Joey was mentoring Karise at channel 9 and thought of me when Karise told her she had no clothes suitable to wear on the show. Joey told me how amazing Karise's voice was and how she had been living in a refuge and had been picked to go on a new show called The Voice. I had no idea who Karise was or what the Voice was but I did know that Joey knows talent when she see's it and I felt as though I had to help in some way. I agreed to make her clothes to get her through to the next level and then if she still needed Hot Couture we would see her through to the end. I'm always a sucker for a sad story as well and this kid had really done it tough. I was flying up to Sydney the week after so agreed to meet up with Karise and Joey, still no idea of what lay ahead for Karise. I then started to watch the show and the first time I saw that gorgeous girl sing I knew she had a real chance of making it through to the end. WOW she was powerful. So we made her first Hot Couture frock a gorgeous blue rose full skirt. I flew up and met Joey and Karise at one of my fave cafes on Crown St and I sat there thinking this perfectly gorgeous humble girl has no clue what's in store for her.
Right then I knew I was in the presence of a star. I religiously watched the show after that and along with a few million other Australian viewers became quite obsessed. I stayed home on Sunday night to watch the Grand finale and when Karise won I jumped right out of my chair and burst into tears all while clapping. Talk about exciting, I can't wait to see what is around the corner for Karise now the world really is her oyster.
