It wasn’t quite an unpaid internship, but sweeping scraps of fabric off the cutting room floor wasn’t what Lisa Drader-Murphy had in mind after graduating from Form & Function Design Academy in Calgary in 1990. Her strong work ethic paid off though, and soon she was designing.

Then, in 1997 the single mom found a stock of vintage tailoring wool in her employer’s warehouse. That discovery led to months of designing, pattern development, production and eventually to Turbine: Power Clothes for Women, Drader-Murphy’s first store in downtown Calgary.

In spite of never receiving government grants, she opened a second store and her success was soon being written about in magazines. It also earned her a spot on Western Living’s 1998 Top Designer List and opened the door for a job as design expert on the TV show, Style for Men.

After remarrying and having a second child, Drader-Murphy was about to open her third store when she discovered her toddler was speaking German like the nanny, before learning English. It wasn’t long after that the family moved to Falmouth, Nova Scotia, where Drader- Murphy could take the time to focus on her children.

It’s from that serene location that the company’s production now takes place. Her designs are sold primarily at her Bishop’s Landing store in downtown Halifax and by all accounts, Turbine is doing very well.

Drader-Murphy is even experimenting with new business ideas, including travelling “trunk shows” and private events, where the clothes go to the people. “We’re still in the development phase, but so far it seems very promising,” she says. “It’s easier to find good people who are a fit with our product, than it is to find a good location, so we’re focusing on people and not bricks and mortar.”

By Cathi Stevenson