Designer Profile – Kathryn Wilson of Junkhouse Dollyard

Welcome to another Designer Profile on Vintage Indie. Please help me in welcoming designer Kathryn Wilson of Junkhouse Dollyard. Kathryn's line of clothing paired with her photography is artwork within itself.

 
Can you tell us a little bit about how you started your business?

In
2004
I became involved with Fasten, a DIY designer collective in Milwaukee,
WI. We had a clothing shop, weekend market booth and threw lots of
fashion and art events.
I was a designer, volunteer and co-owner, and
that's when sewing became more than a hobby for me.  In 2007 I moved to
Japan to teach English and began selling my designs at a vintage and
designer shop called Rainbow. I found Rainbow by asking around at local
shops and someone said the owner might be interested. He wasn't selling
handmade items at the time, but  was open to new possibilities. Things
went really well and I realized I
could make a living at this if I worked hard enough. I did that for a
year and then moved to Shanghai for three months to assist the
photographer Maleonn. I continued sewing and that's when I opened my
Etsy shop.
I came back to Milwaukee for the summer and now I'm going back to Japan
to study Japanese and continue selling with both Rainbow and
Etsy.

What kinds of clothing do you create?

I make mainly
reconstructed dresses and tops from vintage clothing. I also do some
original designs
with new fabrics. I never use patterns, I work straight from my head
and use the vintage pieces and fabric as a guide. I like to create
things that make you feel good when
you wear them, and that includes feeling beautiful, sexy or
interesting.

What inspires you?

I
get
a lot of my ideas from film, literature, art and my imagination. I'm
also a photographer and I'm continually finding new artists that
inspire me. The human mind, strength and weakness, strange
beauty…these are never ending sources for ideas. As far as fashion
inspiration, I'm interested in a lot of Japanese styles and clothing
from different eras. There's no particular time period, but I like to
look at fashion as a whole rather than current trends.

 Do you use any vintage materials? If so, why do you like about creating with vintage components?

Yes,
I love deconstructing and reconstructing. I like to find something I
would never wear, utilize its good qualities, add my own taste and to
turn it into something entirely new. I also like the antiquity an old piece of clothing evokes.

Thanks so much Kathryn for sharing an interesting and insightful look behind your passions and clothing. Be sure to visit Kathryn's Etsy shop