The Raspberry Beret Information

The Raspberry Beret has had a love affair with beautiful fabrics for the last 25 years and has been in business in Northern California since 1991. We search for unique and unusual romantic and fantasy clothing, gorgeous vintage inspired dresses and romantic period reproductions, for weddings, parties, holidays and special occasions. We carry several well known designer's lines. Many of our repeat customers have written wanting to know more about our founder, Linda Tiemann, personally. Linda's grandmother and mother were both talented seamstresses and her grandfather was a lacemaker. They taught her the trade and, in Linda's own words, "As I matured, my love for antique textiles and vintage clothing became my obsession." Linda met her husband, Michael, while living in Hawaii. After their second child was born they moved to Oregon for several years where they owned an antiques store. In early 1991 they decided to move to Northern California to be closer to their aging parents. Linda once admitted she opened her first clothing store as an excuse to, "validate my obsession for buying beautiful things." The store carried a variety of new and vintage clothing as well as costumes and Linda also designed and created her own costumes, supplying many amateur and professional stage productions in the area. This extended into creating costumes for Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) events and renaissance fairs. With the help of her family, Linda opened the first Raspberry Beret store in the sleepy wine country community of Sebastopol, California in 1993. The venture was highly successful and a second store was opened just a few years later. By early 1999 Linda was looking for new opportunities and began to explore the idea of selling her wares through the Internet. As this venture grew Linda sold off the stores and put The Raspberry Beret online. In 2004, Michael stepped into the business full-time, managing, purchasing and marketing. His contagious enthusiasm has brought new inspiration to Raspberry Beret. The company has continued to grow and expand. The latest addition to the Raspberry Beret family in 2005 is Kathy Jones, new co-owner and fellow clothier.