Amy Stephenson might have used Italian denim in her new line of premium jeans introduced last week in New York .

But her inspiration? It was pure North Carolina .

Stephenson, who grew up on a Johnston County farm near McGee's Crossroads, took time recently from preparing for her launch last week of her denim and separates line, called Stephenson, to talk on the phone. She was in the final throes of getting ready for the Coterie Show in New York , where store buyers from around the country order for the next season. She's planning a West Coast launch in Los Angeles in March.

The collection is what she calls "tomboy chic," combining the organic outdoorsy part of her childhood, including the fields, forests and streams back home, and her Bohemian tendencies, which she says she got from her mom, who wore radical denim in the '70s.

"I wanted to do denim differently," she said. "It's not at all flashy. I wanted them to be organic. Everything about these jeans are of the earth."

As a result, the jeans are understated but timeless with unique styling, including Bohemian-style patch pockets jeans with wide legs; dark denim fisherman pants; and double waistband skinny jeans.

Her price is in line with other premium jeans that use higher-end fabrics, ranging from $190 to $280, depending on the amount of embellishment.

Stephenson hasn't always dreamed of her own denim line. She graduated from South Johnston High School in 1988, and later from UNC-Wilmington after studying communications, public speaking and drama.

"It would be fun to say that I ripped up the curtains and made something," she said. "But that's not really the case."

She spent five years in advertising in Atlanta before feeling the tug to be more creative. So she created a Power Point presentation to convince her parents she should go to Parsons School of Design in New York .

"I wanted to do clothing, so I just went for it," she said.

After graduating in 2000 at 30 years old -- older than most of the other graduates -- she landed a job at Garfield & Marks -- a brand mostly sold in department stores, including Nordstrom -- where she was thrown into the business. She designed, worked with vendors, pressed clothes, tracked down buttons.

"I really learned the business from A to Z and that enabled me to go out on my own," she said.

It was a natural move to start making her own line of jeans in 2005. At Garfield , she had worked her way up to head designer of denim, where she soaked up enough denim-business know-how to do her own brand of jeans.

If you're interested in buying her clothes, stay tuned. She's hoping to catch the eyes of several Triangle boutique owners at Coterie. If they bite, the jeans could be in stores as early as June. She's also planning a trip home soon for trunk shows.

"It would mean so much to have my product on my people," she said.

Keep up with Stephenson at www.stephensonstudio.com .