This Floreat fabric maker’s new fashion textile line is the ultimate in Boho chic.
American-born fabric maker Nancy Ballesteros moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Perth in 1990
She immediately went about setting up her studio at her home in Floreat. A veritable makers paradise, the studio is draped in hundreds of metres of luxurious dyed silk fabrics, and brims with bales of richly coloured wool. From this small space come big things, with Nancy’s suburban business now servicing the international market.
Her acclaim stems from her rare fabric making techniques and skills.
These see Nancy adopt an ancient slow craft in creating her unique, bold fabric collections. Her new release of garments – titled Natural Rhythms – features the felting process known as Nuno, which sees superfine Merino wool and luxe silk fabrics married into a textured fabric confection.
“It is an ingenious method for creating lightweight fabric and the perfect way to add lustre and texture to wool cloth, whilst creating super-soft, drapable wearable garments,” says Nancy
Given she has become a specialist in the technique, Nancy has become a key source for textile makers, artisans and designers around the world.
These creatives commission her Nuno fabrics, as well as buy up her hand-dyed Merino fibres through her business – Treetops Colour Harmonies – which she has been selling for thirty years. This international standing has seen Nancy have the pleasure of watching her wares shown on the runways of Europe and in artisan exhibitions throughout Australia and the USA.
So where does she continue to draw inspiration from after such a long and illustrious career in fabrics?
Nancy’s muse is the colour in nature – from the blues of the Indian ocean, to the flora and fauna of the Australian bush. However, she is equally obsessed with the science of creating colours that are a perfect batch match for makers – a crucial step in allowing re-order and the possibility of re-creating works that are the unique colour that each maker desires. Her latest collection is no exception.
“My Natural Rhythms collection is a culmination of my passion for fashion, science, colour and the ancient art of felt-making,” Nancy says. “My designs are based on Leonardo Fibonacci’s mathematical sequences and applied colour theory, and it was amazing to see the ancient combined with the modern.”
CONTACT: 08 9387 3007, http://www.treetopscolours.com.au