30 years ago I taught myself to sew. I started designing baby clothes as my side hustle while home with an infant who slept 70% of the day. Boredom begets new hobbies and skills.

Fast forward 20 years add a few major life changing events, and I found tailoring clothes helped me to discover who I was and who I was becoming. Sewing for myself was a major part of my growth and development.

I downsized from Toronto, moving back to my origins on the West Coast. With this restart, I signed up for some advanced skills in tailoring with Sheila at her studio in downtown Vancouver. I knew I needed a more disciplined approach to tailoring and garment design. Sheila was a spectacular guide and mentor for developing these skills.

I could now take a sketch through to properly drafting a pattern and execution of a garment. This became a story telling vehicle with my photography printed on fabric.

Here is one of the first drafted jackets I made with a custom fabric made from an image of a derelict alley in Tokyo combined with an Irish Donegal tweed.

As the years continued to pass, both Sheila and I started down some new paths. She sparked a slow fashion, immaculately designed and constructed line of inclusive clothing and accessories, September Archive. I ventured into textile design and multimedia art pieces with clothing designed to tell my travel stories.

We decided to bring these inspirations together in the first artist’s collaboration of September Archive. Aside from the fabric design, I was invited to be the Behind The Scenes photographer, which was an amazing experience. Being second camera was the most fun I’ve had at a professional fashion shoot ever.

Working on this project with Sheila was one of my favourite all time. Her focus on detail and my wild abandon meet in the middle in a successful and satisfying way. This has been a fantastic 10/10 experience from beginning to now.

Check out the Collection’s Release from September Archive. I have 4 pieces from this collection and love each and every one of them.

For our story, have a look at the story behind our Creative Process.

Karin