She graduated from The Madeira School in 1982 and then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a degree in anthropology.
While in college, Pepper studied abroad in Nepal and began to sew carpets with local Nepali women.
[4] After Project Runway, Pepper opened her own store in Middleburg, Virginia and continued to work with individual clients.
She took part in two other Bravo television shows: Celebrity Poker Showdown and Battle of the Network Reality Stars.
[citation needed] Pepper showed her debut line, outside of Project Runway, on April 11, 2006 in Washington, D.C.