Handmade Genius: Little Lost Soul

September 04, 2015

For as long as I can remember, I’ve made stuff.

I started out like most other kids, messing with crayons, playdough, glue and cardboard boxes. I quickly moved on to needlework (I started embroidering at age five) and got much more elaborate with my cardboard box building and other craft projects. I have very clear memories of building a small town of houses of stilts (made of small milk boxes and toilet paper rolls) completely clad in construction paper with tiny functioning doors, attempting to mimic stilted houses I had seen on TV (yay CBC east coast vibes). I recall my grade two teacher being very concerned about the weird drawings I was making in group drawing sessions (ie all students draw the same object). Until he realized I was drawing in perspective, he realized when he crouched down to my tiny person sitting level.

The joy I get from working with my hands is immeasurable. For me it’s the tried and true way to achieve that blissful state that is known as flow.

All this to say that for me making things by hand, or living a “handmade lifestyle” far precedes any retail trends that sprouted up in the mid-aughts. I have a very handy family as well, so it’s always just been something that everyone around me valued. It hurts my heart a little bit that blogging has moved SO far toward working with larger brands and away from showcasing unique things most people have never seen before. I mean, I get it…there are bills to be paid, big brands have real budgets, etc. etc. But I really loved discovering tiny handmade brands via blogging, and I find that’s sort of disappeared from the fashion blogging realm (home decor blogging seems to be still going strong in this dept though…go interiors bloggers!)

So when I decided to start this blog I knew right away that I wanted to take the time to showcase the work of handmade artisans. Some of you may think this is weird, being that I have a clothing brand myself. Isn’t this just showcasing my competition? Well…maybe. Sort of…sometimes. But really I think people actually just buy what they like, and we don’t function in a bubble. As a brand I have tons of competition every single day, it’s called THE INTERNET and it’s pretty accessible to most people. So yeah, fuck it. I’mma blog about whoever I like.

The first company I wanted to showcase is a line I stumbled across on Etsy completely by chance. It’s no secret that Etsy has become inundated with mass produced same-ness over the past couple of years due to their change in manufacturing policies (plus no site curation) so when I DO find a wearable gem I favourite that shop faster than a pair of scissors getting lost in my studio.

Little Lost Soul is a line based in Lancaster (UK) made by Lucy Pass, who is not only a clothing designer, but an illustrator/artist and writer of DIY magic for Homemaker Magazine. What first drew me to Lucys work were her prints, so I was unsurprised to see that she was also the artist behind them. Great prints like that don’t just present themselves at the fabric store…EXCEPT IN MY DREAMS.

I’m in love with this wrap dress…I mean seriously. It’s so good. It comes in two colour options, and I still can’t decide which one I like best…MAYBE I NEVER WILL.

Wait WHAT?! There’s also a jumpsuit version of the wrap dress. COME ON! Am I dreaming?

Lastly for those of you who “just can’t WEAR pattern” (I’ll deal with you later) here’s a little home decor love in the form of these HAND-SOME pillows. Can you even HAND-LE how cute they are? (get used to it, I fucking love puns)

Check out more of Lucys work at www.littlelostsoul.com

x

Angie

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