Martin, a native of Columbus, Ohio, graduated from Westland High School in 1998 and Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, California in 2001.
[4] After leaving Los Angeles in 2006 and moving back to her hometown she opened her own storefront boutique, Black Market.
[5] In an April 2008 interview, Martin said of her aesthetic, "I like really feminine silhouettes and form-fitting throwbacks to, like, the vintage pinup girls, but I like raw edges..."[3] Season five of Project Runway began with "Let's Start from the Beginning," which first aired on July 16, 2008.
Contestant designers were tasked with creating a sexy, glamorous outfit for a night on the town, but were only allowed to use materials purchased from a Manhattan supermarket called Gristedes.
The judges questioned her taste and made her the fifth person eliminated from the competition.