Tools of the Trade: Melanie Stapleton & Cecilia Fox

By Brianna Read When I meet Melanie Stapleton she was hard at work putting the finishing touches on the brand new premises of Cecilia Fox. I know a little about florists, they work harder than most people imagine! The common perception of florist as a romantic career path filled with fragrance and beauty simply doesn’t cover it – there are early hours, really long days, hard physical labour and perishable produce. The reason I point this out is that Melanie sits opposite me in a café neighbouring her new shop, days from opening, nine months pregnant patiently waiting for my questions and not once do I sense an air of stress. This is one creative woman who has mastered the art of juggling – she looked serene!

I admit I was quite familiar with Melanie’s work before we met – I have long admired her work, documented beautifully on her blog. I was very curious to hear about how she arrived at her particular design sensibilities, I always like to ask if the tools used by a creative have any particular history. When I point out that there have been no great advancements made in the tools used in floristry Melanie chuckles and replies ‘No, just a pair of scissors really!’.

Melanie has been running Cecilia Fox from a Brunswick workshop for over five years. Prior to going out on her own she spent years in Auckland, Sydney, London and finally Melbourne learning from others in the industry. She cites London as a turning point for her, here she discovered what floristry could be like. ‘I learnt that it was ok to specialise,’ She says ‘not in an exclusive sense, just that it was good practice to do what you do well rather than do many half-heartedly.’

This particular quality is reflected so well in the lovely photographs of her designs. There is a distinct Cecilia Fox floral stamp and many other creative have recognised this. Since going out on her own Melanie has had a number of clients she lists as inspiring – all of which have recognised her keen design sensibility and asked her to bring a little into their worlds. Cecilia Fox was responsible for the floral designs in Husk for a number of years, she regularly works with the event coordinators Georgous and also works with Kuwaii for their eye catching window displays.

The new shopfront for Cecilia Fox can be found nestled between New Day Rising and Triple R headquarters on the thoroughfare from Brunswick to Northcote and is sure to attract many folk overjoyed with a lovely splash of colour and perfume in the neighbourhood.

Melanie described the ethos of her approach as one driven by bringing beauty, understanding the client’s needs even when they are unsure. Most importantly, what I took from this inspiring interview was that when you remain true to your creative sense you will attract projects and clients which inspire and add fuel to the fire you laboured to build.

Cecilia Fox - Out of the Woods can be found at 221b Blyth St Brunswick. Melanie and her wonderful staff are instore from Thursday through Sunday with the following hours: Thu 9-6, Fri 7-7, Sat 8-4, Sun 10-2

Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds  employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops. 

Tools of the Trade: Carli Hyland & The Grim Press

By Brianna Read Who better to discuss tools than a woman who grew up on a farm!  Carli Hyland of The Grim Press was kind enough to allow me to quiz her about the tools of the print trade. The Grim Press, so named because of its beginnings in a disused funeral parlour, was created by Carli and unites her many talents into one creative practice.

The aspect of Carli’s practice which first piqued my interest for this column was the fact that she uses both high and low tech tools to create. When pressed to narrow down her ‘can’t do without’ tool she replies “computer and pencil”. I am sure most creative folk are now nodding in agreement; most of us cannot do without either of these rather brilliant tools. One look at the beautifully crafted pencils made by Carli and the reverence is obvious, the humble pencil is given a whole new meaning when viewed through the lens of The Grim Press.

The toolkit of The Grim Press certainly does not end there. I enquire after a foil lined box housing an ultra violet globe on a long power cord and discover that Carli is quite at home in a hardware store. This contraption (another great word for a tool) was crafted entirely by Carli as a makeshift exposure unit for the print plates she hand makes. This is where the process really starts to sing… Carli sketches using a pencil, refines a design using the computer, prints the design, exposes the design to plate then prints the inked design onto paper using a small hand wound press. There is a wonderful blend of the old and new, the latest, greatest and the makeshift at The Grim Press!

I mentioned that Carli grew up on a farm and she credits this upbringing as the source of what she calls her ‘How can we make this work with what we’ve got?’ approach. The can-do nature of folks who have had to make do is a common thread in stories about the origin of a tool. I must point out that this aspect of Carli’s creative practice is not the first thing you would assume when viewing her work – the ideas of do-it-yourself and makeshift often bring to mind phrases like ‘not quite right’ and ‘rough around the edges’ – and while evidence of the handmade is present, all her designs, prints and publications are immaculate, high quality professional pieces. When I mention this nature of her work a discussion on the merits of mastery ensues…but that is fuel for another column I think!

