A New Chapter: Conversations With Daci

2026 marks 30 years since I started designing wedding dresses. I’m so happy to finally share something I’ve been thinking about and working on for a while.

I’ve been designing and creating wedding gowns since 1996. Before that, I studied fashion design at the University of the Arts in Cluj-Napoca for 6 years. Over 30 years, I have had the privilege of working with about 750 brides. I’ve worked with different body types, different ideas, different fabrics, different challenges and every kind of creative vision you can imagine.

And I’m not going anywhere when it comes to my own brand and wedding gowns. I love designing and creating them and I will continue to do so.

But I’ve been thinking about something else I would love to share.

I’ve noticed so many women discovering sewing and taking on creative projects of their own. I see dresses being made, old garments being transformed, beautiful fabrics being turned into something completely new. There is so much creativity out there and I love seeing it and hearing about it. It also made me think about how much information is already available. You can find a tutorial for almost anything. You can watch someone make a dress from beginning to end. But when you are actually standing there with your fabric, your pattern, your idea, things can suddenly become a lot less straightforward.

You still have questions.

“How would I approach this?”

“Is this the right fabric?” “

How do I make this part work?”

“What should I do next?”

And sometimes you don’t need another video. You just need someone experienced to look at what you’re doing and talk it through with you.

I’m not really a social media person. Otherwise, I probably would have started a design and sewing teaching social media account. I don’t particularly enjoy spending time online or making videos. What I do love is connecting with a person and working through something together. That’s what made me think about doing this in a different way. While these sessions are virtual, they are actually very personal. FaceTime allows me to see what you’re working on, ask questions, look at things with you and help you problem-solve in real time. It feels much more like sitting across from someone and working on a project together than watching a lesson online.

That is what led me to “Conversations With Daci” - Your Personal Designer

I’ve been thinking about how to make my experience available in a more personal way—not as another library of videos or a rigid sewing course, but as one-on-one conversations about your project. You can show me a wedding gown you are designing from scratch, an heirloom dress you want to transform, a sketch you don’t know how to turn into a real garment, a pattern you are unsure about or simply a part of a project that you can’t quite figure out. We can talk about design, construction, fabrics, patterns, fit, finishing, problem-solving, and all the little decisions that come with making something from an idea. And you don’t have to be an experienced seamstress. Maybe you know how to sew but you’ve never made a special occasion dress before. Maybe you are an experienced seamstress who wants to start making wedding gowns. Maybe you’re an aspiring designer who needs help translating an idea on paper into something that can actually be made. Or maybe you simply need someone to say:

“I know where I would start this project”

“Let’s figure out the steps together”

“Yes. You can absolutely do this.”

Creating your own gown is an incredible accomplishment. It is not going to be easy—and that’s exactly what I’m here for. My goal is to give you the guidance and confidence to start, enjoy the process, work through the challenges and see your own vision come to life.

There is something special about making something instead of simply buying something new.

I’m a minimalist and sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much stuff there is in the world—so much being made, bought, used, and eventually forgotten. It makes me appreciate even more the things we create ourselves. An old dress can become something completely new. A piece of family lace can become part of a wedding gown. A mother can make her daughter’s dress. A friend can help. Or you can sit down and make it yourself. When you create something by hand, you know the story behind it. You know where it came from and who made it. And years later, the dress can carry much more than its original purpose. It carries the story of how it came to be. That is something I find really meaningful.

What Is Conversations With Daci?

It is a way for me to share what I have learned through almost three decades of designing and making gowns—but in a very personal way. No rigid curriculum or sitting through hours of videos to find the one answer you are looking for.

Just you, your project, your questions, my experience and expertise.

We will meet virtually, one-on-one and work through what you need at that particular moment. And if you are not sure what kind of help you need, that’s okay too. That’s part of the conversation. I’m really excited about this new chapter because it feels very natural to me. I still want to create my own one-of-a-kind wedding gowns. I still want to work with brides. But I also want to make some of my experience available to the creative women who are out there thinking:

“I wonder if I could make this myself?”

Maybe you can. And I would love to help you find out. Daci