Holly Lake loves old lace, layers, raw edges, and tea.
chiffon tunic top in beige
She says was 26 when she started sewing constantly, from the time she got home from work until the times she went to bed. And when she wasn’t sewing, she was rummaging through op-shops, finding old wedding dresses, lace, vintage dresses – any beautiful textures she get her hands on.
She first starting selling after being inspired by her Mum, who told her about the fabulous times she had been having at the markets, and how well she had been doing on Etsy. But after a disappointing response at the market, Holly threw her efforts into Etsy, and it all snowballed from there.
ruffle dress in dove grey
sea urchin dress
Coming from a very creative family, Holly says her Mum is a skilled artist and crafter, and worked for a while as a professional knitter, as well as playing the piano. Her grandmother also had a career as a professional seamstress. Of her childhood, Holly says “I can’t really ever remember not drawing or creating in some way. My mum was an artist, and was always drawing with me and encouraging me. She took me to art lessons all the time, which included pottery as well as drawing”. Holly has been sewing since she was 14, but only got her first sewing machine when she was 22 – a beautiful old Singer from 1958, black with gorgeous ornate gold detailing. (Oh! jealous! – JG)
She counts as one of her formative influences time spent under a Special Art Scholarship in high school. This allowed her to spend time with resident artists at the school (painting, sculpture, textiles, photography), several of whom were making quite a successful living from their own art. Another thing that profoundly affected her was seeing the movie The Dark Crystal when she was 8. She says of it “I got completely lost in the fantasy world depicted in that movie. … I truly loved the costume design created by Jim Henson – both the palette of colours, as well as the beautiful ‘other worldly’ tattered and ethereal style of costumes the gelflings and other creatures wore. … To this day, I feel like I continue to draw on many of the motifs captured in that film.”
shoreline and rocks dress
silk georgette tunic in peach
For a a few years though, her life went through a very dark period. She says it was the worst time – she was severely depressed, and couldn’t find it within herself to make anything at all. It was only when she discovered teaching art to primary school children that it all changed. She loved doing art with the kids and playing dress ups. Sometimes she found pieces of clothing in the kids dress up basket that she was allowed to take home, which made it especially fun for her!
“It turned out to be a real turning point in my life. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed teaching little children, and all their cuddles and love were so uplifting. I took on any art teaching jobs going at my school and decided I wanted to be a primary art teacher. I taught up until I had my own babies a few years later.”
silk ruffle dress in dusky lavender
Now, Holly says, “Etsy has really been the icing on the cake – in the sense that it has given me the freedom to work from home and be with my children.. as well as giving me the capacity to reach such a broad audience. I get so inspired from seeing what other designers and artists are doing around the world, and absolutely love the Etsy community.”
She is inspired by many fellow Etsy sellers, including Beatrice McClelland, Bonheur, and Kate Towers. She also loves the work of fashion icon John Galliano, especially his collections from around 2005/6. “I admire these designers who seem to be able to mix the ethereal with the bold, and whose work I believe is really unconventional, sometimes impractical and completely wild. They are not afraid to push the boundaries of convention and create pieces that are not necessarily ‘in fashion'”.
sweet pink ruffles dress
And finally she says the best piece of advice ever given to her was by her high school Art teacher when she was 13, who told her not to be so precious with her work. “I tended to sketch really lightly and fall in love with my art before it was completed, and then I was too scared to add anything more to it in case I ruined it. He told me I had to push every piece right to the end, even if it does means I “ruin” it, because I would never otherwise know what more a piece of art it could be until I took the risk!”
You can find more of Holly’s work in her Etsy shop here.
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I would like to thank Holly for being so generous with her time and her images.