Brides Bridesmaids Accessories Floral Bouquets Sewing & Alterations About Us Testimonials Contact Us Links     Karen Lockwood's Affordable Bridals, Inc.         "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord" - Proverbs 18:22       Karen Lockwood Born in California to missionary parents, Karen spent most of her childhood in Japan. Both her mother and grandmother were capable seamstresses and helped create an environment of encouraging such skills. During her elementary school years, Karen started her sewing career with making doll clothes and embroidering pillowcases, showing not only an interest, but a degree of skill that was it's own encouragement. The sewing machine her parents gave her for her high school graduation gift became her first professional tool, and over the next few years, she taught herself to sew. To a person who literally "thinks in pictures", putting fabric pieces together to form a garment became second nature, and it wasn't long before she was making her own clothes while pursuing a college degree in Education. Her first paid project was a velvet and satin bride's maid's gown, for which she was thrilled to receive $20! Already married and with two daughters, Karen moved with her family where the Army sent her husband for the next 22 years, and never let an opportunity go by to enrich her skills. Added projects were crocheting, knitting, macrame, working with tissue paper and real fur, and advanced origami. Many of her children's classes enjoyed presentations on Japan, followed with a demonstration in paper-folding. On occasion, she has done some substitute work for public schools, and has taught private classes in sewing and crocheting. As was her custom each time the family moved, Karen would make business cards and visit the local fabric shops and women's stores, soon finding sewing clients everywhere she lived. Two university level classes in pattern theory and drafting proved useful for knowing how to create clothing and have it fit correctly. Retirement from the military eventually brought the family to Bozeman, MT, where she has lived until 2004 (when she moved to Ohio to be near her two married daughters). Within a year, the costume lab at Montana State University hired Karen for a couple seasons to work for their Shakespeare in the Parks program, where she leaned techniques in making formal costumes. The step up to bridal work was an easy one, and she was recruited by a well known bridal gown manufacturer to be one of their dealers in 1996. Today, Karen divides her time between bridal and sewing at her new home studio (having recently relocated from Bozeman, MT), and can be found working at her computer as much as at her sewing machines helping brides make the best decisions and get the most affordable gowns available.