From her beginnings in a tiny design studio over a Rockport storefront, Sigrid Olsen grew her clothing business into a major retail and homeware line, with 54 stores across North America and merchandise in major department stores.

The Hamilton resident's popular line of women's clothing and accessories is noted for its bright colors and prints, many of which she designed. But that era is all but over.

"I never expected it to come to an end," Olsen said. "That's what happens when you lose control of your business and it gets so big."

Major retailer Liz Claiborne bought Olsen's brand in 1999 and franchised Sigrid Olsen stores - one is located on Boston's trendy Newbury Street. Olsen stayed on as artistic director, but Liz Claiborne announced in January that it would be closing down the Sigrid Olsen brand. The past few months have been marked by ups and downs for Olsen.

"I've had some pretty giddy and happy feelings, thinking, 'Oh boy, what can I do now?'" Olsen said. "But nothing can compare to building a company from nothing. Many people were with me for 10 or 15 years. It was really almost like a family."

However, she believes it's an opportunity to open a new door.

"For 24 years, I've been doing one thing," she said, "which for an artist usually is not the case."

Running a major clothing line required Olsen to stay up on trends and interpret them and make them wearable "for real women," she said.

"I designed clothing to fit women of all ages and all sizes," she said, "to be flattering and fashionable and not too dowdy. ... A lot of women out there are floundering looking for clothes to wear."

She traveled to Europe at least twice a year to scout fabrics and styles, went to the annual fabric show in Paris, took in fashion shows and was always looking at what people wore. But she prided her line on being "unique and different."

"Part of it is that we grew up outside the apparel industry," she said. "We produced a line based on my color palette and my artistic background, and I liked to allow people to really use their creativity and have fun with it."

Already, she misses the work.

"Going to Europe and getting ideas, sketching designs on a plane," she said, "getting your samples back and selling them. It's the cycle of creating."

She misses the people, too, but not the deadlines.

"You don't realize how difficult it is until you sit back," she said. "There's too much to do and not enough time, because fashion is so seasonal and so cyclical."