Meet Our Team
Kara Bocek
Kara has been involved in 1860s living history since 1995 and making reproduction clothing since 1997. She earned a degree in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary where she also took costuming and patterning classes for fun. After several years doing archaeology Kara decided to put her sewing skills to more use and started her business Corner Clothiers, which focuses on civilian men’s clothing during the American Civil War. In addition to use by living historians her reproduction clothing and accessories are used at State and National Parks across the country and appear in several productions on television and the big screen. Collecting and researching original garments and photographic images are personal passions as well as key components of her business. Kara has been an organizer and instructor since 2018.
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2023 Instructors
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Elizabeth Stewart Clark has maintained her omnivorous fascination with the 19th century from childhood, with a focus on the mid-century era since 1992. She is the designer of The Sewing Academy-Historic Moments pattern line for mid-century sewing; author of The Dressmaker's Guide; and owner and host of both The Sewing Academy and History in Situ websites. She lectures and teaches nationally, and serves as Director of Interpretive Development for a minuscule history park near her home in the Idaho Rockies, where she and her family volunteer as interpreters. She has an inordinate fondness for dinosaurs, interesting rocks, whitework and terrible puns.
Liz has been an instructor and featured lecturer since 2019. Liz will be teaching Lovely Bones in Quarter 1 of 2023, My Last to You: Writing Home for a Larger Audience, Minding Your Money: Financial Details for Mid-Nineteenth Century, and Finish-work Sampler at the in-person conference in August of 2023. |
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Jackie Jacobs
Jackie started sewing at the age of 2 under the guidance of her mother and grandmother. She was making her own clothes to wear to school by age 8 and has always had a love of historical clothing. In 1984 Jackie discovered the Muzzle Loader’s Festival at Greenfield Village and became active in the historical reenacting community. This planted the seeds that, in 1986, led to her founding Past Reflections, which produces clothing, patterns, and accessories developed from original garments.
Jackie started collecting original garments and primary source references in1988 to study period techniques of garment construction and the historical use of garments and accessories. She has presented numerous lectures and workshops on period attire, accessories, and pattern making for organizations such as The Henry Ford, Colonial Williamsburg, Historic Fort Wayne Detroit, Costume Society of America, Military History Fest, Corsets & Cravats, Civilian Celebration, American Sewing Expo and many others. Having recently retired from being a manager of a Viking Sewing Gallery (for the 2nd time), Jackie now has more time to pursue her primary passion: Bringing history to life through educational and engaging presentations and workshops. Jackie has been a Corsets & Cravats instructor since 2022. She will be teaching Gentlemen, Shall We Retire to the Smoking Room at the in person conference in 2023. |
Maggie Koenig
Maggie Koenig started learning how to sew from a very young age from her very talented mother. She fell in love with historical fashions while still in middle school and has been learning ever since. A chance conversation at a living history event led her to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she graduated with a BFA of Fine arts in Costume Production. After graduation Maggie moved to Maryland and eventually Gettysburg Pennsylvania where she resides with her husband, Brian and their son Isaac in a house thats too small for 3 people who collect things. Maggie supports her fabric buying addiction by working as a dressmaker, pattern maker and sewing instructor.
Maggie has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2019. She will be teaching A Dressmaker's Eye and Can't Touch This: The Etiquette and Excitement of Studying Original Garments at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Mindy Crawford
A part-time job typing National Register of Historic Places Nominations in 1982 turned into a long career for Mindy Gulden Crawford. She has been the Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania, a statewide historic preservation advocacy group since 2006, after spending 24 years at Historic York, Inc. (20 years as Executive Director). A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from York College coupled with a Master's degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College has opened up many opportunities for work and volunteering. In 2019, she published a book, Historic Pennsylvania: A Tour of the Top 100 National Landmarks. Mindy is an adjunct faculty member in the Historic Preservation Master’s Program at Goucher College and has taught at several other universities since 2005.
