Hello again lovely readers and welcome to the 24th edition of Friday Friends - Dusty Divas. I am frantically busy with work and finalising my market preparations for the Summer Street Fair next week. Where does the time go ?
The Dusty Diva for this week is from the same part of the world as me, give or take a few hundred km's and I am absolutely stoked to be able to showcase the stunning designs of RawHemline this week.
Holly has the most amazing whimsical feminine creations - her ETSY Shop Announcement states :
Handmade Experimental Clothing and Accessories, and Bespoke Nontraditional Wedding Pieces. I love to use Romantic and ethereal vintage and recycled fabrics that echo art movements from the 1920's, through to the '50's, and even the '80s !
I have a current obsession with girly headpieces and love love love ! these two creations
Ethereal embroidered Cuff, Head piece. Collar. Avant Garde. burlesque, Unconventional Wedding, by RawHemline on etsy
CUSTOM - Ethereal shore line Bonnet headband - by RawHemline on etsy
How amazing are the textures and colours in this ring
Vamp- Scarlett Raspberry Textile adjustable Ring- freshwater pearl. silk. vintage lace. swarovski crystals. By RawHemline on etsy
and isn't this just a gorgeous summer bolero for a special occasion
CUSTOM - Ethereal Recycled Vintage tulle Bolero - by RawHemline on etsy
This Silk Georgette top is sophisticated and raw at the same time, such a pretty colour too !
Tea Rose Silk Georgette asymmetrical ruffles top. Avant Garde, Raw Sculpture, experimental clothing, By RawHemline on etsy
I was so inspired by the story of RawHemline - it just shows that if you believe in yourself and your craft, your dreams can come true. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did.
The Philosophical Fabric of RawHemline
Like so many, I was simply born an artist and didn't know any different. When I was little, I drew and painted constantly. My mother was (and is) extremely creative, and continually nurtured my gifting. She would spend hours helping me work on an art piece and taught me how to take time to examine the smallest of details and appreciate the varying- and many times unrecognised- unconventional beauty in the world.
I loved the ethereal and magical world presented in "The Dark Crystal", which quickly became my favourite movie from the time I was 8 years old, until I was a teenager.
I remember I got my mum to sew me a "Kiera dress". I remember wishing that my name was Kiera and that I had long blonde hair and wings (like the Kiera of "The Dark Crystal"). But alas, I had dark hair !
Mum made me all sorts of unusual clothing, and I even asked my Nanna- who was an exceptionally talented designer- to to make me a dress like the ladies in the black and white films had- with the big hoop skirts and elaborate layering....
Even as a teenager, I found that there was nothing in the clothing shops that I liked. I distinctly remember my mum saying to me in frustration "the clothes that you want don't exist !!". And that really impacted me. I thought, then I'll have to make them exist!
I did eventually find some really unique exciting clothing and fabrics when I started going op shopping around the time I was 14. I'd always find a special 'treasure '-and even if it wasn't a design I liked, I could look past such things as cringeworthy 80s shoulder pads and see the garments potential... I could see what it could become! Fabrics began to fascinate me- particularly vintage fabrics like lurex.
I could only handsew at that time, and I used to love the rawness of the stitching, but found it so time consuming.
To help me, a friend gave me a 1958 Singer that only did straight stitch, so I taught myself on that.
When I was 26 I made a huge queensized bed spread which took me a whole year to complete.
That was a significant piece that seemed to be a real turning point for me, and strongly set my mind towards sewing as art.
I began spending most of my time re-creating clothing and accessories from vintage fabrics, and moved away from painting altogether. The creative frenzy I fell into was invigorating. I would go to work (I was a primary school teacher at the time) and come home and sew until I went to sleep. Sometimes I would just lay down in my pile of fabrics and feel so alive.
As I wore my creations, people began to ask me where I got them from, and I explained that I made them, and was surprised when they asked me to create something for them! I never charged anything, because the pleasure of creating was all mine, and I was just so honoured that someone would want to have a piece of my art.
My entrance into the etsy world, was largely influenced by my mother- she opened a shop on etsy plumfish, after she'd done a few local art markets with Made on the Left.
I wanted my shop name to give people a definate idea about my work- that it was unapologetically and deliberately raw and often left "incomplete". So many highly esteemed paintings are loved for their sense of being "half finished" or incomplete- because the viewer gets to fill in the "gaps" in their own mind. The works are left 'open ended', allowing a certain creative freedom up to the beholder - so, in a way - the viewer completes the work/has a hand in the piece itself, which makes it very personal.
I wanted my clothing creations to give the buyer that same sense of freedom and 'open endedness'. While neat hems certainly aren't my thing at the moment, really, my desire is to create works which are not static, but somehow fluid . I desire for my pieces to translate into something that suits the particular wearer themselves...that is only in fact a 'completed work' when the buyer wears the piece themselves....they fill in the gaps and finish the piece with their own uniqueness.
Ideally, I'd love to be able to earn a living from my creations, and I one day hope to study fashion formally at tafe. But I always hope that my work remains primarily "art", rather than clothing, and that it never gets stale...maybe one day I will even embrace a neat hem !!!!
If you want to own your own fabulous piece of RawHemline or if you just want to drool some more over these fantastic creations, here's how you can connect :
you can buy RawHemline creations from ETSY - RawHemline.etsy.com
check out the RawHemline Blog at RawHemline.blogspot.com
and become a Facebook fan of RawHemline at - RawHemline on FaceBook
proud to have such an amazing daughter!!
ReplyDeleteI have known Holly since Birth. She has always had an eye for design and color.
ReplyDeleteShe would comment on any outfit that had original flair with good proportions.With my son Peter she repeatedly fought to the death over an orange silk sari.Holly could eat spaghetti like no other.She liked things right.On return from a European trip she reminded me to serve a green salad with her spaghetti. she may have been 8yrs old.