News Articles - 1989

The Purple Cow can now be found at the Evergreen Mall. The move to larger quarters happened on the second anniversay of the enchanting shop, the design showroom for Chloe Dee Noble.

The Purple Cow, featuring custom quilts, country fashions and interior design items, was formerly located at the top of Park Drive.

Chloe Dee Noble, who moved to Wrightwood two years ago, is most know for her magnificent watercolors, one of which was purchased by the Princess of Wales as a gift for the Queen of England from a London gallery.

"Painting is my first love, and quilting is my hobby," says Dee of the many traditional designs and original designs which grace her walls at the shop. "A bit of the soul of the quilter goes into every quilt," she explains. Her own interest in quilts goes back to her childhood on a farm in Georgia where she developed a love for quilting and her charming drawl.

"I always painted and began quilting as a three-year old, my first task being to comb the cotton picked from the fields to get rid of the seeds. I worked right along with my grandmother, and to this day, a quilt or comforter means precisely that -- a comfort and a tie with the past", said Dee.

Chloe Dee began making her own clothes by the sixth grade and also began designing them as well the next year. Her professional career began in 1970 with a line of stage clothes for entertainers managed by Liberace's Seymore Heller. She went on to develop two of her own design labels -- My Melon COllie Baby (trademarked logo: dog holding slice of watermelon) is a line of children's clothing, formerly sold in fine children's shops and now offered exclusively at The Purple Cow.

Designer Critters (trademarked logo) is a line of soft fabric toys designed for small children. The washable toys include Calvin Swine, Vidal Racoon, Giraffe Lauren, Eve St La Hen and others. She is now bringing out a line of mother-daughter look-a-likes, which will be introduced at a tea and fashion show to be held jointly with Fragrance and Fashions on June 17 on the deck of the Evergreen Mall.

In 1994, Chloe Dee was nominated for the Wonder Woman Award, which is given annually for outstanding achievement in creativity by Warner Communications and the Wonder Woman Foundation. Also, that year, she designed a line of items for Yellowstone Park.

Chloe Dee teaches quilting, printmaking and interior design classes at Santa Monica, Glendale, and Van Nuys Community Colleges in the form of Saturday workshops. She studied at Santa Monica College, UCLA and the Royal COllege of Art in London.

While Chloe Dee is off teaching and studying, her new design assistant at the Purple Cow is Norma Logue. She will be assisted by Joyce Stetson in the shop. They will be in charge this summer while Dee is in Italy painting. She picks a location every summer, usually far off the beaten path, and literally holes up there to write and paint for the entire summer. This summer she will call an ancient convent in Assisi, Italy home from July until September.

"To sit under the same trees and walk the same paths as St. Frances of Assisi has got to be inspiring", laughs Chloe Dee.

The Purple Cow is open daily - Monday through Wednesday from noon until 6 P.M. Thursday through Saturday from 9:30 until 6 P.M. and Sunday from 10 until 6. Plan to stop and be enthralled by the lovely quilts at The purple Cow.

- Staff article -
- staff photo -