About the designer
Alexis Mondragon's first introduction into the arts was ballet at the age of 3, in Tucson Arizona. While in her teens, she had the opportunity to continue her training in ballet at several prestigious ballet schools around the country, including Kirov Academy of Ballet, School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, and American Ballet Theater. Education and traveling enabled her to obtain a network and opportunities to create innovative ballet costumes for several local and touring performances.
Costuming led Alexis to the fashion world, graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago majoring in fashion design, and then immediately moving to New York City to work in Manhattan’s garment district. Through her experience within several knitting factories and R & D facilities, Alexis then ultimately became a knitwear specialist working in product development, production and technical design, becoming the bridge between knowledge of knitting machine capabilities for sweater construction and design. She also worked with many American fashion brands promoting Made in USA programs, including: Ralph Lauren, Anthropology, and Abercrombie and Fitch, managing their production runs from conception to concluded bulk shipments. Alexis left to pursue her dream start-up knitwear line, Studio A NYC, while continuing to freelance and consult for several companies and independent projects in Manhattan's garment district.
About the
Co-Founder
Nicole Mondragon began her ballet training at the age of four in Tucson, Arizona, which is where she first fell in love with the performing art. She continued studying dance throughout high school and trained at top schools around the country, including The Kirov Academy of Ballet, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet andWalnut Hill School for the Arts. Nicole furthered her education in ballet and art while in college, where she earned a BA in Art History and Dance from the University of Arizona and a MBA from Les Roches International School. Nicole went on to work in the hotel business, working for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group at their China, Washington DC and New York properties learning different aspects of running a business. Currently Nicole works at a private equity firm in Midtown Manhattan and volunteers at an outreach dance studio for girls, Groove With Me. Dance is an important outlet for Nicole and she is excited to share her passion with the students at Groove with Me and further influence and help the NYC community.