In the Spotlight: Planet Fab
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
A lovely newcomer from Gippsland will be at the Piccadilly Design Market on 27th April in Geelong.
Introducing Penny from Planet Fab who makes the most stunning winter coats.
How did you come
up with your business name?
As a consumer
I have so many questions about what it is that I am buying. How do I identify products that give
the maker/grower a fair go, exclude animal cruelty, and have a positive impact
on our environment? The Planet Fab label represents how I feel about the world
and the minimal impact that I wish to have on it. To my customers the Planet Fab label represents an
opportunity to wear an Australian made luxury product which not only escapes
the monotony of black but also ticks all their ethical boxes.
Have you
always been ‘crafty’ or has it bloomed later in life?
My family has
a long history in the fashion industry.
I was pretty young when mum got me started making my own clothes. This
was after a couple of years of making dodgy clothes for Barbie. I also enjoyed making soft toys,
cushions, upholstery and furniture restoration. Mostly, I was encouraged to reuse and repurpose what we
already had, a value that I have adhered to throughout. After high school I studied clothing
manufacture.
How long have
you been in business for?
Many years
later I found a few different scraps of fabric at home and made a jacket to
wear to my admin job. Many
compliments later, I decided to go into business using scraps and second hand
clothes to make jackets. My
product has evolved from there, and five years later I make coats for men and
women using remnant fabrics from industry.
What inspires
you?.
It’s so easy
to glance at a tree or a bush and simply see green, but when I slow down and
breathe in the fresh air I see something altogether different. A kaleidoscope of colour, an abundance
of textures. When a friend told me
of some fabrics that were going to be binned, I rushed over to see if there was
some way to save them. When I saw
these poor unwanted fabrics I screamed with excitement. The next step for the Planet Fab label. An opportunity to share my love of
colour and texture with others. I
haven’t looked back from there, and actively seek to save unwanted fabrics and
give them a new life as a beautiful coat.
What is
something cool that most people wouldn’t know about you?
I love
spending time at our property in Gippsland where there are constant surprises,
from the local wildlife to a new bushwalking track. My partner and I spend nights by a campfire planning our
future home from a small shed on the hill.
If money was
no object where would you go?
Despite a
love of Asian travel, if money was no object I would definitely head to
Alaska. I have dreamed for years
of seeing the colours where the ice meets the water with my own eyes. Colour, it gets me every time.
What are you
reading right now?
Have you ever
met anyone famous?
My niece
insists that I am famous. Got to
love her.
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