FK talks with Sam who is one half of fashion label, Sanoii+Six
Tell us about your brand, Sanoii + Six
Sanoii+Six is the spawn of two very kooky Central Coast kids. We are a small, handcrafted, colourful label. We are your wingman and we specialise in cotton swimwear and have this season launched our very first clothing range.
What is your backgrounds and how did it all kick off?
We met at TAFE back in 2005 studying our Diploma of Textiles, Clothing and Footwear, but for the first year we didn’t really talk to each other. In our second year at TAFE I got a bit lonely and Vienna was the class clown. When we realised we were as crazy as each other we joined forces. Sanoii+Six didn’t come about until 2007 though, after really only knowing each other for about 5 minutes, we skipped town and headed for a warmer climate. After a while we started to get restless and just wanted to make pretty things. Four industrial machines later and we attempted our first market. It was in the middle of winter (I’m pretty sure the coldest the Gold Coast has ever seen) at the Annual Wintersun festival and we sold one bikini, to (surprise surprise) a Sydney girl!
What did you find the hardest when you started your own label together?
There are so many things that stumped us in the beginning and that continue to stump us. I think the money thing is a huge issue, we have no capital behind us. Hence the reason we are the designer, pattern maker, grader, machinist, tea lady, sales assistant, graphic designer, photographer, etc. but we do this for the love of it! Also we work really well as a team, we balance each other, but we are at the stage where we need to start delegating tasks outside of our little duo, which is something we are really struggling with.
Who or what inspires your work?
At the moment tentacles, desert boots, grandmas, crustaceans, opposites (ie chalk + cheese), people, animal trophies, Jason Schwartzman, moustaches, jupiter bars, life. . . but seriously our inspiration changes constantly. Fabric plays a huge part in our design and inspiration process as our pieces rely heavily on our fabric choices. We try and incorporate a lot of colour, so you could say colour inspires us too.
What do you appreciate the most about living on the coast?
There are so many things the landscape is beautiful, our families, the price of rent, but a big drawcard is living so close to Sydney and Newcastle without the hustle and bustle.
What can we expect for next season?
As we manufacture everything ourselves, we have divided our Spring/Summer range ‘Chalk + Cheese’ into three drops. Drop one was launched at the Brisbane Finders Keepers in June and was our first entire clothing range, Drop two is due out in September and you can keep your peepers open for lots of delightful new swimwear styles!