We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Claire Wessels. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Claire below.

Claire, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

My brand is named PRATUM, which is Latin for prairie. My story begins in the prairies of central Iowa. I was raised on a small farm just outside of town, but I still grew up running barefoot on a dirt road. My home sits in the middle of a great expanse of cornfields, slightly up on a hill. Two acres of tallgrass prairie surround the house. It is beautiful native grassland filled with big-stem bluegrass and native wildflowers such as bergamot. I have such a distinct recollection of home smelling like turned earth, bergamot, rain, and garden tomatoes. My father is our county’s soil and water conservation commissioner, so taking care of the land is very important to my family. A majority of my inspiration comes from the textures and colors of the land I grew up on. There is such a deep sense of belonging when you are standing out in the prairie and can look out to the horizon as far as the eye can see, especially when there is a storm rolling in. I want to bring this feeling and emotion to people through my brand. I feel like it is hard to find your sense of belonging in this day and age, and a lot of that is confidence in who you are. I hope to dress people into that confidence.

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.

Being a creative of some kind sort of runs in my blood, my father is an architect. I’ve always been an academic and was going to go to school for chemical engineering until I realized how much math I would have to do. So while I was touring my university for my intended degree I decided to look at the design school too because it was where my father went to architecture school. I instantly fell in love. My parents will tell you I’ve been designing clothes since I could hold a pencil. My undergraduate degree was very technically involved because Iowa State university is a top engineering school and there is a lot of project crossover. That being said my bachelors degree focused a lot on textile science and innovation. My masters degree at Drexel University was significantly more design and creativity based. This mix is what has turned me into the designer that I am today. Everything I do is very technical and I start straight from the bones of a piece when I come up with a design. I essentially work inside out so that the lifetime and quality of the piece is superb. I also try to be as sustainable as I can in this industry. A great achievement of mine is that my thesis collection was all deadstock or natural fibers. I also use more by-hand production than many designers today just because I love to hand produce. My pinnacle look from my thesis collection was a felted wool coat. The felt was made by hand by wet felting wool roving, I did this on my living room floor on a tarp! My couture gown for the same collection I sewed entirely by hand other than the side seams because the fabric was a delicate silk chiffon. I love to be as hands on with my creation as possible. I am also a weird mix of a traditionalist and creative because I absolutely love crisp tailoring and produce it at an exceedingly high quality. But I also love vibrant creativity like Alexander McQueen or Schiaparelli. My undergraduate collection was a tribute to McQueen and was called Internal because it stripped the human body down to its core. It was a sort of gory collection with reds and neutral tones, It featured 3D printed bones and shredded fibers and beading that hung from garments like dripping blood. If there is any one thing to be noted about who I am as a designer is that I am an academic and a traditionalist with a desire to cause an emotional reaction from my clients.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Any book by Robert Greene is a great book to read if you are trying to impact your personal philosophy. His books on the laws of power and human nature are something that I feel everyone should read. I feel like another book that has deeply impacted who I am as well as how I go about managing my life, including my business, is To Kill a Mockingbird. We should all strive to be as good as Atticus Finch. There have been endless resources that I have pulled from in my time as a student because until I finished my master’s, I never stopped being a student, I went straight from one degree to another. I recommend college if for no other reason than the connections that you make, whether it be friends or advisors.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Just be human. Be honest and respectful and act with kindness. I have been in this industry long enough to know that there are many companies that foster an environment of fakeness. Especially larger and luxury brands. Wearing who you are on your sleeve is good, don’t pretend to be someone you are not just because that is how a company seems to function. If you are going to manage your own company with a team then it should be easy. You are hiring them and you know who they are so you can pick people that will fit your vibe. Don’t pick someone and then try to change them. I also recommend building out an employee’s job so that they are motivated to work. What I mean by that is honest pay, commission, and bonuses. I know this can be a lot of extra expense, but you shouldn’t run a company if you can’t afford to pay your employees a truly fair wage in today’s society.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.clairewessels.com/
• Instagram: pratumbrand
• Linkedin: Claire Wessels

Image Credits
@drhodesphotos