ONLINE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Candiss Cole: Art to Wear meets Ready to Wear
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:Candiss Cole: Art to Wear meets Ready to Wear |
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| by Bernadette Finnerty |
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Candiss Cole's handwoven clothing takes its influences from family tradition, world travel, and the natural beauty of Sedona, Ariz., where Cole lives and works. She combines a traditional approach to weaving with the design sensibilities she picked up while studying and traveling abroad. Cole 's handspun, handwoven silk and wool garments are made to be artistically beautiful and practical to wear. At this point, Cole travels to about 20 shows per year, but says she'd like to cut down a little, since she is happiest at home, working in her studio.
SHOW SCHEDULE |
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Tubac Festival of the Arts Atelier American Craft Council Scottsdale Arts Festival American Craft Council Park Ave. Armory Show American Craft Council American Craft Council Brookside Art Annual Atelier Birmingham Fine Arts Festival Laumeier Contemporary Art Fair Chicago 57th Street Contemporary Crafts Market Cain Park Arts Festival American Craft Council Sausalito Art Festival Crafts at Lyndhurst Crafts Park Ave. Sugarloaf Mt. Show at Gaitnersburg Westchester Craft Show (pending) Morristown Craft Market (pending) Contemporary Crafts Market (pending) Washington Crafts Show (pending) Crafts Park Ave., New York City. Crafts Park Ave. New York City American Craft Council Charlotte Show Crafts New York on the Upper West Side |
TCR: How did you become interested in fiber art and making clothing?
CC: Well, first of all, I'm a fifth generation weaver. My ancestors emigrated from Holland to upstate New York and worked in the textile mills there. They created wool felts for printing presses and blankets that were sold to both sides during the Sino/Russian war. I even have a coat my great grandfather wove for the mill owner out of company fabrics. He made one for himself too! My mother and grandmother would often knit and sew, so textiles have surrounded me since childhood. I always knew that textiles would be a part of my life, but I didn't realize that it would be my life's work. I actually went to college to become a nurse. When I graduated from school, I wanted to be a midwife. I found a good program in Norway, and decided to go there. The Vietnam War was going on, and I thought it would be a good time to leave anyway. Once I got there, I signed up for a textile class just as a sideline. I didn't know the language, but I did know textiles, and I thought it was a good idea to get involved with something I had some knowledge of. I was immediately enamored, and I've been involved with textiles ever since.
After I was over there for about two years, I happened to be at a party, where I met the head of the American Craft Council, and some people from the Rockefeller Foundation. They had sent some of (glassblower) Harvey Littleton's first students over to study Kosta Boda in Sweden and Itilla in Finland. They needed a translator. At this point, I had learned both languages, so I volunteered. I wound up traveling around with these glass students. I truly was in the right place at the right time. It was then that I learned what was going on with crafts back in the states. This was when ACC was just starting to provide a wholesale venue for selling crafts. I knew I wanted to find a way into that marketplace, and I felt the ACC was the group to align myself with to get there.
TCR: How did you get started selling your work?
CC: Well, when I came home, the country was celebrating the Bicentennial. So I made myself a colonial outfit and went to festivals and events with a spinning wheel. I demonstrated making yarn and selling it. My marketing pitch was that these people were purchasing yarn spun in the United Stated during the bicentennial year. That way, it already came with a story, and whatever they chose to do with it would just add to its heritage. I did realize, however, that this marketing pitch would only be good for 1976. After that, I figured I'd have to find a new angle.
It was then that I got serious. I knew I wanted to be self-employed. I adore being in the studio. I love creating. I am happiest when I am in my studio working. But I knew I had to make a living. At that point, most fiber artists were working in macramé. Very few were making any clothing, at least not cut and structured clothing. The clothing being sold at art shows was mostly unconstructed, art fantasy clothing. I decided that I wanted to bridge the gap between art and fashion, Art-to-Wear meets Ready-to-wear. I did the ACC Baltimore show that very next year. I've been doing it ever since. There is nothing to compare with the joys of creation. Recently I was able to spend time in a friend's blacksmithing foundry shop. I was in heaven with access to tools and knowledge. The medium is not as important as the chance to create and share that with those I care for and admire.
TCR: Who is the market for your work, your typical customer?
CC: My clientele is 95 percent female and a growing 5 percent of men interested in wearable art. She's between 40 and 60-75 years of age, is generally successful in her own right, and lives the kind of lifestyle where she needs clothing that really sets her apart. She travels. And therefore needs clothing that travels well. She loves textiles. She is always looking for something different. My customers are very loyal – some of them have been buying my garments since the beginning. Many of my customers have difficulty buying off the rack. Since we cut to order, a garment can be made to their measurements, not just standard sizing. I also have a sizeable plus- and petite-size business.
TCR: How do you reach them?
CC: I attend wholesale Ateilier shows in New York three times a year, plus ACC wholesale/retail. I also participate in other high-end retail shows around the country, including Washington Crafts Show, Sausalito Art Festival, NYC Park Ave Shows and regional ACC shows in Atlanta, St. Paul, and San Francisco to name a few. I'm looking to cut back on traveling to shows, though. After 20 years in this business I want to spend less time on the road and more time in the studio. Besides, I have galleries in some cities who would prefer that I didn't do retail shows there. They'd rather have the exclusive on my collections.
TCR: Have there been any major turning points in your business?
CC: I feel like there have been turning points all along. I seem to run into them all the time. It was so easy to get caught up in being a designer and the temptation to sell to bigger stores was there early on in my career. I've spent so much time in my life trying to get to that "next level." Recently, I realized I am working with the high-end specialty boutiques I love to supply and the customers I enjoy dressing. There is no "better level" for an artist-designer than a receptive, supportive community. My job now is to continue to grow in my craft and concentrate on doing it better. By "it" I mean making even more exciting wearable items and taking care of customers. Personal service, I feel, is one of the keys to continued success.
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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Candiss Cole |
TCR: What is the most difficult thing you have encountered in your work?
CC: I would have to say the most difficult thing is when I am dry creatively, spiritually and physically. It is difficult to maintain a constant stream of new ideas and inspiration. Getting past those hurtles the first few times, the rejections from much sought-after shows and years when my collections were not the "in" item. But, after 20 years, I feel I have carved out my place in the community and I'm grateful for what I have accomplished. I also am going back to school to study my craft regularly and that has helped the creative juices flow more consistently.
TCR: How has your Web site affected your business?
CC: I use my Web site to promote my business, but rarely sell directly from it. I feel that this would create competition with my galleries, and I would ultimately be competing with myself. I have a Web site that shows photos of my work, includes some information about my business and tells visitors where they can buy my work. I see it as just one part of my marketing effort. It is an available resource and I try to use it as an ever-changing wholesale/retail catalog of style and color.
Bernadette Finnerty is a contributing editor for The Crafts Report.
Copyright© 2001
JUNE 2001: TABLE OF CONTENTS
