Currently, Barbara is designing a Line of Adaptive Clothing for people in wheelchairs called é Ispirante. Please click on E ISPIRANTE on the Home page for information on how this Line began as well as other information and photos.
Actively teaching since 1988, Barbara is also an award-winning doll designer who brings her inventive and inquisitive spirit to her sewing classes, workshops in costuming, doll and mask-making, and sculpture. She brings her knowledge of clothing construction and textiles as well as many costuming techniques, to the classes that she teaches. Currently, she teaches adult as well as children’s sewing classes at her studio in Richmond, California. Having taught classes from pre-school to college as well as adult classes, she is able to bring versatility and creativity to a wide range of educational situations.
Since arriving on the West coast in 2001, she has taught at the Art Institute of California-San Francisco, City College of San Francisco, The Academy of Art University, FIDM, Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics since 2009, the College of Marin, Bay Area Discovery Museum, City of Piedmont Recreation Department in Piedmont, CA, and many children's classes in the Bay Area through Strings of Art and Leap. She also worked with Diane Green to design the "College for Teens - 2012" through City College of San Francisco. While at The Art Institute of California-San Francisco, she was also the Academic Director for both the Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing Departments for two years. As an instructor in the Fashion Department at The Art Institute of California-San Francisco, she traveled to Milan, Italy in 2007 with the Art Institute Study Abroad Program with 40 students for 3 months. While there, she made friends that she visits yearly, bringing back many experiences from Italy in addition to their fashion influence that she shares with her students, Workshops include San Francisco Public Library, and The Haute Couture Society in Stockton, CA. She was also a presenter at The Exploratorium's "Geometric Threads: Moving Between Dimensions". In addition, she has done workshops and classes at Academy of American Doll Artists in Concord, NH, North Hampton, MA - "Art from the Heart", The Guild School in Northampton, MA as well as workshops and Costume Design at Broadway Theatre Institute in NYC. Other teaching/design credits include a 3-summer employment at Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland.
Exhibits on the West coast include “Discarded to Divine 2010” * (see additonal information below under the "Charities" heading.) The coat, designed along with three former students received a lot of recognition and was featured in their marketing promotion for the event. “Discarded to Divine 2009”, Pro Arts Open Studios, The 16th and 17th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, FREEZE - The Art Explosion at Project Artaud and O’Hanlon Center for the Arts.
Barbara Beccio has created costumes for over 80 productions in Theatre, Opera and Dance, for institutions that include the Juilliard School, the Emelin Theatre, Princeton University, Temple University, and The York Theatre Company. A deeply knowledgeable costume designer with extensive training in all aspects of the craft, Beccio not only designed, but also draped, patterned and constructed costumes for productions ranging from Sondheim's “Into the Woods “(Skylight Opera Theatre, 1993) to Molière's “Misanthrope” (York Theatre Company, 1991). Her work has won many awards, including the Seidman Award for Excellence in Design. In the world beyond the theatre, Beccio has been an assistant stylist for numerous television commercials, as well as the assistant costume designer for the esteemed PBS series "Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?"
Barbara has also sculpted and designed the clothing for one-of a-kind paperclay and limited edition porcelain dolls, as well as having created clothing designs for many major doll companies, bringing a lifetime of love for clothing, theater and magic to doll making. Doll companies that she has designed for include The Ashton-Drake Galleries, The Franklin Mint, Effanbee doll Comany, American Girl, Kingstate Corporation, The Pleasant Company, The Clea Bella Doll Company, The Dynamic Group for Home Shopping Network, and the Madame Alexander Doll Company. She was also commissioned to create a Voo-Doo doll for the ABC Soap Opera "Loving".
Doll Exhibition credits include Toy Fair in NYC, Doll and Teddy Bear Expo East in Washington, DC, Santa Fe Doll Art, Doll and Teddy Bear Expo West in LA,CA, The Second Annual Doll and Teddy Bear Show in Arlington, VA, A Gathering of Excellence in NYC, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts in Marin, CA, East Bay Open Studio in Oakland, CA, Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Inc. in Emeryville, CA, and The Art Explosion at Project Artaud in San Francisco, CA.
She holds a BS in Fashion Design from the University of Connecticut, as well as an MFA in Costume and Lighting Design from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts.
At NYU, she received the Seidman Award for Excellence in Design. In 1994, she designed a collection of Victorian dolls called “The Ladies of Elegance", for the Effanbee Doll Company of which “Jacqueline” was nominated for the 1994 Dolls Award of Excellence. Her costuming also garnered another nomination for a Dolls of Excellence Award for "Amethyst", produced by Kingstate. A recreation of a Dewees Cochran American Child doll outfit won a Dolls of Excellence Award for Effanbee Doll Company and was featured as one of the dolls for the Classic American Dolls Commemorative Stamps.
While in school at NYU, Barbara worked in many of the major Costume building houses, building costumes for Film, TV, Broadway, Opera, Dance and many off-Broadway theaters. She has also built costumes in many regional theaters.
2010: “Discarded to Divine” – Collaborated with 3 of my students to create a coat from recycled clothing for a charity auction to benefit Saint Vincent De Paul Society. This coat was one of 8 pieces that were chosen to be exhibited at the California Museum for “Day at the Museum” presented by The Women’s Conference and hosted by Maria Schriver in honor of Women’s History Month. This coat was also used for “Discarded to Divine 2010’s marketing collateral and appeared on the website pages in addition to the “Save the Date” card and additional promotional materials. This coat was also 1 of 18 pieces selected to be auctioned on the runway at the event on April 29, 2010.
2009: * Discarded to Divine” – Created a gown from recycled clothing for a charity auction to benefit Saint Vincent De Paul Society. This gown was one of 18 pieces chosen for the runway auction, which took place May 7, 2009 in San Francisco, CA.
2001: Re-creation of the “Ugly Witch” from the Broadway stage production of “Into the Woods” played by Bernadette Peters, as a for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids Auction 2001 which sold for $8,500.00.
1999: Re-creation of "Rafiki’ from the Broadway stage production of "The Lion King" as a Bear dressed for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids Auction 1999. Purchased for $5,250.00 and donated to The Museum of the City of New York, on permanent display. The image of "Rafiki" was also used for the cover of the Playbill for the event.
2001: Crew member for California AIDSRide from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
"THE UGLY WITCH" FROM "INTO THE WOODS" CREATED FOR BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS.
COAT CREATED ALONG WITH 3 FORMER STUDENTS FOR "DISCARDED TO DIVINE 2010"