Featured Artist Anna - RetroReproHandmade

What could be greater then to meet someone very talented and wonderful? I am honor to feature my first artist/designer on my blog. Please read her interview and visit her shops for more spectacular designs. Please also don’t forget to enter for her wonderful giveaway.

http:// RetroReproHandmade.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/whoknowswear

- Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm Anna; I grew up and live in Italy. I work in the costumes department o the Opera Theater of Como as a costume designer and seamstress; my main interests are about history of costume and fashion. I love movies, boos, animals, black and white photos, traveling as much as I can.

-What are your inspirations?
I like mixing new and old, new fabrics to old styles, contemporary tastes to retro patterns. My inspiration comes from the past, 1920s, 1950s, from period costumes I work with, from portraits of great ladies like Audrey Hepburn, Louise Brooks, Frida Kahlo or from the paintings by Tamara deLempicka. The composed elegance of oriental fashion inspires through its geometry and bright colors. I believe that creativity can be kept alive and fresh by following the rules on one side of creation (cutting and sewing), and being totally outlaw on others (choosing and assembling styles).



-How did you become involved with fashion?
I got started during university as an apprentice in a fashion atelier where I made my first steps in cutting and sewing. Then I kept practicing to improve my skills and even though since then all my efforts were about making costumes for theater, I always thought I could do something to play my little role in fashion, so here I am with my hats and clothes.

- Tell us a bit about your Etsy shops.
Being on Etsy is the ideal dimension: it allows you to try and see what you can do, even having no idea on how to put up a website. It lets you show off our skills and ideas to people, and you can meet who motivates and support from far away your little home-work. It means a lot to me. My shops are my window on the world: people can write and comment on my creations, giving me positive or negative feedback. I keep listening, to improve what I offer and how I offer it. Customers coming back to buy more or buying for gifts are a pride and a warrant to me!

- What advice would you give to future designers?
Have fun. If you do, it's hard to make mistakes. Have fun crafting and making things that people can enjoy. Fashion and creativity are something you can play with, in my opinion, and as long as the game is funny, you can't get enough...

- Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself doing multiple jobs, just like now. I like working with theater, cinema, fashion, design, university studies and individual creation. I hope I can keep following all these different examples of artistic expressivity, as well as I hope to travel more to foreign countries, which is always the best way to learn and experience about yourself and what's around you.
- Share an interesting fact about yourself
I have an attraction for northern landscapes. Last year I visited Iceland, and in July I'll be traveling to Svalbard Islands, Norway. I would love to see Alaska and Canada, also. I like to see how cold weather rules and shapes landscapes and lifestyles, and the colors you enjoy in these places are so unique...

This beautiful apparels from Anna's second shop on Etsy. Please visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/whoknowswear for more great designs.

***GIVEAWAY***

Anna was so generous to offer her big seller item for her giveaway “TURQUOISE CLOCHE with double brim”. If you want to be a lucky winner please follow the steps. It is pretty simple!

1-1 1- Please visit her etsy shop(s) and post a comment under this post with the LINK of your favorite item from her shop and please don't forget to add your e-mail address.

http:// RetroReproHandmade.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/whoknowswear

2- 2- Please follow my blog.

The giveaway is open to any country and will end on June 6 at midnight! The winner will be chosen using http://www.random.org/