Monday, July 28, 2008

Kayleen of Flour


Kayleen, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Brand: Flour
Website: flourclothing.com
Blog: lettertokayleen.blogspot.com

1. How would you describe your style?

Simple. No fluff.

2. How long have you been designing/making children's clothing? What did you do before this or have you always been designing/making clothing?

I've been making children's clothing for just over 2 years and started creating my own designs only a year and a half ago. Before that I wasn't really doing much of anything craft or design related.


3. Who is your idol/current artist-crush?


Loretta Lux

4. Do you do this full-time? If not, what pays the bills and how do you find the time to do both?

I'm currently a full time mom, part time med spa consultant, part time student, and a part-part time designer and seamstress. I sew in spurts. I spend a week sewing as much as I can with any free time I have and then it may be 3 weeks before I touch my sewing machine again.


5. The way you present your brand and products is one of the best I've seen. Your website and photographs look very professional, do you shoot your products/models yourself or do you have assistance? How important do you think presentation is in your business and how much have your efforts paid off? P.S. Your little models are the cutest - are they professional models?

“You want the mood of the clothing to manifest itself through the photograph.”

I do all of my photo shoots myself. My little models are my little nieces, who make it way too easy to get a great shot. I think the way you present your line is 90% of the work. You want the mood of the clothing to manifest itself through the photograph. If you're able to accomplish that, then I think the right customers for your specific style will find you. Maybe not the most customers, but the right ones. And that makes all the difference.

7. Can you share with us a couple of blogs that you've recently discovered and love?

sugarcityjournal.blogspot.com and seesawdesigns.blogspot.com

8. You, like most people enjoy the process of making & crafting and didn't get into it for the sake of "business". Eventually you found yourself having to make the transition from crafter to a businessman. What have you learned so far and what advice can you give others in the same situation?

“And try to be thick-skinned, because not everyone needs to love what you create to make it be worth something to someone else.”

Start small. Especially if you plan on taking custom orders. I know that I burn out quickly and easily, so I try to pace myself and only make a handful of designs at a time. Then I'm able to focus more on the presentation and quality of my work. And try to be thick-skinned, because not everyone needs to love what you create to make it be worth something to someone else.

9. What one question would you like me to ask my next artist interview?

What was it that made you want to start creating?

I think for a lot of people, like myself, it hasn't always been an innate desire from birth. It's sometimes triggered by something that happens later in life. I'm interested in knowing what other people's triggers were.

For me, it was the birth of my first son. Being a mom for the first time completely scared me into being more domestic. And for some reason I equated being more domestic with learning how to sew. So I borrowed my mother's 1965 Pfaff and started teaching myself the trade. I had no idea that I'd end up loving it as much as I do now.


Thanks Kayleen!!

3 comments:

Melissa de la Fuente said...

I adore Kayleen's clothing and am in love with that sweet green dress, for ME ! :) Lovely interview, thanks!
xo
Melissa

flanthrower said...

Oh cool! Thanks for this feature. I discovered flour clothing a few weeks ago and completely in love with all her designs.

Anonymous said...

great interview! i adore all her work.