Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Philissa Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Philissa, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I guess we would have to go back to when I was in Art School at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington,DC studying Graphic Design. I was running late for my Art History class and my best friend lent me her Bianchi road bike. So naturally, I felt a need to speed down the streets of DC, whizzing between cars and dodging people and probably running through a few traffic lights. I am a block and a half away from school and the light has just turned red and the pedestrians are starting to walk across the crosswalk. I decide that I am going to chance it and be slick. I see a small path between 2 people that I know I can clear and have cleared many times in my past. However, there was one variable I did not account for. The size of one man and the pace he was walking; a bit too slow. As I turned the corner, my left shoulder just grazed the his left shoulder and I went down. He was built like a rock. It was as if I was a fly and he just brushed me off. He was unaffected. I got up and realized there was something very wrong with my shoulder, and walked the bike to class where I was 6 minutes late and in incredible pain. Let´s just say, I ended up with in a sling for a month or so from a chipped bone in my shoulder blade. What does this have to do with me being an artist? Well, during this time, we went on Spring break and I needed something to do now that bikes were off the list. With my good arm, I am right handed, I started to hand sew t-shirts that I would cut up. After watching several Ananada Lewis shows and liking her ripped up t-shirt vibe; I decided to give it a try. Once my shoulder got better, I began upcycling whatever I could; even my roommates clothing. It was a new amazing hobby. I started wearing my pieces out and people liked what they saw. Then my best friend at the time, Taylor Crews, said I should have a trunk show and try to sell some clothes. Let´s just say it went very well. Later followed a fashion show with all my friends as models and 200 guests. This was now nearly 25 years ago…. Haven´t stopped making clothing or upcycling since.
Philissa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was Born in British Guyana and raised in the States, and now live in Barcelona where I have been for the last 11 years. I am a Fashion Designer and Private Chef. The Chef part came many years later as a means of necessity. I taught myself how to sew, by hand and the machine. I remember taking one tailoring class where I learned how to use the machine to create clean edges on my pieces as well as how to use patterns. Fast forward to the present and I never use patterns nor rely on clean edges, but I appreciate what I learned from that class. I sew original pieces by hand and upcycle. Most of the original pieces are dresses and the upcycled pieces can be just about anything. I am a sustainable designer, but not in the sense that I use organic textiles or special sourced materials. My interests lay in using what is already provided. When I go to pruchase material, I go directly to the scraps section. Here in Barcelona, I have found a shop were they sell the left over material from larger bolts as well as scraps then charge by the weight. This method allows me to not only use me to keep material from ending up in a land fill, but also create one of a kind hand sewn pieces. If there is only 2 or 3 meters of a textile, I will create as many pieces as it will allow. Then ensuring that you get a unique piece no one else will have. In addition, I try by best to only cut where needed and throw away the least amount as possible. Sustainability is not just about the process of how something is made I feel, but also how resourceful you can be with what is already available. Hand sewing my original pieces has become my mark. I have developed a simple and effective way to include hand stitching into the design. If I am having a good day, it can take 2-3 hours to make a dress from design to sewing it. My technique has allowed me to minimize the amount of sewing needed for the maximum affect.. I hope that makes sense. This is something that I am very proud of. My dresses have been easy to spot because of the needle work. In addition, my pieces are very comfortable, machine washable and most travel friendly. A singer I design for, Tori Sparks, has told me that my dresses feel like pajamas sometimes. Now that is a comfort level I think we all want in our clothing. She has been a big influence in the way I make my dresses. She is very animated on the stage. After watching her shows, I realized my dresses needed to be a versatile and free flowing as she was on stage. This woman would sometimes be going down the ground, hoping on tables, jumping up and down while playing a guitar and singing. I had to make sure that all her ¨goodies´ remained covered up, no matter how she moved. Comfort is very important to me. When I was living in DC, I was also a bike messenger for a while and became the first female messenger to start wearing skirts while working. Shorts were never my thing. So, when it came to making dresses, a question I would ask is, ¨Can I wear it on my bike?¨ I am not saying that you can wear all my pieces on a bicycle, but if you did, it would be fine. My pieces move with the body and the body shapes the dress. For this reason, one dress can fit several different sizes. The makes for one dress to look different depending on who wore it. This is something that I love. Not to mention, I try to add a sexy ¨something¨ in each one. Whether it is a low back. high slit, deep neckline. One thing that does remain consistent is each piece is asymmetrical. I figure, we are not equal. There is no part of our body that is exact to its other half, so why should my pieces be. For me making a new piece is very organic. I never draw and rarely think ahead on a design. When I pick a textile, I let it tell me how it wants to be sewn. Does that sound crazy? I choose textiles that allow for drapping. I need the piece to have movement when someone walks or moves or dances or whatever. Not to mention, it must feel good on the skin. Basically, I throw the fabric on the mannequin, see where lines fall, decide where the length should be, cut a neckline and maybe arm holes and then start pinning and shaping. Once I like what I see, I re-pin the dress to begin sewing. My clients are anyone and everyone. If you are comfortable in the skin you are in, love color, want to feel sexy and confident in what you wear and appreciate one of a kind pieces, then Thembe Fashions is for you.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, there is a feeling of calmness when I create anything. The more labor intensive the more focus and intention there is in what I am making. There is something very satisfying to see something come into fruition; from an idea or concept. As I stated before, I don´t draw my pieces before making them, so the process is very exciting to me as I never really know exactly what the outcome may be. There have been more than one occasion when I finish designing a piece just to take out all the pins and start again. Not knowing how the piece will end up is part of the thrill. However, as an artist or creative, we always know how the piece is not supposed to be. The same goes with my cooking. I rarely make the same dish twice, unless the client requests. Being able to keep creating is the push. I think that is a very intriguing aspect to being an artist or creative, That ability to constantly keep making something new. Having new ideas over and over again is very rewarding for me. Also, how my clients feel in my pieces; are complement my cooking. Their feedback is the satisfaction and drive I use to keep creating. Not to mention that I love to create and work with my hands. Being a Fashion Designer and a Chef are very similar. In both respects, I have to create something that can appeal to a variety of people but at the same time a specific audience.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the non creatives may not understand that to be an artist is to be in a constant struggle. We struggle for funds, time to work, an audience to appreciate, understand and buy and there is the constant struggle to be consistent. I am still a struggling creative. As I do make money from what I make, food is my main income. I have often been asked which I prefer; food or fashion. The answer was always the same; I like them both the equally. Several years later, I now know that fashion is my preference. I come from a family of non creatives. The idea of being an artist was unheard of. I am sure I am not the first to have parents force you in the opposite direction, only to see that your path was always to be an artist. A non creative may not be able to understand why creatives don´t want to have a job that guarantees a monthly paycheck. Being paid on a project to project basis can be very unnerving. The idea of not knowing can be scary for most. However the greatest reward for creatives is that moment when all your hard work becomes your career. I believe being an artist or creative is a calling and once you realize it there is no way to go back. We cannot turn off our creative side even if we take time off and try an office job or something more conventional. Our craft always calls us back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thembefashions.com
- Instagram: @thembe____
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThembeFashions
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philissa-williams-50145071/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@philissawilliams5030
Image Credits
Petra Aanderud
Insta- @petra_aanderud