AURORA, IL–(Marketwired – Oct 10, 2016) – BERNINA of America, the premier manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, is pleased to announce that it is a sponsor of the Fashion X Houston Runways & Gallery event taking place on Thursday, October 13 at the Silver Street Studios located at 2000 Edwards Street in Houston, Texas. The Runways & Gallery event, honoring style setter Caroline Knapp and founder of House of Harper, an online lifestyle destination, will feature collections by ten prominent designers. On behalf of BERNINA and the BERNINA Fashion Fund, one emerging designer will be recognized for their design excellence and will receive a BERNINA 330 (B 330) and a BERNINA L 450 Overlocker (L 450). The prize package is worth over $2,600 and will be awarded during the event. Additionally, designers will have behind the scenes access to a B 330 and L 450 so that they can make any last minute adjustments prior to hitting the runway. The BERNINA Fashion Fund is a partnership between BERNINA and Fashion X Houston that was established in 2014 to support local emerging designers who show incredible talent and are ready to move forward in their career. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the runway shows begin at 8:00 p.m.

“We feel it’s important to support young, emerging fashion designers and are pleased to be able to show our support by giving away two BERNINA machines that will allow them to continue to create future designs and quality collections,” said Amy Gutierrez, Director of Marketing for BERNINA of America. “Competing designers will also have a chance to experience BERNINA machines in the BERNINA Designer Hub, located behind the scenes.”

The B 330 is an entry-level sewing machine that offers a broad variety of stitches, a generous long-term memory with 30 free locations for stitch creations, a built-in needle threader, LED sewing light, and an automatic buttonhole function. For more information, visit www.bernina.com/3series.

The L 450 Overlocker, a new entry-level machine that will be introduced in summer 2016, boasts 1,200 stitches a minute and a number of innovative features including a patented Micro Thread Control (MTC), LED sewing light for the needle and looper area, thread tension release with presser foot lift, and a 5-step Presser Foot Pressure Adjustment. Additionally, the L 450 Overlocker has the patented BERNINA Front Foot Lift, which enables sewist to easily position and guide bulky projects and multiple layers of fabric. For more information, www.bernina.com/overlocker.

The ten designers being featured at Runways & Gallery are Daniel Esquivel, This is Sloane and SixChel of Austin; Sean Kelly of Wellington, New Zealand; Jimmy Burner, Miles David, Mysterious by NPN, Shehla Rana and Carlos Castillo of Houston and Rask.

About BERNINA
Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, BERNINA is the world’s premier manufacturer with a proven reputation for offering quality state-of-the-art sewing, quilting and embroidery machines, overlockers, and embroidery software. BERNINA’s leadership is marked by an impressive number of ambassadors, industry leaders, influencers and bloggers, who chose to partner with the company. BERNINA products are sold in the United States through a network of over 400 fully trained independent dealerships that also offer support and education. Select BERNINA and bernette machines, and BERNINA software can also be purchased online. BERNINA products are designed for beginning to advanced sewists and priced to meet a variety of budgets, with new products being introduced every year. You can follow BERNINA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/berninausa, Instagram: @BERNINAUSA, and Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/WeAllSew, and read BERNINA’s WeAllSew blog at www.weallsew.com. To learn more about BERNINA and to find a Dealer, visit www.bernina.com or call (630)978-2500.