Why I started Unbound Studio

I’ve always loved clothes. But for much of my life, I felt like clothes didn’t love me back.

My love of clothing started with my grandmother. She was a total clotheshorse. I have such vivid memories of watching her get ready for social occasions: her hair in rollers, sitting on a little stool at the kitchen table doing her makeup while sipping a cup of tea, keeping an eye on the pots bubbling away as she prepared a feast, and calling out to my grandfather to tell him which colour shirt he should wear so they would match.

She didn’t have much money, but she loved her clothes and took great pride in how she presented herself. I think I inherited that from her. I’ve always loved putting outfits together, building a wardrobe and thinking about how clothes, colours and fabrics work together.

I was also very good at shopping for everyone except myself.

For years, very little I found in the shops seemed to fit my figure properly. But rather than questioning the clothes, I questioned myself. I thought perhaps there was something wrong with my body. I thought I was missing something that other women seemed to understand.

It’s strange how easily we can accept that idea.

The body was never the problem

Everything changed when I learned to sew.

It seems blindingly obvious to me now, but learning to make my own clothes taught me something I wish I'd understood much earlier:

My body was never the problem. The clothes simply weren't made to fit me.

Clothes made for the mass market have to work within a particular set of proportions. That's understandable. What isn't logical is expecting every person who wears those clothes to have those same proportions.

Once I understood that, something shifted.

Sewing gave me a freedom of self-expression that had eluded me for most of my life. I could choose the fabric, the colour, the shape and the amount of ease. I could make something that worked with my body rather than trying to make my body work with the clothes.

And I discovered that I loved the process of making just as much as I loved the result.

I love fabric. I love the feel of it between my fingers and the way different fabrics behave as you cut, press and sew them. I love the gentle buzz of the sewing machine. There is something deeply satisfying about spending time making something useful with your hands.

Sewing is productive, but it is also soothing. For me, it has something of the quality of meditation.

After making clothes for family and friends, I began to realise just how much I wanted to share that feeling with other people: the feeling of putting on something that actually fits you, feels good to wear and feels like you.

That was the beginning of Unbound Studio.

Clothes should support your life

As I think about how I want to dress in this second half of my life, I've become much clearer about what matters to me.

Comfort has always been important to me, and it still is. But I don't believe comfort means sacrificing style.

I want clothes that move with me rather than restrict me. Clothes with enough ease that I can sit, walk, bend and get on with my day without constantly thinking about what I'm wearing.

I want fabrics that breathe. Living in a subtropical climate and being someone who runs hot, I have a particular appreciation for linen, cotton and viscose and its various forms. I want clothing that feels good against my skin and helps me feel comfortable rather than leaving me feeling like I'm melting.

But comfort is about more than physical sensation.

I also want the outside to feel like a genuine expression of what's happening on the inside.

I've spent too many years thinking I should dress differently because I wasn't quite fitting in with whatever was fashionable at the time. I don't feel that way anymore. I know what I like. I know what makes me feel good. And I'm increasingly comfortable with dressing in a way that feels authentic to me, whether or not it happens to be on trend.

I think everyone deserves that freedom.

And I don't think there's a universal definition of comfort or style. What makes one person feel wonderful might make another person deeply uncomfortable. Someone might feel completely at ease going out with a full face of makeup; I would feel quite the opposite. Neither of us is wrong.

The point is that you get to decide what feels like you.

Why Unbound?

That's where the name comes from.

I chose Unbound because I like the idea that our clothes shouldn't limit us. They should support us in the lives we actually live.

Unbound also suggests possibility. There are no rules about what colours belong together, what combinations you can create or what your wardrobe is supposed to look like. Clothing can be practical and beautiful, comfortable and stylish, familiar and creative.

And I chose Studio because I want this to be a creative space.

Unbound Studio isn't limited to one particular kind of clothing or one particular way of making. It begins with made-to-order garments and, in time, sewing patterns, but I'm excited by the possibility of where creativity might take it.

The common thread will always be the same: thoughtful design, quality materials and clothing that gives you room to live.

Making fewer, better things

When I decided to start making clothing professionally, I knew I didn't want to recreate the experience I'd spent years feeling frustrated by.

I didn't want to make as many garments as possible, as quickly as possible, simply to keep up with demand.

I wanted to make something of value.

That's why Unbound Studio begins with made-to-order clothing.

Each garment is made for a real person rather than produced speculatively and waiting for someone to buy it. It means I can take care with the construction, pay attention to the fabric and, where appropriate, make adjustments to measurements.

For me, made-to-order is about more than reducing excess stock. It's about creating a different relationship between the person making the garment and the person who will wear it.

Clothing becomes something more personal when it has been made with you in mind.

I also want the clothes I make to be worn. Properly worn. Not bought because they're inexpensive enough to replace next season, worn a handful of times and then forgotten.

I want them to become the pieces you reach for again and again because they work.

And then there are the patterns

Made-to-order clothing is where Unbound Studio begins, but it isn't where the story ends.

I'm also developing sewing patterns so that people who love to make their own clothes can create Unbound designs themselves.

For me, that feels like a natural extension of what I love about sewing. I want to develop my skills, explore my own ideas and share those designs with other sewists.

Not everyone has the time, desire or ability to sew their own clothes, and that's why I love the idea of offering both. You can choose to wear an Unbound garment made for you, or eventually choose a pattern and make one yourself.

Either way, the underlying idea is the same:

your clothes should work for you.

Welcome to Unbound Studio

Unbound Studio is my attempt to create the kind of relationship with clothing that I wish I'd had when I was younger.

Clothing that fits the person rather than asking the person to fit the clothes.

Clothing that feels good on your body and feels like you on the outside.

Clothing made with care, from fabrics chosen for how they feel and wear, designed to be lived in rather than replaced when the next trend arrives.

I'm starting small, with made-to-order garments and sewing patterns on the way. I don't know exactly where this creative journey will take me, and that's part of what excites me about calling this a studio.

But I do know what I want Unbound Studio to stand for.

Beautiful, thoughtfully made clothing. Quality fabrics. Designs that fit seamlessly into everyday life.

And, above all, a little more freedom in getting dressed.

Explore the Unbound Studio collection and discover clothing made thoughtfully for real life.