my stitches were recently featured in this article by Marcella Echavarría..
there’s also a shorter online article here
it looks lovely.. though it’s funny that they spelled my name wrong twice, haha..
not much of the question/answer stuff made it in, so i’m including that here.
it took me ages to find my words & i think you guys might appreciate it :)
1. What does the word “vintage” mean to you?
I think of vintage as applying to anything from the 1940’s to the 1980’s
and of pre-1940’s as antique.
2. How are you redesigning the cycle of creating and selling?
Everything I make is constructed from reclaimed antique/vintage
materials, so the pieces are both new and old.. It’s an ecologically
friendly pattern that pays it’s respects to the past. By creating
work from materials that would otherwise be going to waste,
I’ve found a loophole in the regular system of commerce.. and a way to
responsibly support myself & other small, ethical businesses while
doing something I love.
3. What does the word reusing/repurposing mean to you?
Giving new life to clothing & objects that have fallen into
disrepair.. bringing them into the present.
4. What values from the past do you live by today? what techniques do
you use? what materials?
I love the old slogans “waste not, want not” & “mend & make do”..
Craftspeople had a stronger work ethic in the past and more integrity
in their creations; things were made to last. I try to keep this alive
in my work, and create pieces that are well-made, beautiful & durable.
I’m self taught in sewing and designing and have picked up some tricks
and ideas through studying antique clothes & old sewing books. I use
almost any materials as long as they feel good & are reclaimed.
5. What is your narrative? If I found a piece by you in 50 years…what
is your story?
I feel like a curator of sorts.. much of my process is just sitting
quietly and listening to the materials. I try to arrange them
elegantly as directed.. A big part of it is respecting them and their
collective history enough to include them in the decision making..
versus inflicting my own will or ideas too strongly. It ends up
feeling like a collaboration between history, nature & my hands.
6. How do you draw the line
between the past and the present/future?
My home studio is a museum forest of tattered antique dresses, relics
and remnants.. I collect all kinds of things from the past, and am
immersed in mountains of fabric for weeks at a time as I stitch them
together. So sometimes the line is not so strong.. it feels like I
live in the past, present & future all at once. Which seems like the
perfect spot for me~
<3s
