Food, clothing, and shelter; the
three basic human requirements… the fundamentals of our existence. Sure, we’ve
been taught that we require far more than these integral demands, however
let’s agree that these are the basics. Clothing has a tendency to feel
least significant and yet it contains boundless meaning. Fashion decisions announce us to a room
before we utter a single word. Our dress
can be made to feel frivolous or superficial, when in actuality there are a
varying degree of hands that have a role in the fashions we select.
I have a rich history with
fashion. Though it was long before my
time, I can practically hear my grandfather’s hefty metal scissors click and
snip; precisely shearing multiple layers of thick fabric in the fashion
district of Manhattan. It was the late 1930’s;
he was a Master Dress Cutter in the heart of the Garment Center and my
grandmother a seamstress; their contribution to the trade spanning over several
decades. I envision the gentle press of
my grandmother’s foot driving the pedal of her sewing machine, its constant hum
forming seams on garments.
My genetic code is backstitched with
an intense joy for dressing that reflects the times and the identities of those
adorned in it’s history. We drape our
backs with the moods of the moments. And
now, I belong to a contemporary generation of makers. The gentle click of my wooden knitting
needles as the luxuriously thick wool or supple-soft Pima cotton glides from
hand to hand…and I can’t imagine a life without creating, without crafting. This
industry is simply sutured into my DNA and I maintain the strong intention to
share and entrust this offering to the makers and artists of the future.
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