Best Locally Made Threads

Jessie Owens, 23, started sewing at age 10, and by high school, she was making clothes from a variety of odd materials. Silk bedsheets, neckties, shower curtains, rubber frogs. She even produced a catalog of her creations, though she initially kept the endeavor private. "I worked on my sewing skills and read a lot," Owens says. "Three years ago, I started to repair dance clothes professionally, then started to design and create them, along with other interesting pieces that you'd never see in a mall." Now Owens sells her sexy clothing through a Web site (www.firegirlthreads.com) and an Overland Park shop called Stardust Club and Dancewear, which she manages with a friend. "I try to create for people who want something to fit their personality: dancers, artists, clubgoers, even female impersonators," she says. Oh, and Owens also performs around town as Veronica the Fire Vixen, hence the Web name, Firegirlthreads. In one trick, she sets her tongue on fire and then ignites a piece of paper with it. It's outstanding.