FK chats to Molly about all things vintage, and her clothing and accessories label Molly-Made, with Love.

Tell us about your lovely fashion & accessories label.
Molly-Made, with love is me! It’s what I love, make, create and sew. Molly-Made is feminine, fun and flirty, and a nod to all things vintage. I want it to encapsulate the fun feeling of youth, the bright and buoyant colors of the 60’s, the femininity of the 50’s and the classic silhouettes and classiness of the 40’s & 30’s. It’s the thing that every girl needs in their wardrobe.

What is your background and how did you get started?
It all started with my blog (molly-made.blogspot.com), where I began my adventures in sewing a year ago this month. It was there that I began my mission to sew my entire wardrobe using original vintage patterns from the 30’s through to the 60’s. I was soon getting requests from friends and even strangers on the street, asking If I would make them a dress; so after a lot of planning and practice and a class or two I decided to start sharing my creations with others and opened my etsy shop in August 2011.

What inspires you most about the 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s?
I love all things vintage, and always have. I am very much the 50’s devotee and any excuse to don a petticoat is snapped up fast. I have always been won over by the femininity of the era, how the clothes were designed to accentuate and glorify a woman’s curves.  As for the 60’s, it’s the colours and the pop culture that I love. Everything was bright, bold and lively. Borrow a peplum and a collar or two from the well structured silhouette of the 40’s and there you have it – the inspiration behind Molly-Made, with love.

What are some of your favourite websites & blogs for inspiration?
I am a bona fide Etsy addict; I can spend hours upon hours trawling the treasures of that site. I love the combination of handmade and vintage, it’s everything that I love in one place. Once I’ve had my daily perusal there I spend some time on Burdastyle.com, a fantastic community of sewers, the inspiration there is endless, as in the support and encouragement is second to none. For my vintage fix I visit blogs like The Bright Young Twins, Diary of a Vintage Girl, Pretty Odd Wonders, Ravishing Retro and Vixen Vintage just to name a few!

What do you love most about having your own label?
I love the creative freedom and the challenge that it provides. It’s all you, planning, organizing, designing, buying, sewing, and selling. You’re responsible for your own failures, but you’re also responsible for all your successes; something which is a truly rewarding feeling. Running Molly-Made is everything I was looking for; it nourishes both my creative and analytical sides and provides perfect measures of challenge and therapy. I can only imagine as time goes on, it will become even more challenging, and therefore all the more fun.

What can we expect from Molly-Made, With Love this year?
Many things! I am currently designing my first winter range which is very exciting! I hope to debut it soon, and frequent a wider range of markets in 2012 to spread the word of Molly-Made. You will also see some updates to my shop and blog too.

www.mollymadewithove.etsy.com