Archive for the ‘Mini Interviews’ Category

What kinds of materials do you use?

Silk, cotton, linen, glass beads, swarovski, vintage recycled rings, vintage rhinestone brooches

What kinds of materials do you use in your work?
To create the dioramas, I use anything and everything – sticks, papier mache, paint, moss, yarn, ribbon, cardboard etc. If the size or texture of something I have lying around the studio fits with the current creation, it will get used. To make the pieces that are inspired by the dioramas, I use vinyl and microsuede.

What makes your work unique?
My work is unique because I rely very strongly on memories of my own experiences for inspiration rather than trying to take inspiration from external trends. By doing this I feel like I am communicating who I am to the people who see my work.

Who or what are your influences?
My grandparents taught me how to create things and all of the time they spent with me as a child had a strong influence on my direction as a designer. They taught me to appreciate nature, to be resourceful, and to connect with the people around you in a sincere way.

What is your current creative obsession?
Diorama Rama!! It’s all about creating small worlds that replicate some memory that I have rattling around inside my crazy brain.

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
I will always love Comrags. Their clothes are timeless, well made, practical, with just a touch of whimsy so they aren’t too serious.

What do you make and what kinds of material do you use?
I design and sell my own collection of exclusive, hand-painted earrings, necklaces, and eyeglass chains crafted from wood. Eventually, I’d like to add precious metals like platinum, gold, and silver to enhance the wood base.

What makes your work unique?
I challenge myself to make work that transcends trend and cultivates new classics in fashion. The way I see the design value of using wood as my base material for fashion distinguishes my work. Customers and retailers are impressed when they discover the pieces are meticulously hand painted with my own designs on wood, rather than made with glass, ceramic or a round gem found somewhere. The collection is also affordably priced, light and durable for truly unique pieces that stay relevant as time goes by. Buy a piece and it won’t break the bank. Drop it and it won’t break. Wear it and you won’t feel dated.

Who or what are your influences?
The jewelry design work and process of Bill Reid, Frank Gehry and Paloma Picasso are the most notable influences. They’ve all set new standards for timeless design.

What is your current creative obsession?
Making design, along with my other creative endeavors like photography, into a productive enterprise –I took all the portraits of the models you see wearing my collection and use it on my website and look book.

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
Bill Reid, Arthur Erickson and Frank Gehry.

What kind of work do you do and what materials do you use?
I make hand-detailed undies from earth-friendly materials such as bamboo and organic cottons. I recently started incorporating lace into my designs and am planning on experimenting with hand dyeing over the next few months.

What makes your work unique?
Well first and foremost I like to keep the cuts of the undies comfy while using ruffles and other embellishments to up the cute factor. Anything that isn’t sewn by me personally is manufactured in Canada at fair prices and I pick fabrics with as little environmental impact as possible; the dye process for all of the fabrics is certified by the Oeko-tex standard 100, which ensures chemicals weren’t released back into the environment and there’s no harmful chemical residue on the fabric either (your lady parts will thank you)!

Who or what are your influences?
Candy Pants started because I couldn’t find earth friendly underwear for myself that wasn’t beige or cut like granny panties. Social responsibility is important but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice fit or style. In that respect I’m mainly influenced by my own needs and wants as well as those of the other women in my life. I think women should celebrate their curves rather than try to downplay and cover up. My mom plays a big part since she’s not afraid to tell the truth when something isn’t as good as it could be.

What is your current creative obsession?
hand dying and body painting! I’m getting ready to pack up for a summer in Alberta leaving me free to set up in my parents basement and work creatively with some women there who i find super inspiring. I’m going to get my hands dirty learning how to dye with berries, herbs, and other natural ingredients. I’m also planning a photo shoot in collaboration with my friend Marley Blair Wilson who is an amazing makeup artist and airbrusher (see: topless women of all shapes and sizes)!

Who’s your favorite Canadian artist or designer?
Hmm that’s a hard one. I think its a tie between Zuzanium, Faren, and Stacey Zhang. They all make pieces that are feminine, easy to wear, and drape beautifully. I’m also loving Elemental, the current exhibit in the shop by Jessica Rode.

What do you make and what kinds of materials do you use?
I make swimwear, and each piece is cut and sewn by yours truly. I use Lycra fabric because that is the most popular and best material for swimsuits. Sometimes I use ultra-sexy fabrics like stretch velvet, because they have an amazing vintage feel.

What makes your work unique?
There aren’t a lot of independent Canadian swimsuit designers out there, for starters. More importantly, though, they are a twist on vintage silhouettes that play with colour and cut-outs; this is what gives them a modern edge.

