WHAT MAKES US TICK.
The ethos of my work, my motivation, my satisfaction, what makes my heart sing, is the joy of finding a small amount of “something” & turning into a beautiful & useful item.
That “small amount of something” may be old, it may be small & precious, it may be something quite new, but deemed surplus to current needs despite being very lovely. These small somethings can be found in vintage stores, antique markets, op-shops, auctions, online, & sometimes in quite random & even bizarre circumstances. These “small somethings” may be gifted to me by someone who has “some things” they wonder if I can make something beautiful with them.
Scouting vintage treasure is my nirvana.
A regular client of mine once said to me “so, you must really love sewing”. My response to her was “I really love it when I’ve finished a beautiful stock that a rider is going to feel incredible wearing”.
I recently shipped a beautiful custom stock to a repeat client. Some time ago I happened upon a piece of black tulle about the size of an A4 piece of paper covered in black chiffon pansies. I’m very confident I could name the luxury fashion house that was the origin of this little piece of fabric, & I’m very lucky to have chanced upon these gorgeous pansies.
The custom stock that prompted this blog started with a very simple question. I have a client named Sarah that I’ve done several stocks for & she asked me “I really love your Cristal stock. Does it come in black”?
The trim that makes Cristal, well, Cristal, doesn’t come in black, however this little piece of pansy covered tulle lends itself beautifully to a twist on the Cristal style.
Quite often I’ll have a conversation with a rider at an event, get a phone call or text, or have voice messages sent to me by whatsapp, & we chat about the colour, amount of sparkle, the texture of the lace & the detail on the short coat or tails the stock is to complement to kick off the design consultation process.
Sarah has a very clear understanding of her style which makes designing a custom stock both inspiring & easy, & I’ve done enough stocks for Sarah to know what’s she’s probably going to like. I mocked up a stock for Sarah to consider, sent her some photos, & she approved the style & ordered her latest stock.
The pansies ripple & cascade. I added black hexagonal crystals to the centre of the flowers to lift the colour of the pansies & unify them with shine of the black satin stock. The stock was on & off the mannequin repeatedly during the making process to test the placement of the pansies, ensuring the flowers followed the line of the revere of the jacket lapel. The stock is truly stunning & has joined Cristal in my Top 10 favourite styles which is no mean feat when I think about the hundreds & hundreds of stocks I’ve designed since I launched this business.
Ros Fraser.