THE DESIGNER

SHERITA MECHELLE CUFFEE, MBA

Cuffee attended high school at the South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts and Humanities, where she studied Visual Arts with a focus in Art History and Sculpture. From SCGSAH, Cuffee attended Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, the only all women's design school in the country. During her senior year, she was awarded the Tiffany & Co. Women's Leadership Fellowship, which gave her the opportunity to visit Ghana, West Africa. There she studied the native textile techniques of Kente cloth weaving and Adinkra stamping. From this trip, Cuffee refined her design process to combine elements of storytelling with the traditional costumes and textile traditions of global cultures.  A firm believer that one can never know enough, Cuffee furthered her studies. In September 2013, Cuffee completed the selective Design Entrepreneurs NYC mini-MBA program sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation at the Fashion Institute of Technology and holds an MBA with an entrepreneurship focus from Monroe College in New Rochelle, NY. 

"MY [CUFFEE] EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL ARTISANS IN GHANA HELPED ME UNDERSTAND MY SUBCONSCIOUS ATTRACTION TO CERTAIN COLORS, PATTERNS, AND NATURAL MATERIALS.”

Cuffee has worked twelve years in the fashion industry for women's wear brands: Van Aken Customs, Cynthia Rowley, Douglas Hannant, Cynthia Rose, Tamara Mellon, Charlotte Brody and Home Furnishing Leader and Lee Jofa/ Kravet Inc. While working full-time, Cuffee started Visçera NY with help of a samplemaker and hand-beader she worked with at the time. In September 2010, Cuffee officially launched Visçera NY with a warm reception by industry bloggers and editors.  Cuffee landed her first major publication with Essence Magazine in 2011 and was named #6 in the Magazine's "Next Big Designer" feature. After a few seasons under her belt, Cuffee left her full-time job to pursue Visçera NY and teaching full-time. 

Cuffee’s firm belief in paying it forward coupled with her passion for art & fashion is fueled by her calling to help girls and women empower themselves. To achieve this mission, Cuffee created the Viscera NY Sewing Academy to teach sewing as a skill, trade and hobby to encourage self-confidence and a means of financial independence. As a proud Southern belle, Cuffee hopes her efforts with her sewing academy will encourage the skill of sewing to be continuously passed down as a family tradition. Her professional teaching resume includes teaching at: Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, PA, the Harlem School of the Arts and as a seminar and most recently the New York School of Design. Cuffee has founded fashion courses at the Leroy Neiman Art Center, the Harlem Educational Activities Fund and the Bronx House Community Center’s in-house classes and after-school programs. She is also currently an instructor of several courses at the New York School of Design in Manhattan.

Culminating her experiences with a love affair of draping, beading and jewelry, Cuffee created the Luxe Demi-couture brand, Viscera NY. As a designer and Chief Executive Officer of Viscera NY, Cuffee is considered one of Fashion's Next Big Designers by Essence Magazine and has been featured in Essence, Uptown Magazine, and several online Fashion blogs. She has been created looks for leading ladies: Nia Long, Serena Williams and has dressed top female executives, Katrina Adams; President of the US Tennis Association, Lisa Price; founder of Carol's Daughter, and Jocelyn Talyor. Cuffee's work has graced the red carpet by Tamara Mellon of Law and Order and recently Joaquina Kalukango, who plays Nettie in the Broadway play “The Color Purple”. Cuffee's goal is to excel on her journey as a respected lifestyle designer of luxury Demi-couture bridal and womens ready to wear while advocating for entrepreneurship as an educator.