Tucked away on a narrow street in Williamsburg’s industrial section of Brooklyn is 3rd Ward - the home of Brooklyn Royalty. In a sea of sleeves and pant legs, stands Bob Bland pinning together a jacket in preparation for her upcoming September runway show.

Bob Bland, the founder and designer for Brooklyn Royalty, originally hails from Alexandria, Virginia – a metropolis bursting with structured architecture, Bland’s city roots highlight her pieces' structural urban flair. 

Bland attended Thomas Jefferson High School For Science and Technology but with the high school’s rigorous curriculum of the sciences, there was no room for an art program. Bland started out small and quickly became a pioneering woman on the forefront of fashion at her high school campus. At the ripe age of 17, Bland put out her first 20-piece runway show at Thomas Jefferson. This one student’s love for fashion was foreign at her tech-based high school and her runway show gained her attention from all over the state.

A SCAD alum, Bland majored in fashion design and minored in art history. Through grants and scholarships, immense discipline and the need “to make it happen,” Bland earned a BFA in 3 short years. With experience at iconic American companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic, Bland became empowered to start up her own line. She moved to Brooklyn to pursue a solo career and fell madly in love with King’s County. “Brooklyn was so warm and the community was vibrant,” she reflects.

Since its two year establishment, Brooklyn Royalty has grown tremendously. Her one-woman operation has expanded to full-scale collections and even collaborations with fellow designers, artists and musicians. Still a self-sufficient woman, Bland continues to design, manage her blog and website and even handles all the marketing and advertising. She laughs as she explains that out of sheer necessity, she has learned to keep it together by staying disciplined, never procrastinating and not being intimidated by big tasks.

Bland's Spring 2009 collection Falling Off the Edge of the World, will debut this September during New York Fashion Week. To get a look at the Brooklyn Royalty line, check out the online store and be on the look out for more of this up and coming designer!