About The Artist..
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"Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma. I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe the we were destined to get thrown outta this dump" |
I opened Historical Designs on Etsy less than 2 years after graduating from college with undergrad degrees in English and Theatre Arts. Much to my surprise, I found that I truly loved historical plays and wanted to do more than just build costumes for stage. I wanted to know exactly how clothes used to be built and exactly what was going on under the layers. The more I learned, the more vividly I saw book characters and authors in my mind. Queen Elizabeth I’s speech at Tilbury resonated in my mind and I could see the woman, the person, speaking to her militia, inspiring them with her brave words. Not only did Jane Austen have a face and silhouette in my mind’s eye, but so did the Bennet sisters, Emma, and the Dashwoods. And poor Heathcliff; I saw the ragged Gypsy boy, compelled by his love for Catherine, savagely fight his way up the social ladder only to implode under the weight of his own hatred and loss. Suddenly everything clicked into place: I knew I wanted to build historical clothing and I wanted to go into business for myself!
How Do You Choose Fabrics?: I choose based on color, weight, and most importantly texture. Since 95% of my fabric shopping is done online, I pay close attention to the names of fabrics (organza, chambray, corduroy, etc) and brands to help tell me what to expect when the fabric arrives. I also look for a ruler on the fabric to make sure any print or raised texture is the size I want.
How Do You Choose Fabrics?: I choose based on color, weight, and most importantly texture. Since 95% of my fabric shopping is done online, I pay close attention to the names of fabrics (organza, chambray, corduroy, etc) and brands to help tell me what to expect when the fabric arrives. I also look for a ruler on the fabric to make sure any print or raised texture is the size I want.
What Is Unique About Your Brand?: I begin research into each time period with a thorough study of the underpinnings. This is why the first items I list in a given period are typically corsets and boned petticoats. Any corseting or padding (worn by both men and women for many centuries) will affect the shape of the clothes worn over them. So knowing what’s underneath allows me to draft patterns that will display the proper silhouette of a time period, rather than mismatch historical clothes on a modern body shape.
What Inspires Your Work?: Fashion plates, literature, film and television literally inspire me. In other words, I like to build reproductions of clothes from these media as well as building my own original creations based on these as research. But in a more abstract sense, I always have something playing in the background. Podcasts, movies, Netflix, whatever is putting me in the mood to create!
What Inspires Your Work?: Fashion plates, literature, film and television literally inspire me. In other words, I like to build reproductions of clothes from these media as well as building my own original creations based on these as research. But in a more abstract sense, I always have something playing in the background. Podcasts, movies, Netflix, whatever is putting me in the mood to create!
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