Making clothes yourself became a possibility from a young age. I started as a child with my grandmother, Nanna Jean. We used to make doll and Barbie clothes together, and she was the first to introduce me to pattern drafting. My mother is also a proficient sewist who lovingly made a lot of clothes for my sister and I to wear growing up.

I started experimenting with making my own clothes in high school, sparked by a home economics class where we were given sewing assignments. I was playing with cutting 2D shapes to see what they created in the 3D. This sparked the desire to return to the skill I learned as a child.

One summer I broke my wrist which forced me to take a pause from my job serving. It was a blessing, and it put me back in a creative space where I really started to refine and hone my sewing skills. My work brought me into the world of natural dyeing, and soon enough I was attending the Haliburton school of arts for indigo and shibori-resist dyeing.

I was gifted teachings from Carola Jones about black walnut and indigo dyeing as part of indigenous fashion week in Toronto (summer 2018) which started my natural dye journey. Now it is an integral part of my process and a huge part of my inspiration for making clothes.