<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4140107346/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="375" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4140107346_7e35a3bfe0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>

There was a time in the not-to-distant past when women wouldn't be caught dead in an apron.

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Someone who was busting her butt to break through the glass ceiling in the corporate world wasn't about to remind anyone with an article of clothing that her traditional role in society had been in the home, perhaps wearing an apron for the better part of a day. There were worlds to conquer, salaries to earn and, perhaps most of all, lots to prove.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4139347945/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2729/4139347945_bb6fe4c73f.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>

These days, those of us who believe women have the right to the vote and an equal paycheck (dare I say the F-word?) are more likely to embrace our pasts in the domestic realm. We're not in denial about how our grandmothers and all the women before them were expected to and wanted to lead their lives. In fact, we think the sewing and crafting and scrimping and saving and cooking arts are actually pretty cool.

I guess that's why when I <a class="zem_slink" href="http://google.com/" rel="homepage" title="Google">Google</a> terms like "apron," I get about 2.3 million results. A search for the same term on <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.etsy.com/" rel="homepage" title="Etsy">Etsy</a>.com, the Web site that serves as a collective storefront for crafters and artists the world over, yields 23,000 results, 83 percent of which fall into the "handmade" category.

Hm. Me thinks the handmade apron might just be one of the must-have fashion accessories this season. Plus, they keep food splashes and splatters off your clothes. Beauty <i>and</i> functionality - who woulda thunk it?

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4139347003/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2519/4139347003_3db46046ca.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>

There's more than one place to snag a handmade apron in Tulsa, but I'm particularly fond of the selection available right now at <b><a href="http://sageculinarystudio.com/">Sage Culinary Studio</a></b>. Sage, a cooking school as well as a gift shop stocked with kid-sized kitchen goodies, stocks a line of aprons by the Guthrie-based designer <b>Stella &amp; Grace</b>.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4139347225/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2520/4139347225_84dda46773.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>

What's cool about these aprons is that each is an original, with no two alike - that is, unless, a certain design comes in a mother-daughter matching set. Plus, the craftsmanship is remarkable.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4140108056/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/4140108056_a178271e38.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4140108224/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Aprons by Stella &amp; Grace" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/4140108224_53fe3f2f2b.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>

The designer doesn't turn these babies out in bulk. When a fabric catches her eye, she buys just enough for an apron or two. When it's gone, it's gone. 

Just try to find that kind of attention to detail at a store in the mall. Go ahead - I dare you.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4140109504/" title="Untitled by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/4140109504_8f4f1794c8_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>

When I heard the asking price of these aprons, I suffered a serious case of reverse sticker shock. Aprons like these are selling on Etsy and elsewhere online for at least twice the price as that posted at Sage, a flat $25 each. Wow, just wow.

Another apron maker showcased at Sage is <a href="http://antoinettebakingco.blogspot.com/"><b>Antoinette Baking Co.</b>, headed by local crafty girls <b>Molly Martin</b> and <b>Andrea Mohn</b></a>.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4139349239/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Antoinette Baking Co. Aprons by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Antoinette Baking Co. Aprons" height="375" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/4139349239_49e86cfcbd.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>

Before today, I thought Molly and Andrea were plenty busy making beautiful cupcakes and cookies and custom cakes (<a href="http://tulsakids.com/?q=sugar-and-spice-or-snips-and-snails">read a particularly special and, granted, emotional story about one here</a> - grab a Kleenex first). I had no idea these women had apron designs dancing in their heads.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4139349149/" title="Sage Culinary Studio: Antoinette Baking Co. Aprons by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio: Antoinette Baking Co. Aprons" height="375" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4139349149_23ce400d54.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>

Sage owner <b>Catherine deCamp</b> said her students were going ga-ga over these little numbers. It's not hard to see why. Look at the colors! And the designs are to die for - very hip.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashadoestulsa/4140109564/" title="Sage Culinary Studio by Tasha Does Tulsa, on Flickr"><img alt="Sage Culinary Studio" height="375" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2700/4140109564_9b3631c16d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>

Sage celebrated the anniversary of its first year in business earlier this month, and business has been good. For one, Sage is expanding to south Tulsa, location to be announced. For two, Catherine is expanding her class offerings. She's now enrolling for adult cooking classes in addition to the kiddo sessions she's featured since she opened. To learn more and see what's available for December, <a href="http://www.sageculinarystudio.com/">visit the Sage site on the Web</a>.

Yet more reasons to love Sage are <a href="http://www.sageculinarystudio.com/uploads/Holiday_2009_Break_Sessions.pdf">Catherine's holiday cookie decorating sessions</a>. For $15, kids can stop in at Sage, decorate seven cookies, eat one at the studio and take the other six home, perhaps to give to a deserving parental unit as an early Christmas present. Or, Tulsa munchkins can make cupcakes, $25 for the session and four cupcakes, or gingerbread houses, $40 for the session and one house. Sessions on Dec. 21, Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 are still open, but historically, they've filled quickly. <a href="http://sageculinarystudio.com/">Register online soon</a>.

Happy holiday cooking, Tulsa - Shout Wipes-free.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sage Culinary Studio</span>
3746 S. Peoria Ave.
(918) 933-5005
<a href="mailto:info@sageculinarystudio.com">info@sageculinarystudio.com</a>
Holiday retail store hours are Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday, noon-5pm