About Us

About Us

Who we are & what we believe...

We are a mother-daughter team sharing the same design aesthetic and love for the time-honored traditions of Mardi Gras. We believe there is a fine line between our costumes and couture. Quality construction and beautiful embellishments go hand in hand. Many consider our costumes wearable works of art.  Whether designing for a Queen, King or Captain, we believe anything worth doing is worth doing with elegance and grace. We are so in tune with each other it is hard to tell whose hands did what.

the Mom...

To Deborah Lynn Dixon, naming her business Ides of March Design Group, Ltd, was a no-brainer. Her birthday is March 15th.  Learning to sew from her mother, she was tailoring by age 13. In high school, she dreamed of “picking up pins” for Edith Head. Instead, she studied Interior Design, as well as Home Economics in Business in college.  While on business trips to New York City, she spent evenings at museums taking in costume and decorative art exhibits.  She also traveled extensively in Europe, exploring the decorative arts, architecture, and costumes.  She is an avid researcher.
In 1993, she moved to Colorado, taking a break from costuming. But in 1999, Mardi Gras came calling for the 2000 Ball season. The fabric industry had shrunk dramatically in those six years. In 2003, she began thinking about applying surface patterns to fabrics. With the support and patience of her husband and daughter, she developed emBELLAtex® paste and process. Working in a bubble in the Colorado mountains, helped too. Given her dream theme for the 2007 Ball,  Jewels of Faberge was perfect for emBELLAtex’s debut. She now had the ability to recreate Faberge’s goldwork on fabric. She sites the Fabergé gowns as the turning point in her work.

the Daughter...

The Mardi Gras Fairy kissed Amanda Noland Inzer at birth. She was born four days before her aunt reigned as Queen of the Krewe of Contraband. Only a day old, the Krewe Captain, Sammy Navarra, requested an audience with his 1996 Queen.  So, Amanda’s introduction to Mardi Gras began as an infant.  
Over the years, she watched her mother’s designs transform from sketch to reality, developing a discerning eye at an early age. Always wanting to help, she got more opportunities than she may have hoped for.  Amanda is quick to share that she knows the evolution of a Hot Glue gun. She witnessed it first-hand.   Her early stitching lessons came from sewing ribbons on her ballet pointe shoes.  
Later, Amanda studied classical ballet at the University of Oklahoma and Business Administration at McNeese State University.   Having reigned as a Queen is a huge plus as she helps soon-to-be Queens navigate the process.  Her refined aesthetic comes from her exposure to professional productions along with performing.  She can relate to the wearer as well as the maker.  She brings her costuming expertise to Ballet as well as Mardi Gras.