Skaters share their passion for creation and design


These three skaters are also creative off the ice, putting out their signature designs to the public. Two own online skating apparel companies and one is a talented quilter. BY LEXI ROHNER


KELLYN KOEPPLINGER, 29


HOMETOWN: SAGINAW, MICHIGAN APPAREL COMPANY: KELLYN K DESIGNS


For Kellyn Koepplinger, the answer to the question of whether she began creating because of skating or the reverse is simple. “Skating came first, but art and design followed


quickly,” she said. Koepplinger was 2 when she decided to become an


KELLYN KOEPPLINGER


ice dancer, but she had to settle for a learn-to-play-hock- ey class in her hometown of Saginaw, Michigan, where at the time no figure skating programs existed. “I was 5 and happy until they put a hockey stick in my


hands,” said Koepplinger, whose parents then switched her to figure skating in a nearby city. By the time she was 12, Koepplinger was considering studying fashion design in college. She had discovered her abilities with scissors, a needle and some thread, and started making her own skating costumes. In 2005, Koepplinger relocated to Southern California


for art school, where she fulfilled her dream and studied fashion design for two years. Performing worldwide since 2008, Koepplinger has


worked on four celebrity skating television series, in Sin- gapore, Turkey and the Netherlands. She is currently per- forming in Guangzhou, China. Also possessing a business degree, she channeled her passion for skating and design in 2012 and launched Kellyn K Designs, skating apparel for skaters of all ages. When in the United States, Koepplinger coaches and


choreographs programs. She’s an avid supporter of adult skating.


VICKI CLOS E Koepplinger competed at the national champion-


ships in ice dance and synchronized skating and inter- nationally with the junior Hockettes, and though she stopped competing after high school, Koepplinger has made skating her life’s work. “Skating has given me the opportunity to travel,


skate professionally, start a business and meet some of the most incredible people,” Koepplinger said. “Without skating, I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing.” When she settles down after show skating, Koepplinger plans to focus on growing her com- pany and continue skating for as long as she can. View her designs at www.kellynk.com.


VICKI CLOSE, 54


ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT, SOUND SHORE FSC ADULT SILVER FREE SKATE


Vicki Close is the quintessential queen of blending her hobbies together. With a passion for skating and quilting, she uses soft,


VICKI JO COS TANZO 42 MAY 2015


flowing lines and sharp edges when creating one of her beautiful blanket masterpieces.


“The designs I make utilize hand-guided machine


quilting, a freestyle form allowing me the freedom to cre- ate unique designs to enhance the overall piecing on a quilt,” Close said. Close has also woven her professional job as a com-


puter “geek” for an insurance company into her hobby as a quilter. “I recently set up and organized all the audiovisual


connections at a major quilting event in Hartford,” said Close, whose husband calls her “Gadget Girl.” “It was excit- ing to see it all come together.” She is in the process of setting up a quilting blog. Close began skating as a young girl on the family’s


frozen backyard pond in Connecticut. Her mother grew up in Lake Placid, New York, and taught Close her first jump — the bunny hop. It was not until college that Close skated indoors,


eventually joining an adult learn-to-skate program. “I skated my first competition as Oscar the Grouch


while three months pregnant with my oldest daughter,” Close said. “While my daughters were growing up I skated a bit, but didn’t really get back into it until 2000 when the U.S. Adult Championships were in Lake Placid.” Today, Close still finds herself getting to Lake Placid as much as she can to skate and hang out with family at the Spruce Lodge Bed & Breakfast. She skates one day a week and on Saturdays with her Adult Theatre on Ice group.


VICKI JO COSTANZO


BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES FSC ADULT BRONZE FREE SKATE


Vicki Jo Costanzo started sewing at age 11 and has been in the clothing business ever since. “I was always making clothes for someone,” Costanzo


said. “In 1997 I decided to earn a living at skating apparel, and Ice Time Apparel was born.” Costanzo has skated for about 25 years, less the times


she had to stop for various reasons, including injuries or per- sonal crises. In that time she has sewn at least 1,000 pairs of skating pants for men, women and children, and designed and sewn skating dresses and skirts for skaters worldwide. She also creates hockey, soccer and yoga clothing. “Wearing gorgeous skating dresses for practice and


programs makes me happy,” Costanzo said. “I have de- signed my own skating apparel for all of the 25 years of my skating career.” Costanzo skates a few days a week and works with


coaches in the Los Angeles area, who include former Olympians Renee Roca, Trifun Zivanovic and Erika Shorr. She takes ballet and yoga classes, too. “Skating keeps my body in a similar shape from 30


years ago,” Costanzo said. “It’s an amazing social connec- tion with like-minded people.” Costanzo also keeps busy as a member of the Screen


Actors Guild, with acting jobs carrying her through the slow times of selling apparel. The majority of her work is in the background of dozens of television and film produc- tions. Her longest part was as a recurring mental patient on “American Horror Story: Asylum” (season two). She also loves to capture stories photographically and serves as a volunteer photographer for Firefighters Quest for Burn Survivors, a Southern California nonprofit organization.


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