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FEBRUARY 3, 2021
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LVII • NO 41
Bring On The Bling! he creator of the over-the-top gowns on TLC’s “My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding” will be the guest speaker at the next monthly meeting of the Lancaster Area Sewing Network (LASN). Couture designer Sondra Celli will join the group via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22. Members of the public are invited to attend and may email lancastersews@gmail.com for details. Celli started out in children’s wear after graduating from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and working in fashion houses around the globe. The clothing was heavily embellished with ribbons, beads, and miniature toys such as racecars, checkers, and tiny dolls and was sold at Saks, Neiman Marcus, and other department stores across the country. “It was a colorful, textural, whimsical, and three-dimensional line,” Celli said. “My collection stood out,
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and that’s how the Gypsies found me. They tracked me down, and I’ve been designing for them ever since, and that was over 40 years ago.” Celli opened the Sondra Celli Company in Waltham, Mass., in 1981 and specialized in what she calls “uncommon crystal couture.” She does all the patternwork herself and cuts all the pieces for every design. Staff members sew the garments together before other workers, called “blingettes,” add the surface embellishments. “The stones are put on one-byone by hand,” Celli explained. “It’s a labor-intensive job, but the results are outstanding, eyecatching designs. As I like to say, ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling.’” Celli published a book with Atglen-based Schiffer Publishing in 2019. “BLING! The Uncommon Crystal Couture World of Sondra Celli” includes insight into her career as well as directions for several embellishment projects. See Bling! pg 6
Couture designer Sondra Celli works in her studio in Waltham, Mass.
A Newspaper New Book Aims To Help Teachers Discuss Diversity when she was about 18 years old. Lady’s Farewell “It was a colorblind household,” BY DAYNA M. REIDENOUER
Todd Mealy, who is white, was 12 years old and grooving to the music at a football game with his black friends when an older white man approached him and spoke derogatorily of Mealy’s involvement with them. The encounter upset Mealy, robbing the event of its joy. Other incidents would upset the joy of racial diversity in Mealy’s life. At age 6, Mealy moved with his family to Harrisburg from Bradford County, and as he matured, Mealy observed that his lived experiences were different than his black friends’. Additionally, his adopted sister, who is Korean, went through a racial identity crisis
I interviewed for a part-time job as a proofreader a few hours before my wedding rehearsal on Dec. 28, 2006. When I received the offer to join Engle Printing & Publishing Co., Inc. as a full-time feature writer and photographer, I was buying last-minute decorating supplies in a discount store. I was so excited to have my first salaried professional job that I forgot to introduce the members of the bridal party to each other. One of my sisters later asked me who the person was who escorted her down the aisle. See Farewell pg 3
Mealy said. “The idea was colorblindness should be enough. We know in hindsight that colorblindness (doesn’t go) far enough.” As a result, during his career as a social studies teacher - most recently at Penn Manor High School - Mealy has positioned himself as an education critic and an equity advocate in schools even though some people have raised an eyebrow at his work. To help other teachers address issues related to race and diversity, Mealy published “Race Conscious Pedagogy: Disrupting Racism at Majority White Schools” in November 2020. He also founded the
Todd Mealy
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE National Wear Red Day Scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Dayspring Plans Open House . . . . . . . . . . .4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Business Directory . . . . . .8 House Of Worship . . . . . . .9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .10
See New Book pg 3
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