Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Alliday Artist: Meet Red Fawkes!

Tell us a little about yourself and your business.
Red Fawkes consists of two principle designers - myself (Christy Collins) and Rachel Campbell.  Rachel and I met in the design studio, back in college, almost a decade ago.  The years haven’t changed us a bit; we still work until 3am, we still spend hours in a fabric store and we hardly ever leave a salvage yard empty-handed.

The idea for Red Fawkes was conceived in a coffee shop last year.  Rachel and I share a passion for philanthropy, and to feed that fire, we both volunteer our design services to various charities.  Developing a ‘socially awear’ design studio just seemed like a natural transition in our careers.  Right now we are working with Veterans’ Families United Foundation (VFU).  Red Fawkes and VFU partnered up to create something light-hearted, something simple, something that would tell a story…something that would reach the spirits of the children belonging to service member parents.  We created the Woodstock the Pig line.  This line focuses around a piggy bank therapy tool that promotes open communication and family togetherness.  Red Fawkes expanded on that concept and created a fun apparel and accessory line available for purchase by the public.  Proceeds from the Woodstock the Pig line go to VFU to help fund their mission to provide holistic healing resources for service members and their families.

Even though Red Fawkes specializes in non-profit design, we run a private line of handmade Red Fawkes products that are created with love – that tickle our soul.

What do you create and what do YOU love about your products?
We love that we are storytellers – every design, every product is more than just what you see on the surface; there is a history and a purpose to each design; every piece is part of the journey. 

Red Fawkes sells hand-screened children’s apparel, custom jewelry and photography prints.  We strive to create (or-recreate) products that have a positive impact on the lives of everyone involved.  We source only US manufacturers for our custom metal work and only use local vendors for our supplies.  We look for material of the past to re-create something in the present.  We recycle.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere.  Just this last weekend, Rachel and I were rummaging through a salvage yard looking for pieces, colors and materials to be used for new designs.  I have a weakness for rust.  There is something about the journey a rusty piece has to take to get that beautiful aesthetic look that makes the appearance to me so appealing.  The colors – oranges, blues, greens, reds, silvers, golds – the textures; the layers of complexity and age.  My favorite pieces usually have been left outside to face the elements completely exposed.  I just think it takes a lot of living to produce something of substance.

The Alliday Show believes that everyday should be celebrated as a holiday! That being said, which holiday do you wish were everyday and why?
Love, love, love Halloween!  Its just so fun – costumes, candy, parties and jack-o-lanterns.  What other holiday gives you a free ticket to hit up your neighbor’s house to satisfy your chocolate craving? 
If you could create your own holiday, what would it be and why?
It would be completely awesome if Red Fawkes could start a trend to celebrate ‘Key-Day’.

Key-Day would be a day where the custom is to exchange an old skeleton key with someone special.  With the key being a physical representation that ‘unlocks’ something meaningful in the exchange – like, giving away the key to your heart, the key to your home, the key to your success, etc. - the key to that opens a door to a new world.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Holiday greeting cards.


How would you describe your work in three words?
Industrial
Raw
Soulful

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