Swing those feet up as we take time to chat to Jamie of Nelson Made as she works hard to prepare for the journey north to Brisbane Finders Keepers! Nelson Made debuted at Finders Keepers Melbourne SS18 and hasn’t looked back since. Read on as Jamie shares her journey of digging deep and creating a brand that is dedicated to making shoes locally with a low environmental impact.
‘I’m optimistic about the future of slow fashion. There is a real energy at present surrounding this niche as businesses wake up to the fact that their customers want beautiful, responsible fashion choices’.
Jaime, Nelson Made
It’s enough to make our feet sing! It’s truly time to slide into Summer in style with well considered pieces to love and to last!
There’s so much joy around Nelson Made! Tell us about the leap from shoemaking for other brands to going solo and starting Nelson Made.
What a lovely thing to say, I do get a huge amount of joy from running Nelson Made. And I believe our customers feel the joy too! We have been very lucky to find our community so quickly.
I started out hand making for local footwear atelier Preston Zly, where I learnt the craft of bespoke making in a small studio. I then received an Ian Potter grant to study a Masters in Fashion Footwear at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion. Returning back home, I designed footwear for some of the best retailers in Australia, but the longer I worked in the industry, the more uncomfortable I felt with the overconsumption and wastefulness inherent in fashion. It didn’t align with my personal values, so I dug deep and created a brand that is dedicated to making shoes locally with a low environmental impact.
We’ve had the pleasure watching Nelson Made journey since joining us last summer! What has your year looked like so far?
I made the leap at the beginning of the year to work full time in the business and it’s been an absolute joy being able to give Nelson Made my full attention. Early in the year we designed and produced our Resort 20 collection, our most refined and considered to date. The range was picked up by Arnsdorf, Penny Sage, The Iconic, Garmentoy and Well Made Clothes. We also debuted Resort with Arnsdorf at Melbourne Fashion Week which was really exciting for us. We’ve just launched this range and are now heading into our crazy busy period in the lead up to Christmas, so it’s all about rolling up our sleeves and making in the studio.
You love a collaboration and even joined forces with our wonderful feature artist Mosey Me in 2017! Talk to us about collaboration and why it’s important to you.
When you collaborate, you have that beautiful creative energy humming between the parties, and you generally design pieces that you wouldn’t have come up with without that different perspective!
One of the things I miss most about working for big retailers is being part of a dynamic design team. There’s an excitement inherent in working in a creative group with ideas constantly flowing. Collaborating with other designers has the same outcome. When you collaborate, you have that beautiful creative energy humming between the parties, and you generally design pieces that you wouldn’t have come up with without that different perspective.
What’s your go-to slide for the warm season?
My favourite style right now is the Myra Slide; minimal, refined, you can wear them with anything. The style has a square toe and super slim, barely-there straps.
Can you share with us what the future of slow fashion look like to you?
I’m optimistic about the future of slow fashion. There is a real energy at present surrounding this niche as businesses wake up to the fact that their customers want beautiful, responsible fashion choices. There is so much going on in this space and I believe there is a bright future ahead.
Bonus Q: Who’s on the Finders Keepers wishlist for you this season?
I get ridiculously excited by good bread boards, so I’m heading straight to Common Wood! (FK note: CW will be at Sydney Finders Keepers)!
nelsonmade.com.au
instagram.com/nelson.made
facebook.com/nelsonmade.com.au