Working largely with figure skaters, Charlotte Pilling has found a niche which she fills well. Dustin White photo.

Dustin White
Editor

“Once you’re in it, you never get out of it.” That is how Charlotte Pilling described figure skating. Having competed in high school, Pilling eventually found her way back to the sport. Instead of getting on the ice though, she began crafting costumes for other skaters.

For Pilling, it would be a way to use one passion to bolster another passion. Having started her own business, CharLana 41, at an early age, she was able to find a niche to fill.

A present
It would be while Pilling was still in high school that her passion for designing clothes was sparked. As a teenage, she had asked for a sewing machine for her birthday. The new tool allowed her for new experimentation which would be the beginning of a career.

“My mother had come home one day and found all my clothing was taken apart and redesigned,” Pilling said.



With a bit of help from her grandmother, Pilling would teach herself the skills she needed to create the clothing that she imagined.

Soon, she would find the ability to spread her passion, and her school mates would reap the benefits.

“At school, I had the locker number 41, and I sold clothing I made out of it,” Pilling said. “That’s how the name CharLana 41 came about.”

Eventually, Pilling would be able to move out of a locker and into a much larger space. At the same time, she would move to a smaller city, which had its own benefits.

“The market is over saturated,” Pilling said. “Moving to Mandan was one of the best things for my business as no one else did this in the area.”

Connections
Mandan would also give Pilling a connection that helped her business grow much quicker. A local seamstress would send to Pilling a Bismarck coach who wanted a dress for her daughter. It was a moment that allowed Pilling to jump into the local market.

“All it took was that one connection,” Pilling said. “I wouldn’t have gotten into it as soon if it wasn’t for that.”

With a business beginning to take shape, Pilling would take her background, and creativity to help push her forward.

“After high school, I went to school for math and wanted to be a teacher,” Pilling said. “A lot of what I do now is math. I’m taking a 2D item, which is fabric, and putting it on a 3D figure.”



Not being classically trained, and having taught herself from cutting things apart, Pilling wasn’t bound to standard rules regarding her craft. Not like being restricted, she continues to push herself.

“I’m only limited by my customer’s imagination,” Pilling said. “If they can dream it, I can make it.”

For more information on CharLana 41, go to www.Facebook.com/CharLana41