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Mary Norton is an American fashion designer, LIVING IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. Her collections of inspired handcrafted handbags and shoes are found in some of the world's finest stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, Harrods in London and Tsum in Moscow.
As an outgoing child with four siblings, Mary Norton spent much of her childhood in darkened movie theaters, thrilling at costume design and impeccable Hollywood glamour. Her eclectic taste in movies runs the gamut from Barbarella to Dr. Zhivago and forever inspires her designs. 
Raised by two teachers, her parents believed in travel as education; Mary and her family spent two years living in Europe when she was 14. "Europe is where I began to understand beauty and art. I had my first kiss. I spent hours gazing at churches. I marveled at the European women who all seemed to possess this incredibly chic, classic style. When we came back to the States, I knew something had changed in me forever."
After graduating from the University of Arizona with a film degree, she launched headlong into the film industry, landing production roles that fed her wanderlust and kept her on the road. In 1989, she came to Charleston, South Carolina and found a place to call home. 
A marriage (Joe Norton) and two daughters later (Micah and Reilly), Mary again found inspiration through a dream. "I was sitting in a field weaving flowers into purses with this wonderful feeling of peace and grace surrounding me. The next day, I packed the girls in the car, drove around gathering materials and made the purses on my dining room table." Demand for the whimsical, sophisticated handbags came swiftly, and in 1998, designer, wife, mother, adventurer Mary Norton built a company dubbed Moo Roo, her daughters' nicknames. Over the next eight years, Moo Roo grew into an international brand with an A-list celebrity following.
Praise and recognition for Mary Norton's unique style followed. In 2004, Fashion Group International, Inc. and the Accessories Council named Mary Norton a rising star. And, in 2005, Inc. Magazine named Moo Roo among the fastest growing urban businesses in the United States. 
In 2006, Norton re-launched her luxury accessory collection under her own name. Production for the Mary Norton handbag and the first-ever shoe collections moved to Italy, and two U.S. boutiques opened, the flagship store on King Street in Charleston, South Carolina and Melrose Place in Los Angeles, California. The boutiques, like Norton, are a blend of luxury and comfort, warmth and laughter. And, in 2007, Mary was honored with the prestigious Footwear News Launch of the Year Award for a ground-breaking year of growth and stellar design.
Mary is the sole handbag and shoe designer for her exquisitely handcrafted handbags and shoes and oversees the production, marketing and distribution of her collections. She takes on the classic challenge that faces all women: to be beautiful; to say what we mean and mean what we say; to be intelligent, funny, vital, timeless; and, to segue from motherhood to sisterhood, from wife to friend to boss, all with style and laughter. |
