Meet Barbara Reilly

Barbara Reilly's fascination with different cultures of the world began as a young girl when she received a globe.  It became her favorite childhood present. She was fascinated by the "unusual" names of the countries, the continents and the enormous oceans that separated all of the world's people, that provided a way, through boat travel,  for them to connect. Her father had been in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.  He had traveled to exotic places like New Zealand, Figi, and much of the South Pacific.  His message to Barbara was "No matter where I traveled, people were the same. They were friendly, smiled and cared about their families."  Barbara was immediately fascinated!

As a child, Barbara did not physically travel to those far away locations, but she did travel through books.  She read constantly, primarily historical fiction, biographies of kings, queens and adventurers from around the world...Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Egypt.  The stories included detailed descriptions of the luxurious clothing and fabulous tables set for the banquets held in royal courts everywhere!  Her interest in fabric and design began as a child when her mother took a sewing class.  Barbara began designing  her own clothes. She came to recognize the high quality of fabrics that were not generally found in children's ready to wear clothing.  

Barbara grew up, got married and had children.  Eventually, she decided to attend law school.   She practiced law, representing corporations in court for several years.  She returned to school and received a Masters in Public Management degree from the H. John Heinz School of Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University (now Heinz College) only a few blocks from where Tournesol is located.

 Barbara traveled to countries that she had read about as a child - and continued to read about, particularly prior to an overseas trip!  She was always amazed at the commitment to the traditional crafts- ceramics, faience, metalwork and fabulous fabric.  Her purchases were usually ceramics, beautiful fabrics and tablecloths! 

Today, Barbara continues to explore the world through books, travel and, of course, the items that she carefully selects for Tournesol!