With a background in visual arts, photography, book making, illustration and graphic design The Grim Press is a rare design practice offering clients a diverse range of design and print services. Carli’s clients can have custom made gift cards, logo design, hand bound books and publications and since the recent acquisition of a new printer using archival quality inks The Grim Press is also offering a high quality art printing service too. This is the made to measure of graphic design and printing!

Adding another string to her already full bow Carli is preparing to run workshops teaching willing students how to design and create their very own hand printed stationery and hand bound journals.

Carli's printmaking and bookbinding workshops begin in October at The Gasworks in Albert Park, Melbourne.

Carli Hyland and The Grim Press can be contacted by email at info@thegrimpress.com or through her website contact form here.

Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds Knits  employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops. 

Tools of the Trade: Pamela Cupit & The Maker's Journal

by Brianna Read Tools of the Trade visited with Pamela Cupit of The Maker's Journal this month to discover the creative tools in a contemporary pattern studio.  Recent years have seen an increase in the number of boutique cut and sew pattern houses many of which have growing numbers of devotees.

I was fortunate enough to have a mother who passed on her sewing knowledge to me in my youth and I have never been without a sewing machine in my own ever growing tool kit. In my opinion the growth of boutique pattern labels has been in answer to a dramatic gap in the commercial pattern market. Until recently, almost all patterns readily available to the average seamstress were decidedly lacking in, well, style.

It only takes a quick look at The Maker's Journal to get a sense of The Maker's style. There is a wonderful synthesis of youth and classic taste in each of the patterns released so far. The design of the patterns themselves continues this blend of classic and contemporary, the instructions use plain language and the diagrams are so clear. Using one of The Maker’s Journal patterns is a little like having a good teacher just over your shoulder. Everything is outlined, from the techniques you will need to the types of fabric best suited for the style.

If you get a little lost though, there are beautiful technique tutorials on the website which are fantastic for a little skills brush up. The clever how-to tutorials show how simple dressmaking can be, but what I am interested in is all of the blood, sweat and chalk powder that happens in order to create these easy to use patterns.

When I ask Pamela what it was that prompted her to begin The Maker’s Journal she recalls contemplating the designs in a Japanese pattern book and thinking it might be something she would like to try. Now, there is more to this of course. Pamela studied fashion, worked for several fashion designers and then shifted her career path into the realm of buying. Her experience in fashion design combined with a wonderful understanding of online retail experiences made the venture of The Maker’s Journal quite a perfect fit.

This particular interview left me feeling as though I had peeked inside the tool kit of a creative business woman… Pamela made mention of many character attributes which make The Maker’s Journal possible: Fearlessness and her ability to take educated risks; discipline, organisation and her wonderful methodical approach to the tasks at hand and on the list; patience and her ability to wait to see the fruits of her labour.

Then Pamela revealed she often dreams the solution to design problems , intrigued, I asked her to elaborate and she recalled that the final range in her graduate year of study was dreamt in entirety before it was produced. This detail of her creative practice might be one of the most valuable tools any creative can have; it is this sort of connection with the creative subconscious which makes it possible to continue to find inspiration while also spinning all the other plates it takes to keep a small business moving along.

The Maker’s Journal has several new patterns eager to see the light of her website here.

Following the success of the first workshop, Pamela Cupit herself will be running second Freddie Vest Workshop at Tessuti Fabrics in Melbourne on September 1^st, for bookings go here.

Current patterns are available from several stockists and through The Maker's Journal on Etsy.

Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds  employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops. 

Tools of the Trade - Mischa Merz

By Brianna Read This month Tools of the Trade has taken yet another welcome digression from the material toolkit. I had the pleasure of speaking with a woman named Mischa Merz and if you have heard this name before it could be for many reasons. Mischa is an accomplished painter, a journalist since the 1980’s, a writer and a boxer. You read correctly and now probably understand why I was quite excited to interview Mischa about the tools of her trade.

I cannot help but try to anticipate the tool each creative may list as their ‘must have’ – but I kept drawing a blank when I tried to pick this one.

Mischa’s writing practice started in newspapers, first local, then she moved on to The Herald (since merged with The Sun) and The Age as a freelancer and sometime sub-editor. You can still chance upon her journalism work in The Age from time to time but she has since allowed her writing for press to take a back seat in favour of her boxing training.

Mischa first came upon boxing when she undertook post-graduate studies in creative writing at the University of Melbourne. This change of pace coincided with a desire to get fit; enter the on campus box-a-cise classes.

Given that Mischa is this month launching her second book on the subject of boxing, it becomes apparent that this period in her life was the beginning of a seemingly unlikely union: writing and boxing. By this stage she was quite taken in by boxing and when she garnered the attention of publishing house Picador with an idea to write about her journey into amateur boxing it appears the marriage was cemented.  Mischa mentions that at the time of her writing the first book (Bruising, 2000) it was quite against the grain to write about yourself, unlike current literary trends ‘Memoirs were not the done thing in this industry.”

