Artist Interview: Belle and Beau

I design and make women's clothing from organic textiles and aim to produce everything sustainably. Styles are inspired by all the things I love to do. Mooching around markets on sunny mornings, pottering around in the garden, music festivals, wandering in foreign places. There is definitely a relaxed silhouette to my designs with all these things on my mind. 

The fabrics I use are spun in New Zealand and coloured using dyes certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard. The details (eyelets, buttons, etc.) are always considered for their purpose and on how they were produced before being used in production.

It's not always easy being green, but it sure is worth it.

What can people expect to see from you on the day? A bunch of new styles with summer in mind. I have just bought a large roll of striped Organic Cotton Jersey, so there will be some tops and dresses made from this for sure.

Do you have any future plans for your work, could you describe them? I have had the range of basics established for a year or so now, but have just begun to introduce some new pieces. I intend to continue to produce new items and build that into seasonal ranges. The dream is to one day have my own store - but for now the markets are a great place to be.

Where are your favourite places on-line? I have a lot of friends travelling all sorts of wonderful places at the moment, so I find myself regularly trawling through their online albums.

Peppermint Magazine is a favourite of mine and their website is pretty good too, www.peppermintmag.com

I love how gardener Lynda Hallinan writes so enjoy checking out her blog http://lyndahallinan.com/

Other than that I am a bit forgetful when it comes to blogs etc and usually tend to stumble across exciting pages when I should really be doing something else.

What do you enjoy doing when you aren't busy making your wares? I love to grow my own veges and berries, and just lately flowers too.  Over labour weekend I planted out six raised beds with pretty much all my favourite crops.
I am also set on learning french - so I can actually converse with people when I go to France next, rather than just blurt out random words accompanied by not so obvious (and not so cool) charades moves.