from the ETSY featured seller interview
Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Louise Hedley, I live downtown Manhattan with my husband and son, a cairn terrier and a goldfish named Mac...
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I am a mother and I love to cook, I love my home, my neighborhood, and the farmers market. We spend most weekends in nature, hiking, birding, discovering. It's precious family time.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I studied dance at university and enjoyed it professionally, I arrived in NYC in 1996, I fell in love with the city and was soon searching for another way to survive, my husband (whom I married later) knew of my love for vintage clothing. He suggested I try making my own, 11 years on and it has been an extremely satisfying learning process, I'm very happy with my work as it is today.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I have been collecting vintage fabric since the early 1990s, it began with old silk curtains that I turned into skirts, soon enough tablecloths, bed linens, whatever I could find. Being self taught, I don't have a set way, sometimes I approach a design beginning with the fabric, sometimes I have a design in mind. I tend to develop whatever patterns I am working with, simple tweaks here and there and a new design emerges... I also quilt, when I want to slow down, it's extraordinary when you start out with nothing and then with a little time and perseverance it turns out to be something immensely gratifying.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My family album and our nature table, a collection of found treasure from our nature trips
my nanna and her sisters from the 40s
the love of floral began early ...
