“Vanora Studio story begins over 40 years ago with a deep-seated passion for design.  Born and raised in Albuquerque, I grew up immersed in bold color and the intricate artistry of New Mexico culture. My upbringing was quite diverse: the technical discipline of a military family with a nuclear engineering father, balanced by the rich cultural traditions of my Czechoslovakian mother. This environment gave me a lifelong respect for both technical precision and the storytelling power of textiles. 

This energy led me to study fashion design at Texas Tech University, where I met my husband, Lanny, and married the summer of 1986. Though we were told children were not in our future, life took a beautiful, unpredictable turn. Just one semester shy of graduating with a fashion designing degree, the arrival of our first child shifted our world. 

We left Lubbock and returned to Lanny’s roots in East Texas, settling north of Longview for 32 years, both to be closer to family, and where we also experienced the second miracle in the birth of our son. I ultimately received my master’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling and spent two decades serving others through a career in social services in both municipal, state, and private programs. 

 

The dream of design never faded—it simply waited for the right spark.”