1. BIO-EMPATHY: It began with all my senses and a transition from too much technology.
Crunchy mustard leaves, carmine reds, blazing oranges falling from trees in Burnaby, BC. My design process begins with empathy and feeling the colours of nature. I think I have synesthesia and I feel colours as an artist. When I feel, see, hear, even taste nature I'm more present. Nature grounds me. The change in season cues me to wear brighter warmer colours, so that my mood is more vibrant as the rainy season approaches in Vancouver, Canada. I've designed my clothes to be able to withstand the cold in Mount Kilimanjaro and a tumble out of a moving matatu, the local bus transportation, in Mathare Kenya.
This year I've undertaken an effort to produce less waste and impart the idea of "Clothes Encounters of a Second Time" to youth. We began creating value out of upcycling fashion waste, sourced from a thrift store that supports foster kids. We asked how might we create a circular economy? How might we create something beautiful that is influenced by nature?
In the middle is the Canadian maple leaf, represented on our flag, and a symbol of Canada. When it falls, it decomposes and becomes soil.
2. DEFINE: Who am I? A design nerd. An artist with a caring soul. A global citizen with a fascination for African kitenge and graffiti girls. A lover of bowties, intelligent conversation and horses. Someone who plays as hard as she works!
I love finding beautiful vintage pieces and really appreciate stylish, chill, comfort. My prototypes upcycle fashion waste to create something unique, personal and new. Lately, I've been diving into designing for and with people with disabilities. I live with nerve pain that comes and goes and sometimes even wearing a necklace gives me headaches. Comfort, fit and timeless items with a touch of eccentric whimsical flare embody me in a nutshell. Somedays, I'm a grounded nurse and mentor to youth. Other days, I'm a space cadet - always losing my phone, my belongings and dreaming of painting murals in a foreign space - while tripping on the ground that literally should ground me!
In 2016-2017, I lived in Kenya and Tanzania and truly grew to appreciate the design innovation. Once you find a mama or ndugu you trust, it's so easy to design something and have a tailor create it for you. Often, I worked and taught art in areas such as Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. I need pieces that stretch, have pockets (some hidden to keep valuables in), look professional but relaxed. I need pieces that represent a chill SHEO (I'm the founder of a tiny social enterprise called Healthy Art Project). We build healthier communities through art & activism.
#fashionwithoutlimits #artpreneur
3. IDEATE! We began to come up with some crazy ideas by running workshops with youth from Strathcona Community Centre & Cerebral Palsy Association of BC (CPABC). We took the fashion waste and created brands and prototypes. A purse that doubles as a hat if your head gets cold! A blazer that has a skirt to transition from business meeting to runaway, for the gender fluid client. What about a poncho that doesn't look like hi-vis bag? The youth from CPABC shared that they love style, colour comfort, fun and need clothes that can be adapted to allow them to sit comfortably in a wheelchair. This blue is the colour of the CPABC logo.
My favourite colour is ultramarine. I think it will be the colour of my future logo for the brand. Fashion has no limits. Design can limit. If we think outside the box, we must include all bodies and abilities in the fashion market. The youth have spoken!
This bowtie is a prototype designed for the visually impaired. It has reclaimed leather waste and tactile cues, so the wearer can feel the front and back. Also, it's fun!
Meet Yasmin from Aunt Leah's Urban Thrift: our source for fashion waste, creating a community kickback for foster kids and promoting a circular economy.
"All the money you give to me, we'll give to them [the foster youth]." - Yasmin
Sorry for the ambulance! Check out their Christmas tree lot this season. In true circular economy style, they also will reclaim and recycle your Christmas tree.
- Videography by Pearly Tang.
PROTOTYPE: More ideas turning into prototypes with Team Posh and Team Roselicious at Strathcona Community Centre. Team Posh created the adaptable bag that doubles as a hat if you're cold or finished all your lunch in Canada! Roselicious cut out roses from gym shirts to custom bedazzle jeans. They played with the concept of branding female empowerment as "beautiful but thorny and tough like a rose."
TEST! Test your prototype with different species with different needs, wants and skin tones. Could the product be used or worn different ways? How is the fit? What value are you creating for them? What's their UX? What is important to them? What price point or market do you want to target? Does your customer care where your raw materials are sourced from? This cat found his mustard 100% virgin wool blanket to be purrfect :)
The next step is to IMPLEMENT, but we haven't gotten that far! All products are for sale and can be customized. For more info, email or Instagram DM Karen at ihartvan@gmail.com or @kare4hart. Thanks for reading!
From left to right: Snow the service dog, artist Annsabelle Ramas & her cat, me trying the scarf with a J. Crew dress with mustard flowers to see if the piece can transition well into those chilly summer weddings (shot in the Canadian winter outdoors in the film industry! eep).