Who or what are your influences?
The music I listen to, pop culture, but not just that… Betty Page and pin-up girls, that old-fashioned sexiness, vintage cars. Also, my materials – I’m inspired by textiles, the colours, patterns, etc. Sometimes just looking at my fabric collection, a surge goes through me and I want to make something!

What is your current creative obsession?
MONOKINI! Playing around with this super-fun style, because it’s great for women both petite and voluptuous. Seriously, it’s a kick-ass style and just a great word to say. Monokini, sing it to yourself!

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
David Dixon. Evan Biddell. Franke by Kendra Francis. I also really like Pink Tartan.

(for more info and photos check out the Bathing Belle Swimwear Facebook page)

Toronto artist Willow Dawson is Shopgirls’ purveyor of colourful and whimsical prints, and she took a few moments to fill us in on her current projects and long-time influences.

What kind of work do you do and what materials do you use?
I’m an illustrator and graphic novelist. I paint in acrylics on cardboard and sell prints, card sets and button sets of my images. As a graphic novelist, I work sequentially in india ink on bristol paper. My books include No Girls Allowed with Susan Hughes (Kids Can Press, 2008) and Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate with Emily Pohl-Weary (Kiss Machine Presents, 2004-2007). I am currently working on several upcoming projects, including Lila and Ecco’s Do-It-Yourself Comics Club (Kids Can Press, ETA: 2011), 100 Mile House, a semi-autobiographic novel for which I have received a Toronto Arts Council Grant (ETA: TBA, excerpts published online by Top Shelf Productions) and more art prints, of course.

What makes your work unique?
People often comment on my colour choices and the graphic quality of the imagery.

Who or what are your influences?
I’m influenced by a variety of people from turn-of-the-century illustrators and designers like Gustav Klimt and Aubrey Beardsley to painters like Emily Carr and Tom Thompson, cartoonists the likes of Winsor McKay, Julie Doucet, Craig Thompson, multi-disciplinary artists like Dave McKean and musicians like Tom Waits, Veda Hille and my husband’s band Pink Moth.

What is your current creative obsession?
I’ve always been obsessed with nature, pattern and colour.

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
I don’t really have a favourite, I like many of them!

Pictured are: Beekeeper (left) and Long Dress.

Vancouver-based Pauline Siu talks to us a bit about her line, flora&fauna, and her influences. Shopgirls is thrilled to have her SS10 line coming into the shop in the next month!

What kind of work do you do and what materials do you use?
flora&fauna is an eco-fashion label in Vancouver, BC. We use only organic and/or sustainable materials in our clothing, including organic cotton, and soy (made from tofu processing plant waste). We love using wood and coconut buttons!! They are so cute, dyeable, and biodegradable too! We are always on the looking for new materials that are good for the earth.

What makes your work unique?
Our designs are uniquely functional and fashionable. Every piece is easy to wear and layer – most pieces have hidden pockets, perfect for the gal on the go! A few of the strapless pieces have inner bras built in for support. Each piece is inspired by one of our favourite plants or animals, hence our name flora&fauna – with proceeds going towards charities that help conserve the environment and foster care for orphan animals! So far, we’ve been able to sponsor an orphan squirrel and a black bear cub, with the help of our friends at Critter Care in Langley, BC.

Who or what are your influences?
I get most of my inspirations from my encounters with wildlife – whether it’s on a surfing-camping trip in Tofino, exploring tidal pools, a quiet hike in the forest, or even just hanging out with my dog and our doggy friends at the park! The colours, silhouettes, and other small subtle details often come from there. When I’m back in studio sketching or making patterns, I put on my favourite playlist with lots of fun music, I think the music brings the fluidity to my designs. Top 10 on my playlist are: Bjork, Patrick Watson, Neil Young, Brasstronauts, the Talking Heads, Wax Mannequin, Bonobo, Pink Floyd, Patti Smith, John Lennon. You can check out my blip.fm station to see what I’ve been listening to lately.

Another one of my influences is Hayao Miyazaki’s work. With recurring themes on humanity’s relationship to nature and technology, as well as the power within each of us to make positive changes – these stories helped instill a sense of empowerment, ethics, and respect for nature in me when I was a child, and re-watching them as an adult only deepens my values.

What is your current creative obsession?
Last Christmas, I had a sales booth at Canamade (a Christmas marketplace, featuring Vancouver designers and craftsters) – the weather was awful, so the show was slow. A friend who also had a booth there was making needle felted animals, and I made her to teach me how to needle felt! It’s so much fun!! You can make anything with it. I have been obsessively making kittens ever since! I even got my boyfriend hooked on it. On weekends, instead of going out party, we just sit by the fire with a bottle of wine and needle felt!!