So, you ask, what is the incredible tool Mischa cannot live without? Is the pen mightier than the fist? In fact, I think this may just be my favourite tool yet, it is that quality that children have in abundance and somewhere along the way most adults lose a little or all of it. It is none other than the willingness to take a risk and make mistakes!

Mischa says that it was “naïve audacity” that got her into boxing, she admits she was not a particularly athletic person before boxing and had no idea how difficult the sport was. Initially she was “captivated by the concentration levels required, then became hooked on the complex theoretical base.” Contrary to popular belief boxing is not a sport for brutes, the exhilarating mix of dance and highly technical athleticism makes this the sport for anyone who loves moving and thinking.

The second book titled The Sweetest Thing is being launched next week at The Bella Union. This promises to be a book launch to buck all trends! The book itself is an entertaining account of Mischa’s journey to the US to compete in a series of amateur boxing tournaments. In my opinion this stands as a wonderful testimonial to where a willingness to take a risk can lead you.

Mischa Merz runs boxing training classes at Crosse Training in Kensington and her website provides information on her many and varied talents.

Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds  employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops. 

Tools of the Trade: Ilka White

By Brianna Read “Art is the objectification of feeling, and the subjectification of nature.”

Susanne Langer (1895-1985)

This quote is from the text Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling by another inspiring creative woman –  I cannot think of a more appropriate way to introduce Ilka White. Ilka’s creative practice simply does not fit neatly into any box and while Ilka herself is unsure about labels, for the purpose of describing to the readers a little more about her work I shall informally call her a textile maker and educator.

One of the first questions I ask the subjects of this column is “Which tool makes your practice possible?” Ilka’s immediate response to this query was “My mind.” This  initially puzzled my very literal and practical self but through the course of the interview I came to understand a little better why Ilka’s work and teaching practice both leave an indelible mark on those who encounter them.

Whether works are initially explorations of materials or ideas White’s pieces always exude a depth of concept in partnership with a mastery of craft in each medium she employs. Often drawing both inspiration and materials from the natural world the work always speaks of where its materiality originated from and of the hands that shaped it’s new form.

When I inquired after how her practice has evolved over time, Ilka observed that recently her meticulous analytical nature has given way to a gentler approach to making and self-critique. This shift in her practice has also seen a change in the focus of her work which she described as valuing process as much as product  and an interest in “making work in response to the essence of something, rather than depicting it's physical form.”

Feeling that 'mind' did not adequately describe the essential tool of her practice, Ilka searched a little longer for the right words to summarise this elusive ingredient, and proposed 'perception and soul' as a more adequate answer. From the outside though it seems very clear that her work is extraordinary in its ability to communicate both the mind, hand and heart of its maker, of course there is no single word to sum this up as it is many things… passion, intelligence, talent, dedication, an open and inquiring mind and on the list goes.

Ilka’s work recently showed at the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick as part of an exhibition titled Material Culture, several of these pieces are currently on display at Pop Craft until the end of June. July and August see Ilka sharing her wealth of textile knowledge in numerous workshops across Victoria.

To contact Ilka about her work or classes email ilkajanewhite@gmail.com or follow the links below for further information on each event.

Decorative Techniques for Fashion (Intensive 5 day workshop at RMIT)

Responding to the Natural World in Textile Practice (Lecture as part of the Beautiful Silks Natural Dye Symposium)

Weaving Connections - A week of textile activities, classes and demonstrations in Castlemaine. August 20 - 25

Works by Ilka are showing in Petite Miniature Textile Exhibition at Wangaratta Art Gallery from June16  - July 22.

Brianna Read is a designer-maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds employs hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops. 

Tools of the Trade: Pauline Tran & Pop Craft

By Brianna Read For this fourth instalment I had the pleasure of interviewing Pauline Tran – the brains and heart behind Pop Craft. The second instalment of Pop Craft was recently launched in its temporary home at the craft hub that is Harvest Textiles - but more on that later.

I had an inkling that Pauline would make a fascinating interview subject for Tools of the Trade as she is a woman with many strings to her bow – I only hesitate to use the phrase ‘jack of all trades’ here as it implies a lack of mastery which simply does not apply!

When asked to pin down what exactly her trade is, Pauline is thoughtful for a second, then she quips ‘Do you mean what do I write on my immigration card?’. You see Pauline has a background in textiles (weaving, knitting, you name it), travel tour operation (textile tours in Vietnam, culinary and museum tours through France’s Basque country and tapestry tours in England and France) language teaching (French and ESL) and most recently as pop up shop organiser and patron saint of Melbourne makers.

