Since 1996 BigOnBatik has been owned and operated by its creator Cathy Miller, providing fun, feminine and sassy clothing in sizes 1X - 6X in all the latest styles and colors of batik materials. BigOnBatik has offered an exciting array in tops, bottoms, dresses, plus-sized sarongs and swimwear all designed with the plus-sized woman in mind!

As of January, the new owner will be Satu Vuorenmaa. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because she is the creator of Plush Cat Club and the photographer for the sexy Plush Cats Calendar for the last two years. For the last five years Satu has photographed most of BigOnBatik's beautiful catalogue/website images. Like on the Plush site, her sister Tiina will be her most trusted assistant on the BigOnBatik website.

I had the opportunity to ask Satu a few questions about her new venture:

Moe: What made you decide to take over BigOnBatik?

Satu: There was no decision to be made. The minute I heard Cathy wanted to sell BigOnBatik I knew I wanted to take over and be the new owner. I have worked with Cathy for fivee years so I was very familiar with what BigOnBatik was all about. Cathy is the greatest advocate for this community and I wanted to continue with what she had started. It has always been my passion to contribute to society, showing big girls are beautiful and now I have another avenue to do this.

Moe: How will this new business venture affect your photography projects?

Satu: I actually think BigOnBatik goes hand in hand with many of my photography projects. I get to work with many beautiful plus and super-size models at BigOnBatik so it will be helpful when working for other projects and with other designers to have the resources for models and clothing. Most BBW models work elsewhere. I have been no different with having other jobs. It leaves weekends for many of my photo projects. Since I consider photography my passion it really is like a hobby I get to enjoy on my spare time. Most of them are self-financed projects since I am the one picking and choosing them.

Moe: What is your impression of plus-size fashions today?

Satu: Plus-size fashions, today, have improved tenfold from where they were 20 years ago when I was a teenager. I am happy to see so much more offered but I think it is not nearly in proportion to the population of people who are over size 12. There needs to be more choices, more sizes, and more colors for more body shapes. I still think many plus-size fashions simply don't take into consideration that because you're bigger does not mean you are bigger everywhere. One of my pet peeves is the lack of advertising for bigger realistic sizes. They should show models in all sizes not just a model in size 12 standing 6 feet tall. That is totally unrealistic considering the average height of women is size 5'4". I love that BigOnBatik shows women of all sizes and all heights. They have always done so and do a great job, even if I do say so myself!

Moe: What does BigOnBatik offer that other fashions houses don't?

Satu: Well, BigOnBatik is so unique in so many ways. Our clothing ranges from dressy casual to comfortable career to fun formals. It's great. We carry a big array of wonderful colorful Batiks that are handcrafted from Bali. The rich colors and designs are not found anywhere else. We have several exclusive designs and prints only at BigOnBatik and of course I plan to continue the tradition. Many women tell us how much they love clothing from BigOnBatik and how many compliments they receive every time they wear them. We offer high quality fabrics so the colors and material last much longer. The look and feel is so rich. We also offer many styles and prints in extended sizes up to 8x and beyond; as well as plus petites which can be really hard to find and I know being a plus petite myself.

Moe: Any special projects you have lined up for the New Year?

Satu: I do have a few special projects lined up. Of course I am going to do our 3rd Plush Cat Calendar this spring so 2007 can be out by next summer. I have some exciting things in store for that project. I have so many beautiful photos of women in all shapes and sizes of large from the past 20 years of my work that I really want to get out there in a unique photo book. I plan to do a fabulous fashion show this year with BigOnBatik styles and models! I always have so many ideas it is just hard to pick a few of them to do a year!

Good luck Satu!

Visit Big On Batik.
Read more about the Plush Cat Calendar.