Valerie lives a stone’s throw away from our Cleveland studio with her 2 dogs, 2 daughters, and husband, but she is originally from Corpus Christi. She found her way to Cleveland by attending The Cleveland Institute of Art, and the city became the foundation of her new fashion career and family. Valerie landed a spot to compete against 17 other highly skilled fashion designers on Lifetime’s Project Runway series, Season 8, finishing among the top 7. She was then invited back to compete in Project Runway Allstars Season 5 to much success, and the experience further sharpened her superior sewing skills and keen eye for detail. Yellowcake Shop was born in 2009 and shortly after, its sister Hullabaloo became one of Cleveland’s latest and most talked-about fashion events. Valerie is dedicated to providing high quality clothing to others without the major environmental impacts other fast fashion clothing often causes, while finding creative ways to build up the community in Cleveland that supports her.