So what does she write in the occupation field of her passenger card? Weaver! ‘Out of vanity!’ Pauline goes on to explain, but those who have seen her textile designs know that this is simply modesty.

And what tool is most prized by this very versatile woman? Her communication skills of course. She says she could not do what she loves without her ability to communicate her ideas to the many people she includes in her various projects. Pauline describes the experience of setting up and promoting the first Pop Craft to share her passion for beautifully crafted yarns and textiles with others as jumping in the deep end. She navigated this new territory deftly with the invaluable guidance of Emma Byrnes from the Harvest Textiles team and Pop Craft is back again.

This incarnation of Pop Craft features works by Ilka White, Stella Jones, Lotta Apted, Kayo Taguchi and Anna Varendorff to name a few. There are also workshops, knitting kits and delicious yarns galore.

Pauline also says she could not do what she does without her MacBook Air – she describes her laptop as an interface, a means to an end. The end being the sharing of her ideas - and the ideas of others that have inspired her - with an ever increasing audience. Spend an hour in Pauline’s company and you quickly realise she is just as at ease screen printing, knitting and enthusiastically talking with visitors to her wonderfully bright and inspiring pop up shop as she is quietly organising, co-ordinating and collaborating away on her laptop.

I love to ask creative people about the history of their preferred tool – the communication skills that Pauline spoke of are clearly a natural aptitude that she has recognised, put to use and developed, its history is constantly being written. Those folk who defy categorisation I like to call innovators, the wonderful skill Pauline regularly uses is her ability to find the right tool to bring her ideas into reality and I get the impression that if a tool she needed didn’t exist she would still find a way.

Pop Craft is at 512 Lygon St Brunswick East and opens from 11am-5.30pm.

Brianna Read is a designer-maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds employs hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops.

Tools of the Trade: The Adventures of Flo

By Brianna Read Meet Florence, or Flo as she is affectionately known, the hard working heart of Frankie & Swiss a Melbourne based boutique textile company.

Frankie & Swiss, the brain child of sisters Michelle Francis and Jacqui Swies, came to possess Florence after two years of research and self-education on the topic of digital fabric printing. This research journey began after Michelle found herself creating an apron of her own design but no matter where she looked, she was simply unable to find the right fabric. This in turn led to experimenting with using a home inkjet printer to make her own design prints, which of course led to the inevitable ‘but I needed something bigger’ conundrum! Enter Florence…as printers go they don’t get much bigger than Flo.

Florence is essentially an enormous inkjet printer. Her particular specialty is printing using water-based pigment inks onto natural fibres. Florence is situated in a wonderful studio space in South Yarra and both Michelle and Jacqui bring their young children to work with them, so having healthy and safe working materials was of paramount concern for the sisters. The choice of equipment and materials for Frankie & Swiss is navigated by exceptional standards of practicality, ethics and style.

Though her sheer size implies she may be able to do it all, Florence certainly doesn’t work alone. The support systems behind Florence are also what make these beautiful designs possible. Artwork comes to Florence in digital format, the team make any tweaks or changes necessary in Photoshop and the artwork is imported into Florence’s own software where the final formatting and repeat systems are set up. From here the focus shifts to monitoring the fabrics Florence creates. Working with natural fibres means regular evaluation or ‘fabric profiling’ is needed throughout the printing process to ensure the highest quality print is achieved.

After Florence finishes printing the fabric lengths, they are then fed back through the machine to be heat set. From here the fabric is ready for use. The absence of pre and post-treatments of the fabric was another choice made to avoid unnecessary waste and chemical intervention. These fabrics are a wonderful union of old fashioned values and cutting edge technology. Frankie & Swiss (and Florence) have worked with some extraordinary talent: Penny Durston of Cottage Industries, Shelly Panton and NancyBird to name a few, helping them produce fine fabrics to specification. This collaborative approach to business shines again in the soon to be launched Leaf Series, working with artists Kelly Smith, Dawn Tan, Kat Chadwick and Rowena Martinich amongst others to create some seriously lust-worthy prints.

When I ask Michelle why they chose to name their machine Florence she explains the name is a nod to another creative woman: Florence Broadhurst, while also being a quirky pun on what Florence actually does: a reference to the 'flow' of ink from machine to fabric. She continues on to explain that after leaving a corporate career in favour of the creative adventure that is Frankie & Swiss she wanted to keep the fun in business – Florence may look serious, but with these sisters at the helm the fabric she produces are certainly all about fun.

Brianna Read is a designer-maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds Knits employs hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops.