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Meet Allie & Co. Studio, a fashion designer hoping to revive the art of sewing in a world where 'fast fashion' is stifling creativity and harming the planet.
SoLo Craft Fair sits down with founder Cleo Weeden to discuss where it all began, the ethos behind the brand and plans for an expanding product range later this year.
Allie & Co. Studio’s namesake, ‘Allie’ was Cleo’s grandmother, an incredibly creative woman who, if born in a different era, would undoubtedly have run a successful creative agency. Cleo has been sewing from as early as she could thread a needle. She was taught by her mother and grandmother, but also honed her skills sub-majoring in Fashion Design during a design degree in Sydney at The University of Technology.
“Sewing has always made me feel more centred and sparks creativity in me that other aspects of my design career are unable to do. I want to share this with people through Allie & Co. Studio.”
Allie & Co. Studio aims to make sewing more accessible and fashionable in a world where 'fast fashion' is stifling creativity and hurting the planet. Allie & Co. unlocks the joy of sewing for beginners through curated sewing kits – a beautifully presented box with everything needed to make a fashionable well-fitting garment, including in-house designed patterns and fabrics and notations sourced from the founder’s favourite fabric suppliers.
Over the coming months Allie & Co. will be expanding their range of women's patterns and in the summer they will be launching a few men’s kits too.
“We’re planning on offering free online basic video tutorials and keep an eye out for some free fun patterns that we will be releasing soon. We’re working on some gorgeous new fabrics as we near spring and summer, and we’re always on the lookout for collaborations, especially UK based fabric designers.”
For years sewing had remained a pastime for Cleo. “It’s been an amazing journey to turn my hobby and passion into a business. We are in the very early stages of growing as a company. I still juggle the running of Allie & Co. with a part time role in the interior design industry, but the days I have set aside for Allie & Co. Studio are the days I look forward to the most in the week!”
“I truly believe that an understanding of sewing and making plays a key role in how we will turn the tide on fast fashion. If you have spent time sewing and creating a garment, you see the value in it, you repair it when it needs attention, and you certainly don't throw it away after just one or two wears.”
“Similarly, my sewing skills have meant that I've always gravitated towards vintage and charity stores, renovating, adjusting and breathing new life into any pieces I find. Sewing has always provided me with an outlet to express myself that buying the same, replicated garment from the high street, reproduced thousands of times over, simply never could.”