In 2015, Mindy and her husband Rodney attended their first Civil War ball in borrowed clothes all the way down to their drawers. Since then, both of their wardrobes have grown. Mindy is passionate about research and writing and expanding her knowledge of the period. She works with Beth Miller Hall, researching, writing, and learning about her reproduction jewelry business. Mindy lives in Hanover, PA (about 14 miles from Gettysburg). Mindy has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2022. She will be teaching Gods, Gorgons, and Griffons. Oh My! Classical Mythology in the Mid-Nineteenth Century at the in-person conference in 2023. |
K Krewer
K Krewer has been a Civil War reenactor since 1981, with occasional forays into earlier time periods. Although she started out as a cavalry trooper, she quickly found that the women’s roles and garments were a lot more interesting. In real life, she’s a retired civilian Army attorney. She earned a B.A. in political science, history and theatre from Upper Iowa University; a J.D. from the University of Iowa; and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Moving for various Army positions gave her the chance to be a member of the Ladies’ Soldiers’ Friend Society of Nashville, the Michigan Soldiers’ Aid Society, and the 16th Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry. A collector of garments and accessories from 1840 -1865, items from her collection have been displayed at conferences, seminars, history-related events, and museums. K is an ordained Anglican deacon and is active in congregational, musical, and community service activities. She and husband Tom Flaig, a firearms instructor and retired cowboy, enjoy a rural retreat where they care for horses, a dog, twenty-something chickens and a nice big garden.
K has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2019. She will be presenting Collector's Corner: Bodices during Quarter 1 2023. |
Annette Jorgensen
Annette Jorgensen has been involved one way or another in living history for over 30 years; she is particularly interested in the civilian and home front experience during the American Civil War. She has published articles in The Citizen’s Companion. Homefront Herald, and the ALHFAM Bulletin as well as given presentations and conducted workshops at the 1860s Civilian Symposium, the Association of Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museum conference, community gatherings and schools. Annette currently manages a website focusing on interpreting the civilian experience during the American Civil War. She is active in living history activities throughout the country.
Annette currently resides in Gettysburg PA and works for the Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center. Annette has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2021. She will be presenting Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear: Fashioning Homespun in the Mid-Nineteenth Century and Weighted Pincushion or Sewing Brick at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Matt Dipalma
Matt DiPalma has been a reenactor and historical interpreter since 1979. He has incorporated his "real world" occupations (writer, graphic designer, and artist) into his 19th-century interpretation and frequently represents a relatively well-to-do newspaper copperplate artist. Though an avid 19th century reenactor, Matt and his wife Penny reenact multiple time periods from the Dark Ages to the Second World War, where Matt frequently portrays American, Russian, or German soldiers or civilians. They have recently relocated to northern Virginia and look forward to reenacting the many time periods the area has to offer.
As a collector of historical documents and paperwork, Matt has reproduced pieces from his collection for motion pictures, television, and museums. He is a published science fiction and non-fiction author, featuring his collection in books on original documents and photographs, all of which can be found on Amazon. Of all his accomplishments, however, he is proudest of his service as a former Sergeant of Marines. Matt is new to Corsets & Cravats this year. He will be teaching Whist, Its Variations, and Paraphernalia for Playing at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Colleen Formby
Colleen Formby has been active in the living history community since 1996, when she was invited to a wedding reception that was a masquerade ball. She wanted to dress in a Civil War era ballgown, and being a research librarian, it was in her blood to “do it right”; during the course of her research, she was able to meet and gain knowledge from some wonderful mentors, who had been “doing it right” for many years. It was then she realized that she could give feet to her love of history by getting involved with the community, and focusing her love of research into the mid-19th century. She always loved the material culture of the early 1800s, but now expanded that and brought it forward. She is often sent into another research direction simply by a mention of something from a friend, or a comment In a period book or magazine. She has published articles in Civil War Historian, Citizen’s Companion, and most recently, her second article in Piecework magazine along with a colleague. She was privileged to work as a behind-the-scenes volunteer in the Textiles Division of the American History Museum in Washington, DC, for a number of years, which fueled her love of needlework, and gave her the opportunity to work with and meet a number of experts in the field. Since her retirement in 2015, she has moved back South to Arkansas, built a house, and currently sings in three choirs, and seasonally in four! She decided to do the things that gave her joy in retirement, and that is music, research, and needlework.
Colleen has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2018. She will be teaching "Receptacle for the Fragrant Weed": Tobacco Pouches and Bags and The Indispensable Housewife at the in-person Conference in 2023. |
Jim Johnson
Jim Johnson, Director of Greenfield Village and Curator of Historic Structures and Landscapes at the Henry Ford has been with the organization since 1979. Jim’s work has been devoted to researching, planning, and presenting a wide variety of historic public programs. In his dual role, Jim oversees the care and research of over 80 historic buildings and associated landscapes in Greenfield Village, and across the campus of The Henry Ford. Along with this, he manages the calendar of special events. The events include historic cars shows, a focused civil war program, historic base ball, historic foodways programming, and large-scale Hallowe’en and holiday programs.
