About Me
Hi, I'm Rachel, a Fashion Design graduate from Northumbria.
Influenced by growing up on the coast and its comfort, ‘My Mother the Sea’ is a narrative-based collection created using hand-crafted texture with sculpture. It portrays a woman escaping life’s pressures, finding solace in a small coastal town where each rock-pool contains a whole ocean of life.
This concept was developed following a tempestuous storm in my own life, much like the North Sea my mind was relentless, wave upon wave of anxiety crashing upon my shores and the bleak, cold waters pulling me under. As the fog began to clear and I was finally able to keep myself afloat, my first venture outside in over 8 months lead me to St Mary’s Lighthouse and I was able to escape into the memories of my childhood and the stories I would dream up as I watched the sun dancing on the waves.
INSPIRATION
My Mother the Sea.
Salt air dances around your hair, coiling and curling with a life of its own. Waves are crashing against the rocks, breaking against the wall of the promenade. You bring a shell up to your ear and the sound of you laughing and squealing in delight as a child plays out. In the distance, Mum is telling your brother off- he’s been chasing you around with seaweed, its tendrils rippling in the wind, threatening to cling to your body and mould and to you like a second skin.
She’s not really mad though, amusement is clear in her tone and Dad is hiding his smile behind his hand as you flail around like a banshee. There’s sand crunching underfoot and you know you’ll find it everywhere for weeks to come, a constant reminder of memories past and present and the thought of those still to come. Despite the grey of the Northern Sea the rare sunlight catches each rise and fall of the tide, a glistening gem luring you closer. It calls to you, tugging at your chest, pulling you in.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
DETAIL
Seaweed 'Seaquins'
Much like how my local beaches allowed me to sift through the rubble and wreckage of my own storm and heal, I wanted to do the same for my beloved coastlines. Following the mess and destruction left behind from Storm Babet, I trawled Whitley Bay beach, exploring the mountains of washed-up seaweed and debris searching for treasure. The amount of discarded rubbish and plastic was staggering, leading to me exploring the possibility of using the organic waste from these storms to produce plastic-free embellishments. From excess damaged and discarded seaweed thrown from the sea by storms, I have been able to create ‘Seaquins’, an alternative to plastic sequins that utilises this organic waste whilst also being biodegradable and encouraging conversations surrounding microplastics in our oceans. My motivation behind developing this embellishment method stems from a vision of a mutually beneficial relationship where we use what the sea is offering and transform it into a vessel for change and communication.
"So that the monotonous fall of the waves on the beach, which for the most part beat a measured and soothing tattoo to her thoughts, seemed consolingly to repeat over and over again."- Virginia Woolf.
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