“I try to use the wonderful skills of the crafters… They will bring you things they‘ve made at home which may not be commercially viable. But a particular weave or material can spark off something and give you an idea how to develop it. When you deal with an industrial printer or embroider nothing is organic. They have a machine and you give them the artwork and they do the job whereas with the crafters the human element brings in a beautiful haphazard naivety that can’t be replicated by a machine. The dynamic of the working relationship kicks in when one has to come up with a product that portrays ones vision for the item where the aesthetics of the designer and crafter meet. Being in a fashion-forward industry gives you an advantage in knowing the trend or whether a thing has been done or will appeal to your market.” – designer Amanda Laird Cherry
“I trained as a fine artist at Funda Community College in Diepkloof, Soweto. I focused on women’s pain as a theme. After that I asked myself: What can I do to cheer women up and give them hope? Well, what do women like? They like shopping, jewellery, shoes, bags and handbags. So I started making bags. People like to give me their ideas, which I sketch down, or they give me a picture from a magazine and I do just that for them, but in my own specific way and fingerprint. At the workshop, Amanda told me what she likes and tried to let me inside her mind so that I could come up with my own creativity. She is a designer and I am an artist, and when we put our heads together we come up with something wonderful.” – crafter Nelsie Ndimande
Extract taken from nineTAKES – The Fashion Fusion Project, published by Channel F Publishing, R200. Available: info@soda.co.za or on 011 442 7812
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