Duluth Women

What do a shop teacher, coppersmith, furniture maker, stained glass artist, live-edge woodworker and a bee charmer have in common? They’re the winners of our 2019 Model Search. Say congrats to our newest Duluth Women models — and thank you to all 7,000+ who entered! Think you’ve got what it takes? We’re always on the lookout for product testers and women to model our clothing while they work. If you’re anything but standard issue, we want to hear from you!

JILLIAN K.

Beekeeper | Asheville, NC

Jillian left the Chicago Board of Trade to pursue a quieter life working outside. But she had no idea what a buzz she’d create with her new direction in bee charming!

Every day, she wakes up and goes to work with a swarm of tiny coworkers, maintaining hives all over Asheville, working on honey extraction, infusions, candle-making – even T-shirt design to promote her business. Her honey-tasting bar draws visitors from far and wide to sample the sweet product of nature’s most important pollinators.

“I just can't believe this is what I get to do for a living. I turn 60 this year and since moving here and taking up hiking in some of the most beautiful national forests, climbing alongside waterfalls, I count my blessings. I followed my dream...thankful...every day.”

JESS C.

Live Edge Woodworker | Wasilla, AK

Jess is the owner and designer for a woman-run woodshop situated at the base of the Talkeetna mountains. Growing up, Jess didn’t have it easy, but tenacity and optimism went a long way. Through hard work and dedication, she’s built her business from the ground up.

Her furniture and home goods are one-of-kind objects that stir the imagination. Combining live-edge wood with paint and resin, each piece is a work of art that brings the outside in. Forests, glaciers, wildlife and ocean waters figure prominently in her designs, and she’s made quite a name for herself doing custom work for people all over.

TAMI G.

Building Trades Instructor | Dallas, TX

Tami’s had her hands in construction since she was seven years old when she helped her parents rehab a fixer-upper. Each evening, she’d come home from school to jump head-first into one project or another.

Now she’s a high school shop teacher who’s made it her personal mission to see more young women pursuing the building trades. When she’s not teaching, she travels the US speaking to industry professionals about encouraging a new generation to build viable careers in construction.
“There are so many opportunities within the industry for women to complement and master those trades traditionally held by men...Share your knowledge and let’s build the future together.”

JENNIFER D.

Stained Glass + Fiber Artist

New Cumberland, PA

Introducing our newest Duluth Woman, Jennifer! She’s a true Renaissance woman – in every sense of the word. As an artist, Jennifer works mostly with stained glass and fiber dyeing, though it seems she has her hands in just about everything. “I can tell I had a good day in the studio by how dirty my hands are,” she says.

Recently, she’s been running workshops she calls “Creative Play Dates,” encouraging students to find their creative flow.

“It’s messy, and it takes a lot of energy to set it up and clean up afterwards, but the looks on my students’ faces when they make their first scarves are so worth it!”

SARA D.

Coppersmith | Port Washington, WI

Sara became interested in coppersmithing while writing her first historical novel. After designing a line of historically inspired cookware, she apprenticed in order to make her own from scratch.

Now she restores centuries-old pots with antique tools in her workshop, traveling to tradeshows and giving demonstrations to keep the craft alive. All this while juggling a successful career in writing!

“Every week, I work with 300-year-old vintage copper pieces, cleaning, stripping, re-tinning and refurbishing each. I dive into the tin shop and create reproduction tin and copper cookware from scratch, using tools from the 1700 and 1800s… It's a trade that's almost gone and dead, but it's an honor to keep some of it alive.”

Duluth Women hall of fame

DEBÕRAH

Urban gardener helping kids and communities bloom — and grow their own food.

MELISSA

Asphalt truck driver by day, lathe turner, home rehabber, woodworker extraordinaire by night.

KATE

This wildlife biologist turned wilderness survival instructor is also a competitive lumberjack.

ABBIE

Farmer, floral designer and photographer hitting the slopes and scouting land in Colorado.

SERENA

Corporate careerist turned DIY blogger, hell-bent on inspiring and teaching others.

LINDSAY

A paleontologist whose fieldwork often takes her to remote areas to dig for dinosaur fossils.

MARGARET

Cattle rancher in California spending her days in a restored farmhouse and historic barns

NORA

Horse packer, wilderness guide, backcountry wrangler, midwifery student, log cabin builder.

TRACY

Full-time hiker, mountain climber and backcountry skier. Seriously.

RACHEL T.

Air Force Academy grad turned sustainable farmer, with goats, pigs and chickens to boot.

JESSICA

Apple farmer preserving and operating the orchard her grandfather started in 1945.

RACHEL G.

Landscape designer building her own timber-frame house from the ground up.

CLAUDINE

Determined sailor with a passion for piloting fixed-wing aircrafts. Next? Scuba certification.