Tea & Chat...

Hi lovelies, this weeks Tea & Chat is with Andréa Boyle from The Cat in the Pyjamas - Thanks Andréa for taking part!

1)WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR ARTS/CRAFT JOURNEY SO FAR?

AS I AM FROM GERMANY YOU SHOULD KNOW EARLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE,SO I STARTED WITH AN OLDFASHIONED APPRENTICESHIP AS A DRESSMAKER.MY MASTER TRAINED US WELL AND WE STITCHED MADE TO MEASURE CLOTHES BY HAND,,YES,,BY HAND...
THREE YEARS APPRENTICESHIP,4 YEARS OF WORKING BEHIND THE SEWINGMACHINE AND LEARNING,WATCHING,DOING.
THEN FASHION COLLEGE TO LEARN THE ART OF CREATING PATTERNS FROM SCRATCH,WITH ONLY MEASUREMENTS,ADD ON TWO MORE YEARS THEN I MADE MY
MASTER CRAFTMAN'S DIPLOMA IN DRESDESIGN AND DRESSMAKING.
I HAVE WORKED FOR ESCADA IN MUNICH,THEN MOVED WITH ALAN,MY HUSBAND TO IRELAND AND I HAVN'T BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR ONE DAY.
THEN A FEW YEARS WITH JOHN ROCHA AND LOUISE KENNEDY LOVING AND MAKING PATTERNS FOR THEM.
THEN I BECAME A FREELANCE PATTERNMAKER AND DRESSDESIGNER,,ALL WITH THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ALAN.
NOW I STILL DO WHAT I LOVE MOST,CREATING AND SEWING,AND IT IS CALLED ---THE CAT IN THE PYJAMAS-KID'S CLOTHING.

2)WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVORITE PRODUCTS TO WORK WITH?

PAPER FOR PATTERNS,
ANY FABRIC FOR ONE-OFF CREATIONS AND MADE TO MEASURE CLOTHES

3)WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?

CARPÉ DIEM-SEIZE THE DAY

4)IF YOU COULD HAVE A PERFECT WORKSPACE WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?

I HAVE NOW THE BOXROOM IN OUR HOUSE TRANSFORMED INTO A LITTLE CREATIVE DEN.A BIG WHITE COSY ARMCHAIR,
A NICE OLDFASHIONED DESK AND MY SEWINGMACHINE(A 1950'S PFAFF RUN WITHOUT ELECTICITY!!!!!)
AND A BIG RAIL TO HANG UP THE CLOTHES

5)WHO,OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

IN FASHION YOU HAVE TO BE AHEAD,,,BUT INSPIRATION IS IN EVERYTHING,
I LIKE TO TAKE TIME OUT AND CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND ME AND READ MY MAGAZINES,,VOGUE US AND JUNIOR MAGAZINE ARE MY MOST IMPORTANT ONES
I LOVE THE VOGUE COVERS FROM BACK THEN AND COLLECT AS MANY AS I CAN AND VINTAGE-VOGUE IS BLISS
A CHAT WITH OTHERS DESIGNERS LIKE ANNE-MARIE IN NZ
LAST BUT NOT LEAST BILL BLASS,YVES SAINT LAURENT AND CHRISTIAN DIOR.HERMÉS AND CHANEL...TIMELESS
MY REDHEAD SON PIERCE IS A GREAT SOURCE FOR INSPIRATION AS HE HAS GREAT IDEAS AND ACTUALLY CAN MAKE A JUMPER IN LEGO(!!!!!!)

6)WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED IN YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS
?
ORA ET LABORA------BETE UND ARBEITE----(TRANSLATED -PRAY AND WORK HARD)

7)MARMITE OR MARMALADE?

MARMALADE

8)WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT?

BACK IN MY ESCADA-DAYS,,,WE HAD A WORK DEMONSTRATION ON OUR CAD SYSTEM FOR THE AMERICAN FASHION DESIGNER BILL BLASS.
IN FRONT OF OUR COMPANYOWNER MR LEY I ASKED BILL BLASS KINDLY FOR AN AUTOGRAPH ON 2 PAGES OF A VOGUE ADD OF HIS DRESSES...
I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY AND CHERISH THE AUTOGRAPH'S...

 Thanks Andréa for answering the questions, The Cat in the Pyjamas is a great shop - I wish you the best of luck with it!
Have a great weekend,
Felicia x.

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