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

Lex, 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?

I knew from an early age that I wanted to pursue something art-related– drawing, painting, sculpting with Play Doh, community art classes– creativity was always an important part of my life, and something that was fostered by my family.

It was probably in about fourth or fifth grade when an interest in clothing and fashion design struck me as interesting. I learned the basics of sewing from my mother and grandmother before I was ten, and tried, to varying degrees of success, to fashion outfits for my dolls out of scraps of fabric. I was also hugely into dress-up– it was one of my absolute favorite playtime activities. I honed my skills in Home Ec classes and through my Girl Scouts troop, until I could create actual, wearable items for myself.

In my last two years of high school, I was accepted into an advanced placement visual arts program (there were theatre, dance and musical sections, as well), and was encouraged to look into a Philadelphia college known for its fashion design program– Moore College of Art and Design.

One of the requirements during my junior year in the program was an internship, and my advisor suggested I look at theatres, as my work tended to be more flamboyant and theatrical that my fashion-minded classmates, and I applied to and was accepted at the fantastic Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado, where I was thrown into the mix as a stitcher by day and wardrobe by night. I’d never really been a theatre kid, but found the mix of art and collaboration truly inspiring.

After graduation, and the obligatory retail job, I was hired as a design assistant in New York City for a small, family-owned cashmere sweater company. The company sadly closed a little more than a year into my new career, but I was fortunate to be hired by a local college (I had been commuting two hours from Pennsylvania each day by bus, which I was glad to say goodbye to), and my career in costumes, costuming and costume design began in earnest at Muhlenberg College.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of inspiring artists throughout my life, some who have had educated me, shared their expertise and helped me become the artist I am today. I also have two small side businesses: The Sullen Lilac, which you can find on instagram and etsy, where I made cute and spooky accessories to wear and for your home; and Triple Thread a costume rental company, which I started with a friend of mine.

One of the greatest joys I’ve gleaned from working with these talented artists (Constance Case, Alisa Sickora and Liz Covey, especially) is that if you possess knowledge, share it. Teach people who want to learn, help others learn the skills that you have acquired. Dyeing and fabric manipulation, leather work, the basic tenets of costume design; I never went to school for any of these things, but between a thirst to acquire knowledge and skills, and the privilege of having these gifted artists in my life, I’ve successfully been able to become a costume designer and costume crafts person. It’s not necessarily what I had envisioned as a fourth-grader, sketching in the margins of all of my notebooks, but here I am. Teaching skills is just as collaborative as anything if you have the right audience, so now I also teach the Stagecraft: Costume Techniques class (i.e. Sewing 101, which is what I usually call it for ease of understanding) to undergrads at Muhlenberg.

Having done a lot of children’s theatre, I’ve had to become exceedingly crafty, and my natural quality as a problem-solver aids in everything from how I designed dance dresses that transformed to having phoenix wings, to being able to seamlessly design a show that has 22 quick changes in 23 scenes. There is almost never a dull moment in this world of theatre, design and craft.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being the artist I am is when I complete a project, and the reaction of the client, designer, audience member, etc, shows that I achieved their vision. Art and design, especially in theatre, has a psychology to it. You need to understand something the internal desire the people making these requests have, and make it come to life. There’s nothing much more rewarding that that moment when you see that light in someone’s face.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

If your friends are artists or creatives, SUPPORT THEM! Even if you can’t afford to monetarily, recommend your friends to people who might be in the market for what the artists your life can provide. Follow them and share their work on social media. Networking is hugely important to us, and we’re always looking to help or give a boost to people in the name of their art, and hope that the same might be done for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSullenLilac
• Instagram: @TheSullenLilac
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSullenLilac/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lex-gurst-b278666/
• Other: Triple Thread Costumes is also on Instagram and facebook (@triplethreadcostumes), and I also have an Instagram with costume design and illustrations (@lexgurst.illustration). I also upload tutorials on tiktok under thesullenlilac.

Image Credits
all images copyright Lex Gurst