About Us
Welcome to Marling Originals - the place where you can find hand-marbled clothing. Who are we? My name is Susan Marling and I have been marbling fabric and designing clothes for real women for the past 20+ years. When you wear a Marling Original, I want you to feel confident, beautiful, and energetic! I work with my husband, Paul in our Acworth, GA home studio. Our art assistant is our black lab Shadow.
Here are some things you might want to know about us:
1. I started marbling because I loved the feathery patterns. I started with a 12" x 12" tray and used wooden chopsticks to swirl the paints The trays and pieces of silk just got larger over the past 20+ years. Today my husband Paul and I create a full line of marbled silk clothes - and the marbling has improved quite a bit from those early days!
2. Each Marling Originals garment is one-of-a-kind. No one else will have a piece of clothing exactly like yours. We start with a piece of white silk and marble the pattern onto it. To marble the pattern, we float paints on a liquid in a REALLY large tray. We rake and comb the paints into patterns and lay a piece of white silk on top of the floating pattern. These sheets of marbled art become the jackets, blouses, tunics, dresses that you LOVE to wear! There are no "helpers" - if you have one of my pieces, I actually cut and sewed it for you!
3. Both Paul and I love color - blues, greens, purples, reds, magenta - you get the idea. Our color combinations have vibrant tones in them and we have worked for years to develop our rich color palettes. Our color combinations always have neutrals in them so they work with basics in your wardrobe.
4. I love wearing the clothes I make - staying cool and comfortable is a top priority for me. I don't make any items that I personally do not wear - I test each garment to see how it fits and how it works in my wardrobe. I do favor classic styling, so you will see a lot of that in my garments.
5. I create artsy and beautiful, but also practical clothes. Paul and I are outdoor people - we hike, bike, swim, walk and generally stay outside as much as weather and work permits. So while my clothes may look dressy, they are perfect for casual wear too - a classic blouse looks just as beautiful with jeans as it does a pair of dressy silk pants. My goal is for you to feel special and beautiful every day - not just every so often for a formal event.
6. I love hearing from my customers - an e-mail, telephone call or even better, in person at an art show. Never hesitate to drop an e-mail or give me a call or a shout out on social media. My work is truly about making the perfect blouse, tunic, dress or jacket for you - each of you is special to me!!