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Rosemary Reed Miller

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Rosemary Reed Miller
Born
Rosemary Reed Miller

(1939-06-22) June 22, 1939 (age 85)
DiedAugust 2, 2017(2017-08-02) (aged 78)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationTemple University
Occupation(s)Business Owner, Historian
Spouse(s)Paul E. Miller (1935-1974), married until his death[1]
PartnerJohn Howard
ChildrenPaul “DJ Spooky”[2], Sabrina

"Rosemary Reed Miller" was the owner of Toast and Strawberries, a landmark Washington, DC boutique, and historian focused on African American dressmakers from the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries.

Toast and Strawberries

In the 1960s, Miller an informational officer for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. and part-time jewelry accessory designer.[3]

In 1967, Miller opened Toast and Strawberries as a wholesale showroom for various fashion and jewelry designers, and “to pay the bills,” transformed the showroom to a retail boutique. The store featured emerging and established designers from around the world. According to Miller, "we felt it was important to show that talent had no limits - male, female, white and black."[4] Clients included singer Aretha Franklin and actress Heather Locklear.[5].

Through the years, Miller promoted designers through various community fashion shows. For example, in 1974, Miller participated in the National Council of Negro Women's 8th annual fashion show.[6] In 1979, Toast and Strawberries fashions were showcased before 500 quests at the D.C. chapter of the American War Mothers annual fundraising fashion show.[7]

Black Enterprise Magazine profiled Miller in an issue focused on Black Women in Business and Public Life, noting that the D.C. retail operations had generated $190,000 in annual sales.[8]

In 1981, Miller was named "Small Business Person of the Year" for Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Small Business Administration.[9]

The boutique, by now a local "institution", closed in 2005, in part because of increasing rent.[10]

African American Dressmakers History

As part of its mission, Toast and Strawberries developed a program to educate others about the history of African American women in dressmaking and designing and to demonstrate how the craft assisted as a venue for ecomonic support and potential independence[11]. In 2002, Miller published Threads of time : the fabric of history : profiles of African American dressmakers and designers, 1850-2002, which featured nearly 40 profiles. Included were: Elizabeth Keckley, seamstress to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Ann Lowe, creator of Jacqueline Kennedy's 1953 wedding dress, Zelda Wynn Valdes, creator of the first Playboy Bunny costumes, and women's ready-to-wear clothing designer Tracy Reese.

Other Sources

  • The artist as entrepreneur / Rosemary E. Reed Miller ; interviewed by Elaine Heffernan. May 19, 1991, 30 minute recorded interview[12].
  • Wisdom Watch: Author Chronicles History of Black Designers; interviewed by Michelle Martin, Tell Me More, NPR, September 12, 2007.[13]

References

  1. ^ Times, Special To The New York (16 July 1974). "Prof. Paul E. Miller Dead; Ex‐Dean of Howard Law, 38". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  2. ^ Beckman, Rachel (7 February 2008). "From Hip-Hop's Paul D. Miller: New York City, Remixed". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  3. ^ Graves, Earl G. (August 1974). "Making It: The $190,000 Storefront". Black Enterprise. Earl G. Graves, Ltd.: 13. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  4. ^ Reed Miller, Rosemary E (2006). Threads of time: the fabric of history : profiles of African American dressmakers and designers, 1850-2002. T & S Press. ISBN 0970971303. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  5. ^ Barbaro, Michael; Chediak, Mark (10 August 2005). "Fixture of Dupont Retail to Close". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (23 May 1974). "The Washington Scene". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 August 2017. {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (31 May 1979). "The Washington Scene". Jet Magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 August 2017. {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Graves, Earl G. (August 1974). "Making It: The $190,000 Storefront". Black Enterprise. Earl G. Graves, Ltd.: 13. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  9. ^ Johnson Publishing, Company (4 June 1981). "People". Jet Magazine. Johnson Publishing Company: 24. Retrieved 18 August 2017. {{cite journal}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Barbaro, Michael; Chediak, Mark (10 August 2005). "Fixture of Dupont Retail to Close". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  11. ^ Reed Miller, Rosemary E (2006). Threads of time: the fabric of history : profiles of African American dressmakers and designers, 1850-2002. T & S Press. ISBN 0970971303. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  12. ^ "The artist as entrepreneur / Rosemary E. Reed Miller ; interviewed by Elaine Heffernan. | Pacifica Radio Archives". www.pacificaradioarchives.org. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  13. ^ Martin, Michelle. "Wisdom Watch: Author Chronicles History of Black Designers". NPR.org. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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