ABOUT pH Fashion designer and consultant, Phillia Kim Downs, is the founder of two successful clothing lines: pH by phillia, her high-end boutique collections and pH new york, a DIY vintage reconstruction line. Both lines are sold in select cities across the nation and have appeared on the pages of Nylon, BUST, The NY Times, The Washington Post, on MTV and much more. pH has worked for Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson of Dreamgirls and Season 2 Project Runway Finalist Kara Janx, and continues to teach her popular fashion workshop to aspiring fashion designers, "How To Start a Clothing Line." She also provides personal consultation services to help design and develop a wide range of clothing and accessory lines. Downs is the visionary force behind her lines, with a dream that follows three passions of hers: fashion, self-expression through creativity, and the desire to help people with love, compassion and respect. She is continually inspired by her love of vibrant colors and stylish simplicity. Her fascination with history, the universe and everything vintage are added into the mix to create truly individualistic fashions! As Venus Magazine puts it, "equal parts retro and Asian influences, pH by phillia finds a perfect fashion equilibrium." pH new york was conceived in the Fall of 2005 after Downs designed and made her own wedding dress with the help of her mother-in-law for the price of $50. With encouragement from family and friends, and a sewing machine for a birthday present, Phillia started making her own bags and accessories with her best friend Nanako Mori. This led to an opportunity to show and was followed by a whole slew of fashion-it girls swooping up what was next. pH by phillia was launched during Olympus Fashion Week, September 2007, through a fashion benefit/silent auction event that Downs organized for non-profit organization, Liberty in North Korea. 100% of the proceeds were donated to LINK, which supports North Korean refugees living in China. A spiritual journey of self-discovery has led Phillia to her true destiny -- to be an artist, a humanitarian and a big dreamer in this lifetime! With intentions of becoming a doctor, Phillia received her B.S. in Cell Biology and Genetics. She enjoyed part-time work as a therapist for autistic children before settling into a position in cancer research for several years. Feeling the need to fill a void in her life with creativity, she took a local sewing class that changed her life and the rest is history. pH supports non-profit organizations Liberty in North Korea, Saigon Children's Charity, Girls for Gender Equity, St. Jude Foundation, Greenpeace, The One Campaign, Project ALS and more.