Our Founders

Angela Johnson

Founder, FABRIC

Angela Johnson is an award-winning, eco-friendly clothing designer and champion for the Arizona fashion industry. She is best known as the Co-Founder of AZ’s fashion incubator FABRIC and for creating upcycled ball gowns from “thrifted” T-shirts under her eponymous fashion brand Angela Johnson Design.

Angela got her start in L.A. working in design and production for X-Large Manufacturing, the line owned by Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys and X-Girl, the line owned by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth.  In the mid-1990’s she co-owned Monkeywench, a board sports-inspired collection with Days of Our Lives actress Christie Clark that was featured in Seventeen Magazine and worn by celebrities such as Tori Spelling on 90210, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christina Applegate, and more.

Angela is a recipient of the following awards and recognitions:

Non-profit of the Year - AZ Trending
Fast Lane Award - AZ Bio
Business Community Impact Award - Downtown Tempe
Outstanding Women in Business - Phoenix Business Journal
Fast Lane Award – AZ Bio
Fashion Humanitarian - The Garment League
Sustainability Award - ASU President Michael Crowe
Disability Award/Employee of the Year – City of Tempe Mayor
Athena Award Finalist - Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program Award - AZ Department of Environmental Quality
Rising Star - Fashion Group International of Arizona
Artist of the Year - Scottsdale Cultural Council’s Chairman’s Committee
Best Local Fashion Designer - Arizona Foothills
Chicest Local Designer - 944 Magazine

Angela has taught fashion classes at ASU, MCC, Collins College, AiPX, NSAA and LabelHorde, and is also a fashion business consultant to hundreds of Arizona designers and students.  She has been featured in countless books, magazines and television/internet programs. She was also the Regional Director of the non-profit Fashion Group International of Arizona for 2014-2017.

Sherri Barry

Founder, FABRIC

Sherri Barry is a former design entrepreneur, senior marketing, sales, and operations executive with a proven track record in generating substantial revenue growth. She has supervised, with P&L and overall decision-making responsibility, 275+ retail stores generating $300+ million in annual sales, with 30 direct reports and 2500 indirect reports.

She has executive experience overseeing and executing strategy for fully integrated marketing campaigns and sales efforts and proudly launched a new brand campaign that was recognized as a finalist at the 2013 North American Effie Awards. Sherri has business acumen in retailing, budgeting, financial analysis, strategy development, team-building, communications, and supply chain logistics.

Sherri started her own apparel company, Design Intoxication, in 2006 and launched lines under the labels Team Couture and Company Couture. The struggles of manufacturing in California ignited her passion for creating a reliable local resource for emerging designers. She has earned a Master of Business Administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, a Bachelor of Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

She is a true entrepreneur at heart and can support significant capacity building through her experience, education, innovation and hard work.

Sherri is a recipient of the following awards and recognitions:

Non-profit of the Year - AZ Trending
Fast Lane Award - AZ Bio
Business Community Impact Award - Downtown Tempe
Business Woman of the Year - Tempe Chamber of Commerce
Fast Lane Award – AZ Bio
Sustainability Award - ASU President Michael Crowe
Disability Award/Employee of the Year – City of Tempe Mayor
Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program Award - AZ Department of Environmental Quality
North American Effie Awards Finalist