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Unique and colorful by design
Brother, sister team up to produce a line of exclusive sweaters, scarves

By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy business editor
First published in print: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

SCHENECTADY — The Marika Charles Collection of cashmere sweaters and smooth silk scarves hang gracefully from mannequins' shoulders, their unique, colorful designs almost shimmering.
     
They're the product of a brother-sister design team that six years ago joined forces to build a global business in women's clothing.

Marika Charles' products are found in tony Rodeo Drive boutiques and in shops in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London's Knightsbridge district. And they have been carried by such retailers as Barneys New York.

This weekend, they'll be available at a sale in the factory store located in a nondescript cinderblock building off Chrisler Avenue in Schenectady.

Charles Contompassis has spent a lifetime in textiles, working first in Cohoes, then, for many years, at the former Twin Rivers Textiles in the Alco complex off Erie Boulevard in Schenectady.

After selling that business, he started a new design studio. His sister, knitwear designer Marika Contompassis, joined him in 2002 to launch their current business. They bought their plant, a former furniture and auto parts warehouse on Catalyn Street, a year and a half ago.

Marika does the body styling and color schemes for the clothing, while Charles handles most of the graphic design techniques.

Charles' wife, Laurie Ives, is responsible for administrative tasks and keeps the business organized.

The designers are mum about who wears their clothing, but the Web site of Augustina, a Knightsbridge boutique, says customers have included Cher, Sharon Stone, Ashley Judd and Madonna.

And the New York Times' T: Travel Magazine last year described a Washington, D.C., boutique's cocktail party for politicos and media types that included the chance to try on Tom K. Nguyen pantsuits and Marika Charles tops.

The garments aren't inexpensive. Ives said cashmere sweaters will cost $325, while cotton sweaters range from $250 to $290, and T-shirts fetch $105 to $120.

The privately held company produces about 4,000 pieces a month.

But almost all of the work is done under one roof in Schenectady.

U.S. and Chinese manufacturers produce the garments in white or natural, basically blank palettes, and then ship them to Schenectady.

The techniques for applying the colorful designs are patented. Charles holds three patents and has a fourth pending, and a photographer was asked not to shoot some of the equipment at the plant.

The work force of nearly 20 people applies designs from stamps or stencils. Charles carries a small sketchpad to draw new designs, and then develops them on his Macintosh, using Illustrator, Photoshop and other computer programs.

Colors are applied using a trademarked process dubbed Phly-Dye.

Marika Charles uses about half of the 40,000-square-foot Catalyn Street building.

Seasonal collections are produced, retailers place their orders, and the Schenectady plant goes to work.

And with all the work done here, designs can be produced fairly quickly.

"We've gone to shows in New York with our garments still damp," Charles said Tuesday afternoon.

So far, the business has escaped the .................http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=748729