Business

‘It’s Just So Rewarding’: New Canaan Woman Launches Girls’ Dress Line

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New Canaan’s Morgan Clifford is no stranger to the fashion industry. 

Her eponymous outerwear line has dressed stars from Nikki Hilton to Selena Gomez, and is found in stores such as Loveshackfancy. 

Her newest venture? A line of girls dresses called ‘Emlagh.’

“I wanted to do something totally different, and I love girls’ dresses,” Clifford said. “It just kind of evolved into starting an entirely separate line.”

After launching her own fashion label in New York City in 2015, selling outerwear online, Clifford—a graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.—moved to New Canaan with her young family. Now she’s launched the new line, which is seeing strong uptake in the early going, and is looking to future creations. 

Clifford also created ‘Emlagh’ because she has a daughter of her own. 

Clifford said creation and distribution of the Emlagh line has gone smoothly, in part, because it’s her second brand launch.  “I already had all the contacts,” she said.

Filling in the Blanks

‘It’s Going To Feed Thousands’: Filling In The Blanks Earns $100,000 IMPACT Grant

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When Tina Kramer and Shawnee Knight founded the nonprofit organization Filling in the Blanks in 2013, their mission was to feed as many children facing food insecurity as possible. 

Fast forward to more than one decade later, and Filling in the Blanks is one of two Fairfield County nonprofits to receive a major grant. The $100,000 “IMPACT Fairfield County” grant is “a big deal,” according to Knight. “It’s going to provide 175,000 pounds of food to families, so we’ll be able to do seven additional distributions next year,” she said. “It’s really important to the families, it’s going to feed thousands.”

Kramer, Knight, Filling in the Blanks volunteers, state legislators and representatives from IMPACT attended a check presentation ceremony at the nonprofit’s Norwalk packing and fulfillment center. 

The beloved organization has sourced, packaged and delivered more than 2 million weekend meals to children. 

That caught the eye of IMPACT co-presidents Jenny San Jose and Kristen Rosenbaum. IMPACT encourages women to engage in local philanthropy through deeper knowledge and active participation in grantmaking.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Spencer’s Run: No More Swapping Codes

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Saying users sometimes swap access codes, town officials on Tuesday approved a request to install a new lock system at Waveny’s dog park. The Board of Selectman during its regular meeting approved a contract with a Brookfield-based company to replace the old four-digit-code method of getting into Spencer’s Run. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the $12,500 contract with United Alarm Services Inc., following a request from the Parks & Recreation Department. The new access control system is complete with key fobs that allow for dog-owners to enter and enjoy the park, according to Parks and Recreation Director John Howe. Although the old system had been in place for many years, issues began to arise, he said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Amy Murphy Carroll

The Playhouse: Town Approves Contract for Delivery of New Theater Seats

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a purchase order with a Stamford-based company for the delivery of new theater seats for the Playhouse. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously during its regular meeting to approve the $6,000 contract with Kaster Moving for the delivery. The new seats are currently being stored at Kaster in Norwalk, and will be brought to the Playhouse on May 31, according to Department of Public Works Director Tiger Mann. Mann presented to the selectmen the cost and process of delivering the chairs, which includes “storing the old seats in case we didn’t get the new seats.”

“Now they’re storing the new seats and they’ll bring them to the theater,” he said during the regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So we’ll be bringing in the chairs for each theater separately, and then we’ll go to the installation on May 31st.”

It isn’t clear how many seats there are or what they look like.