Let's get one thing straight - there can be no underestimating or playing down of the amazing feel of organic fabric on your skin. It sends those same tingles down your spine as when you take your shoes off at the beach and first feel the sand between your toes - it's raw and it's revitalising. I recently bought one of the Pure Pod long, black Elk Sissone dresses and, oh my word, it is the most wonderful and comfortable dress I have ever worn (big shout). Get down to Hustle&Scout this Saturday to get your chance to feel, try and buy pieces from Pure Pod's veggie-dyed summer collection. My bet is, they won't last long.
Pure Pod designer, Kelli, shares some very personal insights into her upbringing, her values and her experiences to shed light on the Pure Pod journey. Take some time to read this lovely Q&A with her...
When did you know you
wanted to be a fashion designer?
I was born with this
in my soul and also a love of the environment, passion for the arts and fashion
industry. I had no choice
really, it is in my blood! My grandmother was an amazing talented tailor and
her mother and grandmother (my great great grannie) were all in the fashion
industry in Scotland. My great grandmother was a child working in the textile
mills in Glasgow - not a very glamorous job and very dangerous for children!
There’s also talk in our family that we are
related to John Muir, a
Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation
of wilderness in the United States. His activism helped to preserve
the Yosemite
Valley, Sequoia
National Park and
other wilderness areas. So, it seems fitting
that I am an ethical eco fashion designer with pioneer passion streaming
through me!
I have always
designed clothes ever since I had a Holly Hobbie sewing machine as a 5-year-old. Barbies were my favourite and I was always making, drawing or designing
something as a kid. My passion for the environment and my Dad’s influence in
enjoying nature had a huge impact on me.
After working for 16
years in the fashion industry in Melbourne, I ran away with my partner Sean
Watson to Byron Bay to study yoga teaching and from there my true passion
began. We started Pure Pod in the hinterland of the sub-tropical area of Byron
Bay. It just all came together from there!
Where do you draw
your inspiration from for your designs?
I love texture and
colours in nature, other creative industries, art, people, fashion and textile
history.
I love the women who
wear our clothing and I get a lot of inspiration from them, whether they be 19
or 90 years old! I love to hear and talk to women about our clothing and know
that they feel amazing in our collections. We have had many women tell us when
they wear their Pure Pod clothing they get compliments all the time and even
get into conversation about our brand with others while wearing our clothing.
The environment is also something I get lots of inspiration from, as well as trying to conserve our natural
world for future generations.
Is green the new
black?
Pure Pod believes
GREEN is the new BLACK because ….we are very passionate about being eco fashion
pioneers in helping to change the polluting fashion industry. The fashion
industry is the 3rd highest polluting industry in the world, in
growing textiles, chemical and pesticide usage, dying and making textiles &
trims, plastics and left over manufacturing waste and unwanted and used
clothing. I wasn’t born a
scientist or politician to help save our planet so I am doing it through what I
love and know - making beautiful ethical eco clothing!
If you had the
opportunity to dress anyone, who would it be?
Cate Blanchette (an
eco warrior);
Katherine Hamnett – (the first policital designer – she made
a strong statement about bombs in the 80’s with her ‘Choose Life’ tshirts and
wanting to change our polluting and unethical industry);
David Suzuki (Amazing eco scientist and environmentalist);
Every woman in the
world who cares about where her clothing comes from, how it’s made and grown.
What is your absolute
favourite thing you own? Why?
I have some beads my
Dad bought me back from Africa when I was three with a postcard of a baby
leopard when he was filming a documentary there. I still remember opening the
present and being truly inspired by the colours of the beads. I had never seen
anything like them before. I still have them and my little girl, Ruby, who is
now three, loves them too. I wear them as a good luck charm as my Dad is sadly
not with us anymore.
I also have a
beautiful 1950’s ball gown my Nan made for my Mum. I wore it to functions
when I was younger. It is a full length fitted evening dress in black satin with gold flowers embroidered all over it plus a hand bag to match. I hope one
day to see my daughter in this dress.
What is your biggest
challenge as a designer?
Being creative while
trying to earn a living out of my trade and also trying to keep it as ethical
and eco as possible as a small designer. It is always easy to get caught up in
other peoples' thoughts on your product, but you need to listen to your heart and
creative mind to make beautiful products that people love. If you follow that path
your customers will love your designs. I have been caught in the trap before by
making something some one else wants but it is never right and doesn’t always
work.
Trying to stay eco
and ethical in our manufacturing is very hard in such a hard retail environment
and trying to keep our product made in OZ. There are so many cheap imports
coming into Australia we just can’t compete with the prices but we know our
product has a face behind each piece, a story and it will wear for a long time.
Much longer than cheap imports where people aren’t always paid their worth
overseas.
What are 5 things you
can’t live without?
My family – Sean and
Ruby, my sleep & pillow, home grown vegetables, friends and a healthy
environment! Ooops that’s more than 5!!!
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