Hey Cat! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m 24, about to complete my double degree in Visual art and Education, I’m currently living in Carlton north with 4 of my closest girlfriends, and sewing in any spare time that I have. 

What inspired you to start Chaotic Threads? Have you found inspiration from any other designers? 

I’ve always loved sewing and upcycling, I often shared what I would create on Instagram and I’d get such nice feedback from friends wanting to commission something but often I was very hesitant. When lockdown occurred I had plenty of material and free time to work with and it really just snowballed from there. The 2000’s aesthetic trend and its nostalgic aspect  informed the denim hats and bags that I began making everyday in lockdown, it kept me sane sewing everyday so I thought why not share the fun things I’m making? 

I’m constantly finding inspo from other designers. I find that I’m influenced by everything around me and love watching other creatives in and out of our spheres do their own thing, everyone is so talented and with so many online platforms I’m constantly gathering and saving images and videos for inspiration.

How have you found starting a brand? What have been the biggest challenges?

Starting a brand is a lot of work and I could not have done it by myself, I’ve had some brilliant and talented women helping me along the way with the business and social media side of things. The biggest challenge for me has been this, I simply enjoy the making and sewing process so having to learn these logistics while also, organising photoshoots, taking the photos, editing, while also learning how to use and build a website, uploading the photos, ect ect it's a lot of work and learning! 

How would you describe your signature style in three words?

Fun, Unique, Colourful !

What is the significance of upcycling to you? How do you find keeping your brand sustainable?

Upcycling is really what drives my brand. I love the challenge of trying to reduce my waste and reduce my impact while also creating something fun and different. It is a challenge at times and I recognise that no one is perfect, however I think that having this in the forefront of your mind given the world that we live in is profoundly important.

The ways in which I try to reduce my impact includes, using Reusable and compostable postage packages from Hero packaging, I source all of my fabric second hand or deadstock with 98% of this coming from the op shop! I try to keep all my scraps either to make embroidered tags for my products or to use for other projects!