Why a clothing line?
This clothing line is an effort that, for many years, has only been a dream. Now, I am so proud to say that with the help of my amazing production team, friends, and encouraging community, I have gained the confidence to make this a reality at last.
I spent much of my childhood at the stables on Mount Beulah, where my grandmother, Buffy, lived. They were full of family heirlooms, complete with textiles and art tools. After my grandmother passed, I inherited everything from her, as well as from her favorite sister Mary, and my Uncle Mark (who I never met). Among the items I inherited were the clothes I had admired as a child that were designed, sewn and worn by the artists in my family. I continued to wear these garments and admire the brilliance of their simplicity to this day. They were perfect for working in the studio, up on a ladder, or in the kitchen cleaning… and yet they were just as fashionable to accessorize and wear out to a dinner party.
Circa 26 is inspired by these items— by my childhood, my grandmother, my family, and our heirlooms— as I have reimagined them and put my own twist on them. There are definitely other aspects of my childhood in this line as well, such as fairy tales, dreams, the fantastical aspects of the circus, and of course my own love of dressing for work and play in the studio. I am also using this new medium as an art project in itself to reconnect with a side of myself that is a bit darker and fascinated with feelings, of which I do not address in my every day Skippy Cotton works.
What does Circa 26 refer to?
This collection is solely inspired by my Grandmother Buffy who was born in the year 1926. I coincidentally happened to be 26 years old when I began working on the collection.
Where are you based?
Circa's patterns are designed and altered from archives by Emma Mierop out of NJ/NY area. All of the garments are handmade with love by our talented production team of artisans in India.
Where do you source your fabrics from?
For our first collection we are using a variety of 100% linens, linen/cotton blends, and metallic foil-pressed linens. These fabrics are sourced from the garment district of NYC as well as New Delhi, India. None of our fabrics use chemical dyes... any dyed fabrics are dyed in a natural mill.
What embroidery techniques are used?
This collection is stitched with a combination of techniques both by hand and machine, using both free motion embroidery and machine embroidery to add some subtle details on a few of the pieces.
Why “one-size”?
This is a very important question as our ultimate goal is to always be inclusive to everyone who loves our products. As a small business and artisan craft maker (and with this being my first time creating clothing), I am unfortunately restricted by budget and opening minimums, which does impact the range of options i’m able to provide in the very beginning.
I opted to do one size as opposed to individual sizing, and focus on sizes 6-12 as opposed to the standard for one size (it’s actually 2-8) to try and support as many as possible. That being said, I’m learning. And it is absolutely my goal (should this clothing line continue) to be able to offer more range in sizing options as soon as possible.
As a small business, I rely heavily on the feedback from community, so I appreciate you taking the time to voice your opinion. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have additional suggestions.
How to care for Circa.26 Garments?
We recommend to hand wash or spot clean these garments. If you do machine wash, wash on cold gentle cycle. The characteristic of any natural dyed fabric is to bleed a little in the wash. We suggest spot cleaning or washing gently with separate colored loads. Do not bleach, tumble dry, or dry clean. Iron on low heat setting with pressing cloth, or hang to steam. Check out our laundering products we have selected for you coming to our website for hand wash care.