank youfor what you do in the community
for cancer patients and for thecommunity there in Asheville
(23:22):
and, moving forward, wish youand your family and Wendy Newman
Designs and and photography allthe best thank you so much.
Thanks for having me also weloved having you and would love
to have you back again, becauseI'm sure you've got more stories
we would love to hear thank youthank you for listening to the
good neighbor podcast.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
To nominate your favorite local businesses to be
featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom.
That's gnp try-citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.
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