Redding resident Mary Brewster’s appreciation and education about art and design started at an early age. Amid a sea of magic markers, paint tubes and pencils, Mary learned how to paint, how to draw -- how to create. Mary later received an undergraduate degree in art and a masters degree in art education. She further cultivated her creativity (and the creativity of others) as an art teacher and magazine art director. More recently, while raising her three children (twin boys and a daughter), she developed her first entrepreneurial pursuit: a hand-painted furniture business.
But it was Mary’s return to serious ballet training at age 40 (she had briefly danced as a child) that would ultimately serve as her guiding passion for the next 16 years. She remains an active dancer and dance teacher, educating adults in classical ballet and pointe.
Having spent countless hours in leotards and dancewear from a myriad of manufacturers, Mary realized very few companies satisfied all the dancers' needs: fit, comfort, design and performance. Mary started American Flora to produce dance and yoga wear that possesses the perfect fabric-to-skin contact. Her Redding based company, American Flora was created to produce a line of clothing that fits and performs to the highest standards while helping women feel strong, feminine and athletic.
Mary and her husband have lived in Redding for 31 years. Their children: Twin boys who are 27 and a daughter who is 23 went through the Redding school system and on to college.