Nere Emiko has quietly built a fashion house step by step.

Three years ago, Emiko, an engineer-turned-fashion designer, began designing modern and traditional wedding gowns. Last year, she opened a luxury boutique, Gilda Grace Collections, off MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) on West 35th Street.

In the past few weeks, Emiko, 28, has been working on her summer projects. She's designing a custom wedding gown for a local boutique owner, a dress for a woman in West Texas, stage clothes for a jazz singer and women's outfits for a destination wedding in Malta.

But that's not all.

She's ready to expand her fashion repertoire. She and her design team are creating a women's ready-to-wear line for the fall.

"I really haven't had time for my hobbies," said Emiko, an avid reader, traveler and music lover.

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