Week 1

Working on this new venture with Natalie is very exciting. It’s interesting to hear her vision for the new brand and the brand morals and vision in a different country.

Originally sewn party dress and dress altered for reuse

Natalie is the owner of Sew Bouje, a sewing business that creates custom pieces based in Speighstown Barbados founded in 2011. She is a sole-proprietor that works out of her home and occasionally rented sewing space. Her individual clients praised her work and it gained recognition by small start ups trying to start a fashion brand, as well as larger, more recognized brands such as Marriot for crop over costumes, and uniforms. She is currently working with Sandals Resort laundering and doing alterations in addition to her own personal clients. She has worked with a high-end start up called Olive Blossom with very beachy and airy themed minimal pieces. For individual clients she had made anything from basic custom tops to simple yet elegant wedding dresses. Im going to be working directly with the owner to create a new e-commerce brand that would be a separate segment under Sew Bouje.

Top sewn for Olive Blossom
Black History Month Celebration Dress

Discussion 1

  1. I think finding your own voice is really letting people see the way that you do through what you create be it photographs, other art, writing, etc. I think that being able to communicate and allow someone to feel/look at things with intention effectively in your given medium is finding your voice. It’s as unique to the individual as a fingerprint.
  2. I think Carrie Mae Weems’ process of finding her voice was being true to herself and what she saw, knew, and how to respond. I would say that her process was introspective as both a woman and an African American. Using such an intimate space as her own apartment speaks volumes in my opinion of her process and how much she identified with the work she was doing.
  3. To be quite honest, I think that the only way to find your voice is to identify your interests and just experiment. You never know when something unlikely calls out to you and evokes your untapped “voice”. I think oftentimes in uncertainty and spontaneity voice can develop.