To find out what you want to do in life, sometimes you have to look back at your childhood.

You could argue that such is the case for Stephanie Teague, who recently moved her soon-to-open business, Pretty Birdie, to 612 South Elm, across the street from the Mellow Mushroom.

With two sewing machines and an innate sense of fashion, she designs and hand-makes upscale sustainable women’s clothing and accessories.

Perhaps her Facebook page best describes it: "Handmade ecouture that is as gentle on you as it is the environment."

True, as a little girl growing up in Charlotte, she made her own Barbie doll clothes, using an old hand-operated sewing machine "that barely worked."

But by the time she was 16, her interests detoured into modeling. After high school she found herself in the business in Miami and Chicago, eventually hopscotching across Europe for modeling jobs. She’s done runway, catalogue, print advertising, commercials, and still works part time in the business.

In 2001, she was heading to Greensboro to become a spokesmodel for a large company. Tthe job fell through. But she met her husband about the same time and settled in Greensboro anyway.

"I started making stuff again." She’s a thrift store person and buys vintage clothing. "I always collected lots of fabric."

And one day, her husband, Sanders Trippe, who works at the Bass Violin Shop downtown, looked at her and said, "I think that’s what you’re supposed to do."

She worked out of her home. "It was slow-going," she said. "I would make runs of little pieces, like really cute dresses, and began selling to a boutique or on consignment."

She began selling on Etsy and for awhile worked out of Lyndon Street Artworks. She and a friend "made tons of skirts out of feed and flour sacks." They were popular and sold well.

So, now she’s moved her business to South Elm. But you won’t yet find racks of clothing inside. This is handmade, and mostly from individual orders.

"Pretty Birdie focuses more on upscale fashion," Stephanie says. "I do a lot of trans-seasonal clothing that can go from season to season easily and comfortably, and that you can have for a long time in your closet -- good staple pieces."

It’s for the high-end classic woman "who also wants to be environmentally friendly and she cares where her clothing comes from." The clothing can be for business or casual wear, and Stephanie also creates wedding gowns.

Her customer is "a woman who wants to not look like everybody else, a woman who doesn’t mind waiting for her clothing to be hand made, but it’s important to her where the clothing comes from. She thinks about quality versus quantity. She’s going to pay x-amount of money, but it’s going to last 15 years."

An example: "I have a really great pencil skirt that is my best selling piece. It’s made from bamboo, and it has stretch to it. And I hand-dye it."

Prices for her clothes range from $90 to $600 with wedding gowns in the $2,000 range.

Stephanie uses organic fabrics. "To me they are a so much higher quality, and the way they feel -- they feel better. and I’m just drawn to them."

Mostly her business is by appointment. She will, however, be open to the public this Friday night at First Friday and again for December’s "First Friday" on Dec. 2. Next year she’ll be open on Saturdays too.

But this Friday, she wants you to stop by for a glass of wine and a look at some of her fabrics and designs.

Pretty Birdie also has a Facebook page and website.

You can email at prettybirdieeco@gmail.com or phone at 336.587.0544 for an appointment.