Jim holds undergraduate degrees in history and historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master’s in American History from Wayne State University. Jim has several areas of interest that support his work at the Henry Ford. They include historic gardening and landscape design, agricultural history, historic foodways(especially holiday recipes), historic interior design, architecture, and social history with a focus on the celebration of American Holidays. Jim and his wife Vivian, reside in historic Monroe, Michigan. Jim has been an instructor for Corsets & Cravats since 2021. He will be presenting Saving the 1860 Vegetable Building from the Detroit Central Market at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Lindsey Maymon
Lindsey is so happy to be returning to Corsets & Cravats in 2023. She is a professional public historian, actor, and storyteller with extensive experience in both 18th and 19th century American history with a focus on first-person interpretation and museum theatre. She is certified as an Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation; has worked for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as a Creative Director, Actor, Storyteller, Sites Interpreter, and School Groups Leader; and at the Atlanta History Center as a Museum Educator and Actor, and has volunteered with programs through the National Parks Service at Harper's Ferry. She is passionate about sharing under-told stories, focusing on slavery and resistance, gender power dynamics, and themes of dissent.
She lives in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand with her husband and their darling cat, Eskil. Lindsey has been a Corsets & Cravats instructor since 2019. She will be presenting No One Bathed and Everyone Died at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Vera Cecelski
Vera Cecelski is the Site Manager for Historic Stagville State Historic Site in Durham, North Carolina. Vera grew up in Durham, and graduated from Williams College with BA in Political Science. She has trained in public history with the Pauli Murray Center, the National Association for Interpretation, the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, and North Carolina Historic Sites. She has working at Historic Stagville since 2016, and has served as the site manager since 2018.
Vera is new to Corsets & Cravats this year. She will be teaching Fanny's Room: A new Furnishing Plan for an Original Slave Dwelling and Stories of Stagville Women: Researching the Lives of Enslaved Women at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Ben Jenkins
Ben Jenkins is the founder and president of The Merchant Tailor Museum as well as a historical tailor, with a focus on men’s garments produced in the mid-nineteenth century. His passion for history and textiles began at an early age and would come to a head in 2014 with the creation of Jenkins & Co., an authenticity based sutler which focused on high end reproductions of ready-made clothing and other wares. Since then, he has shifted that focus to the execution and preservation of 19th century tailoring skills. This shift would eventually give birth to The Merchant Tailor Museum, a textile museum which is actively curating a comprehensive collection of men’s garments produced between 1845 and 1865; and aims to educate through radical accessibility, workshops, classes, and courses.
Ben Jenkins is new to Corsets & Cravats this year. He will be teaching "Trowsers...the most important part of the art of cutting" and "I'm a Poor Farmer" Constructing the 19th Century Working Man at the in-person conference in 2023. |
Paige Myers
Paige Myers has worked in the textile/museum field for almost 30 years. Currently, she is the Textile Conservator at the NC museum of History. She has worked as a contract conservator at the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, and the Smithsonian on exhibits such as The Price of Freedom, September 11, Bearing Witness to History, and the First Ladies traveling exhibition.
In addition to conservation work, Paige has worked as a professional costumer for over 25 years with among others Raleigh Creative-Costumes, Toika (a Broadway costume shop), the Baltimore Symphony, and Baltimore Opera. She has been involved with several filmmakers as a wardrobe assistant, FX makeup artist, properties master, and production manager on such films as Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till, The Carrington Event, and Fever Dreams. Paige is new to Corsets & Cravats this year. She will be teaching Behind the Seams: Exploring the NC Museum of History Permanent Collection at the in- person conference in 2023. |
Jessica Craig
Jessica Craig has been involved in reenacting and living history for more than 40 years. She grew up surrounded by history in Plymouth, MA. Her parents dragged her to museums, cemeteries, and old houses. It rubbed off on her and Jessica graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in historic preservation. She continued her “career” in living history throughout her life - meeting her husband through reenacting and later bringing their twins along with them to events. Jessica has been planning authentic, civilian-only events for more than ten years. She enjoys researching aspects of mid-19th century life, especially travel and tourism, and bringing these experiences to life through her Steady Habits Travelers group. Jessica also has a vast collection of CDVs and a modest collection of original garments. In “real life” Jessica is the Director of Prospect Development at The Hotchkiss School (nothing to do with history) and lives in Torrington, CT.
