We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Behanna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

From a very young age, I was always drawn to horror, fashion and art. I guess I didn’t really realize until I graduated highschool and was deciding what college to go to and for what.

When I learned that there was an option for me to get a bachlor’s degree in Special FX (in the end, the official name on my degree is Entertainment Design), I was ecstatic! So, I completed my education at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a Bachlor’s degree in Entertainment Design in 2010.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Let me first start by putting what I have under my about tab on my Revenant Wares brand website and I will elaborate from there:

“Revenant- rev·e·nant. /ˈrevənənt,ˌrevəˈnänt/ noun. A person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead.
Now take this concept, but instead apply it to various fabrics and materials.

Originally named Morbid Delusion Designs, Revenant Wares is a more broad extension of where Penny Lane Dreadful (Nicole Behanna) started repurposing old tee shirts into new wares. With a love of vintage style and horror movies, a degree in special effects and vast experience working for small businesses in the sustainable realm, her aesthetic blends the dark with retro and nostalgic elements. This is where the description of her aesthetic Retro Spook was born.

Revenant Wares is a made to order brand. She uses reclaimed materials, fabrics and fabric scraps in order to create or bring back, otherwise unused or trashed items, back from the dead and into wearable art! This means each piece will be unique and the styles will be available while supplies last.

Her wares are meant to add a little pulse to your existing garments and perhaps show the beauty in once forgotten objects.

If there’s one thing to remember about Morbid Delusion Designs/ Revenant Wares it’s below:
We’ll knock more than just your socks off!”

So basically, after I completed and received my degree, somehow along the way, I went down a different creative path: fashion. I am a self taught stitcher and learned any way I could: friends, books, YouTube, even applied for various sewing jobs just to learn the skill accurately. Early on, I used to just turn existing garments I had into other things. Like, band tees into dresses or skirts. My first actual client was someone I highly admire and it was a very unique meeting. In 2015, I met actress Naomi Grossman at a local horror convention (oddly, on my birthday–what a gift!!) wearing a dress I had made out of a band tee and added materials. She loved it and wanted me to make her one, and that led to multiple pieces for her! I was horrified but forced myself to accept the opportunity. This made me really realize “Hey, I can do this.” I still have a few of hers currently I am working on.

This led to me working for a local artist (Nisha Blackwell) starting her own company that makes bowties out of repourposed materials and fabrics called Knotzland. That wild ride lasted 7 years to where I am currently to branch off in my new pursuit of having my own brand Revenant Wares. In between my time with Knotzland, I made a living as a stitcher, model, retail merchandiser and designer at various other jobs working for small businesses and artists and learning so much along the way for my own brand. All of my skills have led me to this point, and it has all been a creative journey.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

“You can’t make a living as an artist.” Growing up, this is a common thing that you are told. Being told consistently in order to make a living and pay your bills, you have to have a corporate or healthcare type of job, for example. It starts to wear and tear on you; especially hearing it from a young age, to even in adulthood.
Throughout my art journey, I have worked my share of “traditional” jobs in order to make ends meet, but I have always stuck with my passions. When you’re passionate about something, it doesn’t really feel like work, although it is with very long hours of learning and building your craft. Because this is what I love, and what I will do regardless of what happens, as with any artist in the mindset, you WILL eventually get to where you have always wanted to be. It’s never linear and it will always be a process of ups and downs. I’ve learned the further I go, the more art becomes a central part of my life in so many ways.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Please stop with the “Why is this so expensive?”, “Get a real job”, or “Can I get a discount?” mentality! Creatives put so much of themselves, time and energy into their work. I think there should be more support and recognition in this. Acknowledging your local artists and small businesses, lifting them up and helping them grow.

Artists provide the only escape through most of societies every day life through movies, media, art, etc. Isn’t it time they are supported and paid what they’re worth?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.revenantwares.com
• Instagram: @revenantwares https://www.instagram.com/revenantwares
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morbiddelusion
• Other: Linktree- https://linktr.ee/revenantwares Blog- https://revenant-wares.ghost.io/