Stephanie Bodnar, Honey Cooler Handmade
“I’ve Always Loved Costume Design and Extravagant Fashion.” Stephanie Bodnarhoney Cooler Handmade
Stephanie Bodnar was on her way to a great writing career. A student at Carnegie Mellon, she did several internships on television shows, but it wasn’t her true calling.
“I did an internship on a soap opera, but I always caught myself looking into the wardrobe room,” said Bodnar.
By the time she got to her senior year, she had already taken all of her required writing courses, so she thought she’d try her hand at costume design, which had continually piqued her interest.
“That really got me thinking. I had just spent three years getting my degree, but wanted a change.”
Bodnar moved out to San Francisco and started working at a lace shop that had an emphasis on historical costumes. That inspired her to completely switch gears and head to fashion school at FIDM.
“I was getting my fashion design degree, which taught me the pattern drafting aspect, and then I started working at a lingerie boutique. Those two things melded together, and inevitably, every school project I did had some sort of lingerie element—I’ve always loved ‘frou frou’ stuff.”
After fashion school, she freelanced, including a stint at Dockers. However, when her contract was up, she decided to get back to her passion full time, and try her hand at her own line. She designed a few pieces she knew she and her girlfriends would love to wear, and put them on Etsy.
And thus, Honey Cooler Handmade was born—a lingerie and loungewear line inspired by styles from 1920s and 30s. The Etsy community quickly caught notice because of the line’s incredible quality and wearability. She’s even been asked to submit her pieces for a Nicki Minaj video and has received kudos from the queen of corsets, Dita Von Teese.
“I built two gorgeous pieces for [Dita]... and sent it to her management company. Within two days, I got an email from Dita, and I got a Facebook message from Dita, and it wasn’t canned, I was so happy. And then I got a letter from her, handwritten. It was so wonderful.”