Jessica has been a Corsets & Cravats instructor since 2021. She will be presenting Image Share in quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 2023. |
Hilary Isacson
Hilary has been fascinated by costume, making things, old buildings, and wondering what it would be like to live in a different time since she was growing up in Lynchburg, VA. She has participated in living history off and on for more than 30 years, starting when she was a college student at William and Mary. She majored in history and still loves learning about social history and material culture, although she finds it impossible to commit to just one era. Hilary began collecting fashion plates and other printed fashion ephemera when she discovered several pages from Godey's in a bin at a used bookstore as a high school student. Her collection has since grown to fill many albums and archival boxes and now reaches from the 1790s to the 1950s, with a special focus on illustrations of fancy dress costumes.
Hilary currently lives with her husband Jason and dog Augie in Sacramento, CA, where she is a health system attorney. She enjoys the company of a group of dress history-minded friends who have regular sewing circles and costumed outings for many eras and taking classes on all sorts of textile arts whenever she gets the chance. Hilary is a new instructor to Corsets & Cravats this year. She will be teaching Image Share: French Fashion Plates and their American Imitators in Quarter 4 of 2023. |
Kimberlee Berezuk
Kimberlee Berezuk's love of history began in childhood family outings to places like the San Pasqual battlefield, the Missions of Old California, Sutter’s Fort, and the mining camps in Northern California. After moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana as a young teenager, she discovered Civil War reenacting. A tomboy at heart, Kimberlee would rather be driving a team of oxen than dressing as an upper-class lady. She enjoys researching the lives and clothing of the lower social‐economic class from the early 1800s to 1870. Kimberlee reenacts multiple time periods with diverse impressions such as a French mail order bride in a 1740’s outpost, a matron in war torn New Orleans in 1815, and a soldier’s wife on the Texas Frontier in 1852. While working on her master’s degree, Kimberlee presented on childbirth and birth control during the 1850s and 1860s. Her love of history even showed up in her master’s thesis on using Civil War reenacting as a coping skill for veterans and service members with PTSD. Kimberlee has previously presented at the Civilian Symposium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the ALFAM 2022 annual conference in Tacoma Washington.
Kimberlee currently works for the United States Army as a Nurse Practitioner at Fort Riley, KS. She lives with her husband Peter and their 3 adopted children in a stone farmhouse built in 1894 on 19 acres of prairie near Randolph, KS. Kimberlee is a new instructor to Corsets & Cravats this year. She will be teaching "Daughter's of Mars": Women with the Frontier Army 1840-1870 at the in-person conference in Raleigh. |
Aaron Klass
Aaron Klass is a curator with The Merchant Tailor Museum tasked with furthering the organization's interpretive mission. He has experienced as an interpreter at historic sites around the country, most recently with History Colorado interpreting Colorado's Fur Trade and Gold Rush history.
Aaron is a new instructor to Corsets & Cravats this year. He will be teaching "I'm a Poor Farmer" Constructing the 19th Century Working Man with Ben Jenkins at the in-person conference in Raleigh. |
Rebecca Anderson
Rebecca Anderson is a nurse practitioner now living her retirement dream. This dream is to open a shop that offers organic herbs and teas.
On any given day, you may find Becky working in her herb garden, mixing an herbal blend for a customer or sipping a cup of tea on her shop porch. She is ready to discuss how herbs can help support and maintain wellbeing. Customers will be able to find a wide selection of organic herbs and teas. Becky has presented both allopathic and integrative medicine lectures nationally, published in peer review journals and textbooks, and researched the use of complimentary care in chronic disease. She has a master’s degree in nursing and an associate fellowship in integrative medicine. When Becky is not at the herb shop, you can find her hanging out with her grandson, working out at the Y or enjoying her four leg friends at her mini farm. She also enjoys making Regency bonnets and galivanting around the world. Becky is a new instructor to Corsets & Cravats this year. She will be presenting Calomel and Chamomile: Nineteenth Century Medicine and Herbalism during quarter 1 of 2023 and sharing her collection of wet plate photographs in Collectors' Corner of the in-person conference in Raleigh. |