You might not know Nadia and Nayra directly, but if you are blessed to know and work with high school students, then you do know someone like these two wonderful young women.
This is a story of generosity and dignity, applicable to the former student-directors from Radnor, Harriton, Friends Central, and Lower Merion where it all started in the Spring of 2007.
“It” refers to the annual Teen Learning Community Student Fashion and Design Show to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, but more about that soon.
For now, I want to introduce you to Nadia Horchler and Nayra Garcia whom I met through their devoted Radnor Textile Arts teacher Mrs. Melanie Pereira.
That was during their sophomore year at Radnor and they were willing to carry on the work accomplished by another dedicated Radnor student, Kaitlyn May, who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic to host the F-and-D Show outside in the gazebo and green space next to Ludington Library.
So now I can say – and honor – Nadia and Nayra for their loyal, creative, and assiduous efforts in planning and accomplishing their third F-and-D Show on Sunday, June 1 at Ludington Library in “The Big Room,” with gratitude expressed here to Librarian Jessica Ama and her staff.
Since this F-and-D Show has been happening since 2007, it is a formula production of sorts but always open to innovation.
Thus, the first attribute about Nadia and Nayra, their capacity for innovation and creativity.
In the weeks leading up to the F-and-D Show, the three of us visited shops in Wayne and Bryn Mawr to ask for donated items or gift cards for the raffle which is designed to set up revenue for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
It is amazing to see how creatively Nadia and Nayra grouped the various items and gift cards into very attractive assortments for which guests placed a purchased “ticket” for the raffle part of the show.
How proud I have been to introduce them to shop owners and to listen to their gentle and lovely voices explain what their effort is all about.
And they have done this so persuasively and sincerely, for three years now.
Our planning sessions started in the winter time, meeting in the Radnor High School Library thanks to Librarian Michelle Wetzel and Library Para Carol Comer who always welcomed us.
Now a note about recruitment. Nadia and Nayra, aided by Melanie Pereira, are fabulous about recruiting designers and models from various schools.
They are also marketing wizards, “hiring” Radnor’s Mira Caplan to design flyers which they posted in school and shared with shop owners.
Music? Nadia and Nayra arranged for Radnor students Quinn O’Donovan and John Lee to sing for this most recent show.
“The Big Room” at Ludington undergoes a transformation from a standard study hall format to a “stage,” two sections of chairs for guests with a center aisle, and tables around the periphery, decorated with magenta tablecloths and freshly cut peonies in glass vases.
And the amazing clothing, designs, and artwork galore are viewable on tables or on display on hangers for the designers to describe techniques, fabric selection, functions and the interesting background of their work.
Planning the format of the F-and-D Show is essential to its success, and Nadia and Nayra have become quite good at it.
First is food! And Debbi Niggeman, owner of Arrowroot Apothecary and Healing Kitchen in Bryn Mawr, each year donates dozens of delicious cookies for munching as guests arrive at Ludington.
After all assemble, introductions of designers and models follows in a natural flow, followed by a Q-and-A, and a discussion germane to fashion, concluding with the fun raffle of the baskets.
The conclusion of the F-and-D Show is a “hooray” moment and a tribute to the two young women who have made it happen, Nadia and Nayra.
Congratulations to them for all that they have done so beautifully with kindness, grace, and creativity.
And, “Best Wishes” to the Class of 2025 Graduates from all schools!
Mary Brown, founder and president of Teen Learning Community, is a weekly columnist for Main Line Media News.
