Janice Thomas’ interest in fashion sparked at an early age. She was given her first fashion magazine, W, at age 11, which began her life-long passion. She studied fashion design at The Art Institute of Houston from 1984 to 1987, and has been enrolled in design courses at the Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston since 2001.

She has worked in the art and fashion industry for 15 years, from gallery director positions to couture retail experience at Barney’s. Thomas took it to the next level and started Loo Loo Co. in February 2005. Since then her designs have been picked up by boutiques and specialty stores within the U.S.

Tees

Thomas uses old feed sacks from the 1930’s and vintage fabric from the 1940’s and then hand-cuts these materials into abstract designs and stitches them onto her tees. All her designs in each collection are one of a kind; no two will ever be exactly alike. Also employed are organic, dyed felted wool, which she cuts into cartoon-inspired animals and then hand appliqués via an array of different stitches.
Her quirky style is filled with unique touches: she sews on the back as well with a design that subtly relates to the front of the tee. Loo Loo Tees also have a philosophical component, an understated mission to spread a little peace in the world by incorporating the word “Peace,” which is hidden somewhere in each design.
All Loo Loo Tees are made of 100% organic cotton and are sweatshop free.

Rings

Thomas’ talents do not stop with creating clothing – she also forays into the world of jewelry design. Her specialty: hand crafted rings formed from precious metals and gemstones. For metals, Janice’s rings emphasize 14K, 18K and 22K gold, employed in varying combinations and set with stunning stones (both precious and semi-precious) including tourmalines and emeralds (often used as the primary gemstones) as well as diamonds, smoky topazes, blue sapphires and pink sapphires.

Thomas’ rings are deliberately devoid of excessive polishing to avoid the shiny appearance of new, commercial jewelry. Instead, primitivism and raw power are emphasized. Janice says, “I like them to look like they are ancient and have been just unearthed from an archaeological dig, like a beautiful relic from a lost civilization, perhaps classical Greece and Rome, or even the time of the Etruscans or King Henry V. And I design them to appear primitive. I do not draw a perfect straight line; therefore none of my rings are perfectly carved – they are defiantly hand shaped, hand-made by me via an intricate lost wax process, which involves 20 to 25 steps. No two rings will ever be the same.”

All designs are MADE in the USA.