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
I absolutely adore Vancouver artist Camilla d’Errico. Her work is so beautiful – she is an animal lover as well!! I hope to do a collaboration with her one day!!

What kind of work do you do and what materials do you use?
I started Clothing Brand Experiment (CBE) over three years ago and I was obsessed with hoodies and wanted to make the perfect one. CBE will eventually work towards tackling other garments but for now we exclusively make hooded sweatshirts from local, pre-washed, cotton blend fleece fabric.

What makes your work unique?
CBE all began as a project to see if it was possible to completely make a piece of clothing here in the city, including the fabric being milled. With success everything we make is entirely made in Toronto and all within 50km of the CBE studio space which is pretty exciting to us.

Who or what are your influences?
I love a great basic and I love to wear something over and over again with it still looking great. This was a big influence in the finished product of our hoody line; it had to endure a lot of wear, be practical and more desirable than other clothing and maintain my interest and love as I wore it over and over again.

Another big part of every piece is the colour combinations. I love colour and I love to bring in a strange colour and then match it up with other colours so that is just looks great. The Freeman line from 2009 has a vintage washed out yellow on the back panel of both the Slim and Classic fit and I just love how different and old feeling the colour is and how great it looks with navy and a punch of colour. The Freeman line was inspired by a month I spent on Freeman Street in Greenpoint (Brooklyn, NY) at the end of summer 2008. The rich tones of the early Fall sun setting and the deep blue sky moving in was so engaging. As was the vintage vibe found while walking the streets in Williamsburg. Put both of this ideas and inspirations together and you get the Freeman colour scheme.

What is your current creative obsession?
I have been thinking a lot about stripes lately. I realize they have come and gone but I see them as a basic or a staple and I am interested to work with them some more. We added a stripe hood panel to our Humboldt Slim and Classic fit hoodies in our 2009 line and I would like to work with them some more in a saturated way.

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
I don’t know if I can narrow in on one favorite but I have found Complex Geometries out of Montreal to be completely inspiring! I find their line fearless, unique and successful.

Toronto artist Fiona Bailey studied Textiles at Sheridan College, but her work combines this formal knowledge with another of her hobbies – photography. Fiona prints and then tea-stains her photographs to age them and finishes them by needle felting little trails of dots over them. The photographs are mounted on cards or framed as artworks and Shopgirls has had a collection of them basically from the beginning. Fiona was kind enough to submit to a mini interview with us recently.

What kind of work do you do and what materials do you use?
I make both functional and decorative textile based works. Currently at Shopgirls I am selling needle felted photographs that I make into cards. I use wool fleece, embroidery floss, original photographs, and paper.

What makes your work unique?
With each photograph I take and make into an art piece, I make sure not to reprint and use again, this makes each piece original and different. Needle felting wool onto a photograph is a very non traditional way of applying the technique. I developed my technique through sampling and experimenting while studying textiles.

Who or what are your influences?
I am influenced by the natural world, and the environments which surround me, whether indoors or out. I enjoy photography as it allows me to capture these environments and the things that catch my eye within them.

What is your current creative obsession?
Currently, I have been working to expand my cooking skills and recipe box.

Who’s your favourite Canadian artist or designer?
I’m very inspired by Virginia Johnson, and I also love the photography of Dianne Bos.

Toronto designer Zuzana Grimm has been with Shopgirls for over a year now, and she’s a favourite around here. Not only does her line Zuzanium do really well in the shop, having Zu here to work with us is an absolute pleasure! We distracted her from the customers for a few minutes to do this little interview.

What kinds of materials do you use?
Bamboo, poly/lycra blends, cottons, cotton/lycra blends, pretty much anything that feels good to touch, hugs and compliments the body, and is easy to care for.

What makes your work unique?
The fit! Ten years of perfecting my style means that each piece is flattering for all different types – they hide tummies and muffin tops, but show your off your curves. I also use fabrics that are mostly unavailable in North America, so that’s a perk. Finally, there is always some unique little twist, for instance on my Wing Dresses; fin-shaped side seams can be tied together behind the dress or tucked in as pockets or left out as an interesting detail. No one else does that.

Who or what are your influences?
The women around me! Music and dance (I’ve been a DJ for a long time)… and the materials themselves. I love my fabrics!

What is your current creative obsession?
Working on a collection that gives mature women the opportunity to feel sexy!

Who are your favourite Canadian artists or designers?
Sonja den Elzen of Thieves and the awesome artist Mike Stilkey.