Vicara Clothing

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I went on a long train trip with Gretchen, who I haven’t seen nearly enough of since Chinese people work too much; and Ashley, an arty friend from the Kindergarten. Our excursion took us to Tai An in Shandong Province, a town at the base of a beautiful mountain I climbed 4 years ago. We eventually arrived at an area I am looking into having some clothing made up in. I have a vision of a sewing community there and this was the first visit to suss it out. I’ve done a fair bit of research into a suitable area that has the fabric I want and now I need to find an area that I can put the money into by finding the people to sew. More so, to find people that can sew, who will benefit from this opportunity.

It was a real eye opener of a visit to see life in this industry in China. Even though I’ve sewn clothes before, I have never seen so many people involved in the process of making a garment. It really was a team effort. How many loose threads do you think someone cut off the ends of your shirt before you got to wear it?? I’ll really never look at a garment the same way again! I left some samples of garments I’d had made at my local tailor and want to have made up in Tai An, so I am looking forward to seeing what they turn out like. This is the groundwork for the Vicara Clothing Project. Stay tuned!

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