Thursday, December 11, 2008 — Millsberry was shocked this week, as fashion met food through the unlikely pairing of Loretta Rivers and Harold Ettin.

Harold and Loretta announced the release of their new, food-inspired Studio T designs late the other night.

Apparently, the collaboration had an unexpected beginning.

"Loretta was in the store one day, looking through the vegetable section," explains Harold.

"I noticed that she always seemed to steer clear of the asparagus, so I did what any grocery store owner would do and dared her to try it," he adds.


Loretta wasn't thrilled about trying a vegetable she'd avoided for so many years, so she decided to up the stakes.

"I told Harold I'd try some asparagus, but only under one condition: that he had to help me create some new Studio T designs," Loretta says.

"Fashion design is tough work. I was pretty sure he was going to back down," she adds.

Much to Loretta's surprise, Harold instead jumped at the chance. Little did she know, he already had some ideas.

"Being around food all day, your mind starts to wander. Before you know it, you're seeing food everywhere, even on clothes," explains Harold.

Loretta was ready to get to work, but before they could begin, she'd need to take care of a little business.

"I made her eat some asparagus before we started," says Harold with a big smile on his face.

Conquering the crunchy vegetable "wasn't really that bad," Loretta recalls.

Their work began with several late-night brainstorming sessions, after the grocery store closed.

"I was really surprised to see what Harold's process was like. Sometimes, he'd juggle food while yelling out ideas. And, if he was struggling with a particular concept, he'd do a handstand against the wall," laughs Loretta.

According to Harold, Loretta's standards are "pretty high".

"She shot down this squash idea that I was really psyched about. But, looking back, it was probably for the best. She has a really good eye," he explains.

In the end, the new T-shirt designs were stamped with Loretta's seal of approval.

"I'm really happy with how everything turned out. Harold came up with some really great stuff. We got a lot of inspiration from different logos in the Grocery Store," says Loretta, smiling.

Looks like fashion and food do make a delicious pair.