PR for People Monthly March 2014 Coming to America | Page 8

From Belarus |

Olga Szwed

Olga Szwed is from Gomel the second-largest city in Belarus. An extraordinary fashion designer/stylist, she came to America to study at the International Academy of Design and Technology. Aside from designing couture fashion for her own proprietary brands, Olga de la Couture, and her former bridal shop La Belle Reve, Olga is the creative director and designer for Poppy & Bloom, which offers whimsical prints, timeless shapes, and flattering silhouettes for women in sizes 12 to 28.

Poppy & Bloom is a story of fashion kismet. As soon as Lindsey Tabor, founder of Trade Chic, a plus-size boutique near Seattle, met Svetlana Petculescu, founder of Pionna.com, an e-commerce plus-size boutique, the mission to bring quality and panache to the plus-size market was on. Fate introduced Lindsey and Svetlana to fashion designer Olga Szwed, who had already built a cult following in Seattle for her fabulous couture gowns. When she got wind of Lindsey’s and Svetlana’s plans, Olga knew she had to become the ampersand in Poppy & Bloom. With 20 years of combined experience in fashion design, retail, and ecommerce, the ladies knew they’d be unstoppable.

www.poppyandbloom.com