Full Name: Jodi Lane Reynolds
Title: Suit Designer, Sole Proprietor of Jodi Lane Suits.
Relationship: Married to a wonderful guy <3
College: Indiana State University - Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.
City: Seattle, WA
Hobbies: Sewing bikinis & costumes, gaming, cosplay, & fitness.
Diet: Pescetarian Vegetarian, this basically means I'm a vegetarian aside from the fact I eat fish.
Favorite Workouts: I really prefer doing running for my cardio, even if I only do 20 minutes. And I love weight training and doing specific
targeting of my weakness or "playing favorites" to train the parts of my body that need more development.
How I got started Making bikinis: In 2007 I decided to compete with a friend. As most of you know the suit is a pretty expensive part of the
competition expenses. I was in college full time during this so I decided that I would cut corners and buy a blank suit from ebay and do the
stonework myself. It turned out to be a really enjoyable learning experience and let me use my creative side! After the show I had several
friends ask me if I would do their stonework for them and they would send me the blank suit they had bought, and I totally jumped on that to
make a few extra bucks during college--plus it was fun! Naturally, once word got around that I was good at stonework, my inbox was full! So, I
decided to start a small business doing stonework for my friends or friends of friends. Eventually that turned into me doing stonework for
complete strangers! Cool! Finally I decided that I wanted to start sewing suits also because I have always had a deep love for bikinis in
general! I taught myself how to sew in a matter of weeks and began sewing day in and day out. It came completely natural to me! Now I sew
about 300 days out of the year and have become quite good at it too. Not only can I make bikinis but my love for costumes and cosplay
proved to me I can sew just about anything!
Did you have help developing this business? Nope! I have done almost everything on my own. I was pretty much born with a strong business
sense and have always had a ton of drive for my goals as well as being creative and ambitious. With all of those characteristics combined, I
knew I would be able to figure out the business. I'm not going to say there weren't some tears thrown around, but that's how it works when
you're learning anything new!
My business philosophy: I'm a little different than many designers in this industry because I do try to keep my prices lower so that I can work
with most competitors. I don't really care if you're an amateur or a pro, I still want to work with you!
How many people work for Jodi Lane Suits? ME! That's it. I'm a one-woman operation. It can get VERY tough at times, but I'm lucky to have an
amazing husband that supports me when I have a few meltdowns. Haha! You get the best quality this way for sure, because I make each suit
individually, I do not have contracted work right now. I'd love to try it one day, but I fear the quality may not be as good.
Do you still compete? I have not competed since 2008 because I got wrapped up in graduating from college in 2009 and then ended up
meeting an amazing guy and decided to move cross-country to be with him! I do foresee myself entering shows in the future, but I always will
keep it to entering a show to show off my suits or to compete alongside good friends and clients of mine. Competing with friends keeps you
sane!
Describe a Day in the life of Jodi Lane, the designer: I usually get up, and jump onto the computer. I like to get the emails answered, orders
printed, and supplies ordered first thing, otherwise I sit and think about it and cannot focus. Once that's finished, I look at my work schedule for
the day. I either cut, sew, or stone suits for a few hours and then head off to the gym. Come back home and guess what--get back to work!
Making suits keeps me busy! That's a typical day for me! Nothing major!
Why do you love your job? This job allows me to be creative, work for myself, and travel with my husband when he goes to conventions for his
company (he works for a very popular RPG gaming company and publisher). And because I love cosplay I get to easily work that into my
schedule and wear costumes to his gaming conventions. Yes, we're huge geeks! I also get to work with some really amazing girls who
compete and inspire me every day, it's amazing to see what those ladies can do!
XOXO
Jodi Lane
Title: Suit Designer, Sole Proprietor of Jodi Lane Suits.
Relationship: Married to a wonderful guy <3
College: Indiana State University - Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.
City: Seattle, WA
Hobbies: Sewing bikinis & costumes, gaming, cosplay, & fitness.
Diet: Pescetarian Vegetarian, this basically means I'm a vegetarian aside from the fact I eat fish.
Favorite Workouts: I really prefer doing running for my cardio, even if I only do 20 minutes. And I love weight training and doing specific
targeting of my weakness or "playing favorites" to train the parts of my body that need more development.
How I got started Making bikinis: In 2007 I decided to compete with a friend. As most of you know the suit is a pretty expensive part of the
competition expenses. I was in college full time during this so I decided that I would cut corners and buy a blank suit from ebay and do the
stonework myself. It turned out to be a really enjoyable learning experience and let me use my creative side! After the show I had several
friends ask me if I would do their stonework for them and they would send me the blank suit they had bought, and I totally jumped on that to
make a few extra bucks during college--plus it was fun! Naturally, once word got around that I was good at stonework, my inbox was full! So, I
decided to start a small business doing stonework for my friends or friends of friends. Eventually that turned into me doing stonework for
complete strangers! Cool! Finally I decided that I wanted to start sewing suits also because I have always had a deep love for bikinis in
general! I taught myself how to sew in a matter of weeks and began sewing day in and day out. It came completely natural to me! Now I sew
about 300 days out of the year and have become quite good at it too. Not only can I make bikinis but my love for costumes and cosplay
proved to me I can sew just about anything!
Did you have help developing this business? Nope! I have done almost everything on my own. I was pretty much born with a strong business
sense and have always had a ton of drive for my goals as well as being creative and ambitious. With all of those characteristics combined, I
knew I would be able to figure out the business. I'm not going to say there weren't some tears thrown around, but that's how it works when
you're learning anything new!
My business philosophy: I'm a little different than many designers in this industry because I do try to keep my prices lower so that I can work
with most competitors. I don't really care if you're an amateur or a pro, I still want to work with you!
How many people work for Jodi Lane Suits? ME! That's it. I'm a one-woman operation. It can get VERY tough at times, but I'm lucky to have an
amazing husband that supports me when I have a few meltdowns. Haha! You get the best quality this way for sure, because I make each suit
individually, I do not have contracted work right now. I'd love to try it one day, but I fear the quality may not be as good.
Do you still compete? I have not competed since 2008 because I got wrapped up in graduating from college in 2009 and then ended up
meeting an amazing guy and decided to move cross-country to be with him! I do foresee myself entering shows in the future, but I always will
keep it to entering a show to show off my suits or to compete alongside good friends and clients of mine. Competing with friends keeps you
sane!
Describe a Day in the life of Jodi Lane, the designer: I usually get up, and jump onto the computer. I like to get the emails answered, orders
printed, and supplies ordered first thing, otherwise I sit and think about it and cannot focus. Once that's finished, I look at my work schedule for
the day. I either cut, sew, or stone suits for a few hours and then head off to the gym. Come back home and guess what--get back to work!
Making suits keeps me busy! That's a typical day for me! Nothing major!
Why do you love your job? This job allows me to be creative, work for myself, and travel with my husband when he goes to conventions for his
company (he works for a very popular RPG gaming company and publisher). And because I love cosplay I get to easily work that into my
schedule and wear costumes to his gaming conventions. Yes, we're huge geeks! I also get to work with some really amazing girls who
compete and inspire me every day, it's amazing to see what those ladies can do!
XOXO
Jodi Lane
JODI LANE