Indie Designer Interviews: Oh So Retro

| Posted Mar 6th 2008 1:51PM by Mallory Whitfield
Filed under: Bags and Purses, Accessories, Designers, Interviews, Under the Radar

I'm a big fan of all of the amazing independent designers out there. In an effort to get inside the mind of the indie designer and find out just what makes all of these creative types tick, I present to you an ongoing segment I call Indie Designer Interviews. Today's interview is with the designer behind Oh So Retro, a line of fun handmade handbags, wallets and accessories.

Tell me a little about your work. I'm Adrienne, a seamstress turned designer hailing from Winnipeg, Canada. As my chosen business name implies, I am a fan of all things vintage and retro from furniture to dishes to textiles and books. I collect a little bit of everything and am always on the look out for vintage stock to incorporate into my designs. I do all of my sewing on a vintage Singer sewing machine from the 1950s which can prove challenging at times but things were made to keep back then. I try to incorporate that mentality in my own designs, to create something that is visually pleasing yet still functional enough to use everyday.

How did you get started running your own business? I started Oh So Retro back in 2004 as a vintage clothing boutique. I had been sewing my own clothing for years before that and took that knowledge into my reselling business by altering vintage clothing and doing custom sewing jobs. I began making matching bags out of the salvaged fabric from floor length gowns and much-too-small tweed skirts and soon enough the bags started outselling the clothing! I knew I was on to something good, and worked on creating my own line of bags and accessories. I was selling well from my own website and did some local consignment but things really took off for me once I started selling on Etsy.com. I'm really happy to have found my home on there.

Who are your favorite designers? The Vintage Zoo does some amazing things with her own brand of vintage + handmade clothing. Nice Face makes the cutest tunics I have ever seen. SRB Designs by Miss Bohl designs the most gorgeous clothing. I want everything.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? It`s hard to be fashionable in the winter, but I try! Right now I`m loving skinny jeans and tunics paired up with bolero sweaters for a little extra warmth. I love flat shoes and I have an amazing pair of mary jane flats from Stops And Starts. I've been using a lot of extra large shoulder bags and still wear my over sized Jackie O sun glasses. I`m very simple when it comes to make up, just a touch of mascara and lip gloss. I use a great lip gloss from The Plaid Mushroom. Thanks to her I've not had chapped lips once this winter!Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? Be true to yourself and your style and do what you love. Jumping from trend to trend isn`t satisfying. If you keep pushing yourself to evolve and experiment you will make the trends instead of being a slave to them!

What inspires your work? Fabric is my main inspiration. I'm very hands on so usually I will see a fabric and then design a bag from that instead of designing a bag and then picking out the fabric. I always love to see what Robert Kaufman and Alexander Henry will be coming out with for the next fabric season. I go through phases where I want to stick giant buttons on things or line everything in polka dots. I'm always keeping tab of color trends, lately everything is brown and orange for me but I think this summer is going to be very white and yellow. And huge. This summer is going to be the summer of the gigantic shoulder bag!

Where can people find your work? I have a website with a gallery at ohsoretrodesign.com and I sell on Etsy at ohsoretro.etsy.com

Tags: bags, colorful, designers, Etsy, handbags, handmade, independent designers, IndependentDesigners, Indie Designer Interviews, indie designers, IndieDesignerInterviews, IndieDesigners, interview, interviews, Oh So Retro, OhSoRetro, purses, retro, wallets