I emigrated to Australia from the UK in 1979 with no
previous history, interest or experience with art. Immediately I was
struck by the light and colors compared with England. I
now combine these vibrant colors into fine wool and
produce a unique range of shirts, scarves and wraps, all hand painted
Australian Merino wool. Those who love to sew are not forgotten with
fabric and quilting pieces available. The wool is challis
(21.7µm) for the shirts and voile (19.6µm) for the
scarves and wraps. The colors range from the deep earthy browns and
reds of the outback to brilliant turquoise, purple and parrot mixes.
Each piece is individually hand painted in my Adelaide Hills' studio.
No two pieces are identical.
My Background
I became a fabric painter/colourist by
pure chance. Whilst walking past a tiny gallery in a seaside
suburb of Adelaide I saw a beautiful dress in the window, I coveted it
immediately, soft greens and turquoise like the sea, beautiful
material, flattering style, just my colors - I knew it was
for me. I went in but (of course as usual) it was
too small. I asked if by chance I could order one in my size, the
answer regretfully was NO, it was hand painted fabric and a "one-off".
I have to admit then that I didn't really know what she
meant. Seeing my obviously crestfallen face the
lady said to me... "however I can teach you to paint your own fabric so
you can make your own dress!" - I was hooked from them on.
Fay was an enthusiast and a most encouraging teacher. With
Fay at my elbow I even painted a silk picture (but I could never repeat
it, it all happened so fast there was no time to take notes). I started
in the summer in the garden with cotton stretched between two tables
under the patio. I had numerous dresses, aprons, table
napkins - anything was an excuse to get making
colors. At that stage I was using heat fix Pebeo
Setacolour. When winter arrived I took over the spare
bedroom, tarpaulins on the floor, covers for the bed, the bottles on
the dressing table. .When we moved to our present home in the Adelaide
Hills Jim built me an enormous studio all for
myself. I now use Pebeo Soie both for silk
and wool and Jim has built me a vertical steamer to take the wide
fabric.
I graduated to silk, more exciting and possibly salable (as I was
painting far more than I could possibly use). In those days
Adelaide was knee deep in silk painters, all far better than me
- they were real artists - not some secretary with
a fondness for color. I tried various craft shops without
much success but still didn't stop. Then I had a
stroke of luck. In my early silk painting days I had met a
lady who ran a restaurant and she tried to sell my work too but the
place closed and she disappeared. Then out of the blue I had
a phone call from her. She told me she was manageress of the
most expensive tourist shop in Cairns (Great Barrier Reef) and thought
she could sell my work. She was right. Sandra gave
me enough confidence to approach other tourist places and so for ten
years or so I painted silk scarves and sold them to upmarket tourist
shops, resorts and hotels all over Australia. This was all
part-time, fitted in between a full-time job.
I had to learn to sell and to run a business, which I picked up the
hard way - by myself! For instance when I started I had no
idea I would be able to buy materials 'wholesale' - such was
my ignorance. I have managed to master the GST, discounts,
claiming against tax, expense accounts etc. My
English relatives were all rather negative - don't you think
you are too old, you have no training, you will have to do accounts,
what if you fail... One of the wonderful things
about Australia is the positive thinking - 'great have a go'
and if you fail - 'well bad luck, what are you going to try
next?
I took my silk to the Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock and also sold my
scarves to the Government, both State and Federal, and others as gifts
for overseas travelers or visitors. It was a chance remark in
Canberra "its a pity you don't have an all-Australian product" that set
me off onto the present track.
Locating wool fine enough to paint on with a suitable finish was
difficult, even in Australia, but eventually I discovered
some and started selling Australian wool scarves to Australians - more
difficult than silk! I had not been a scarf person,
but of course selling scarves oneself had to change all that and I
learned as I went along, picking up tips from all over the place and I
saw how relaxed and unfussy the Europeans are about wearing scarves and
wraps. They just pick up a wool scarf and fling it around in
"Brave Heart" fashion and off they go - no prissing around.
Silk of course is slippery and is mainly for the perfection dresser but
the wool is magic. I doesn't slide around into your coffee
and doesn't need constant ironing. Being so very light it can
be worn anywhere one would wear silk.
I made a shirt to promote myself, someone asked me to paint one for
them and the shirt side of the business was up and running. I
now have the most wonderful professional making my shirts for
me.
Where I am today
With the change of direction to mainly wool I changed marketing
direction too. Over the years I have become tired
of waiting and hassling for my money, tired of being told my scarves
are too expensive (of course nothing to do with the 100-150% markup
that many retail outlets add). The lack of interest in most salespeople
as to the individuality or quality of the item has been another
disappointment.I have now given up retailing and I sell
direct from the studio, by mail and I travel to agricultural field
days, craft shows and such events trying to promote Australia's great
(and forgotten) fabric. There one can talk to
people and interest them in the product and they in turn feel they have
bought something with a background. I have several
customers with more than one shirt - they come back each year
for another color - what more praise could one
have. One advantage in being a small business is that one can
cater for small orders or personalized items. The shirts come in
standard sizes, but can be made to order in any size and almost any
color you can dream up. Each piece is painted individually so
the amount of material and color will be different for each
customer. People can buy a wool length and sew up their own
garment.
I have on three occasions (2004 last) brought my work over to the West
End Craft Fair associated with the Edinburgh Festival and had a great
response to the fabric and colors
Jim and I often go 'bush' and the outback colors of Australia are a
constant inspiration. It must have taken the move from soft
pastel Europe to vibrant Australia to give birth to my love of color
and hence the whole fabric painting business. I am now
retired but not stopped!, gadding about even more around Australia,
meeting fantastic people and having a great time. Thank you
Fay Kijas my first teacher for everything, you had no idea what you
started.
To Contact Jan:
If you wish to see more look up Ditchfield Designs Australia
on the web and if anyone visits Adelaide in South Australia
give me a ring and come up and see it all.
