Maker Holly Banfield started her slow-paced label HB Archive with transparency in mind. In this interview with HB we discuss some ‘why’s: Why does HB Archive operate the way it does? Why should people know where their stuff comes from? Why should makers be transparent in their process? Read on below.
EM: Who are you and what you do?
HB: I’m Holly Banfield, and I run the clothing label HB Archive, which is obviously my initials - HB. And then the ‘archive’ is the library of products, garments and accessories that I have created over the last 5 or so years. What *I* do is I make them all!
EM: You have a passion for using ethical methods and materials - Where did this begin? Was that easy for you to start to do?
HB: Not really. I think it's been a really long research process. The way that I do things is quite slow paced anyway, I like to plan. I can't jump straight into anything in my life. I have to really plan it. There’s a lot of lists in my world!
I did a 3 year degree, studying fashion, and in the last year [of study] the Rana Plaza collapsed, and really I wanted to have nothing to do with fashion after that. I finished my degree and I was like, ‘I hate this, fashion sucks, it's way too fast paced and everything's fucked.’ Yeah. Then I didn’t do anything for a year, and ended up working on the shop floor for the so-called ‘largest ethical women's company in Australia’ - that's like what they like to call themselves, I won’t say who - and I was getting lots of questions from customers, and we were selling lots of polyester, and a majority of our stuff was made off-shore when we were claiming to make it on-shore. I was having to greenwash to my customers. I had the opportunity to meet the designers and the owners of the company and I asked them and they wouldn't have the answers. I just hated that. I started emailing a bunch of small, local brands that I could see were trying, and then I got an internship with an incredible local brand. She was like doing the right thing and making in Melbourne. So from there I started changing the way I did things.
EM: How much of what is out there that is labelled ethical, green or sustainable actually is?
HB: The brands I'm into don’t use those words, because that’s greenwashing. I don't use the word ‘ethical’ very much in my brand, I try not to. I try to think ‘transparent’ is a very important word, because obviously we know what that means. I think there's so many different branches of what ‘ethical’ could be and what ‘sustainable’ could be. I just like to be honest about what I can control and then what I can't control - That’s why me making it all is good but then, still I use deadstock that I don't know where it comes from, and even though I have the certifications of organic for some of my fabrics, I ask ‘where is the dye from?’
EM: All we can do is the best we can.
HB: Yeah.
EM: So for consumers who want to buy, wear and contribute to a sustainable cycle - What should they look out for in the art and fashion that they buy?
HB: What I do, I look at their ‘About me’ to see where it's made and if they're honest in the ‘About me’ section on their website. If it’s not listed I just close the tab. Sometimes if I have a little bit of time I’ll email them and ask.
EM: Why do you think it is important for people to know where the things that they wear come from?
HB: Well there's the whole thing of ‘we're all human,’ if you wanted to go down that path. Everyone deserves to have a good life and not be stressed and not be working every single day to try to support their families. And then I think it's important to connect the whole life cycle of the garment that you're wearing because, for me if I know the person who made it, where the fabric has come from, and the thought process that gone in it, I can see there's so much care and detail in each thing that I treasure that item and I love it. But if you’re just buying something from like, Zara for the weekend, you don't really care about it and you don't have the love.
EM: You’ve described your process as slow paced. How do you start the planning process?
HB: To get a product into the archive where I'm happy with it being on the website takes a couple of years. I don't do seasons. I don't design out of wanting to sell. I design either something I need, or there's someone, like a friend, that is wanting something that I make for them. That adds to my creative process. For instance the jeans that I'm wearing now, I made before I had a brand, they’re now the chore pants. There’s a post on my personal instagram before I had a brand of them captioned “I think I just made the best pants in the world!” They were a white denim, then I made a matching jacket that's become the chore jacket. But so many things have changed - I’ve tweaked the zip and the crotch and the leg shape and the length and how wide the hem is and the pockets. I’ve changed everything over. I think the design process is always adapting.
EM: Why did you start making?
HB: My earliest memories of sewing, I remember making cat clothes. I made my cat a fleece blanket, I hand sewed elastic under the bottom so it would go around and a big sock for her tail (laughs.) So why did I start sewing? I think I was just a kid who needed to be creative in some way.
EM: A little while ago you started posting a transparency series on Instagram - what was the reaction that followed after you started sharing that information?
HB: I’ve done quite a few and every time it surprises me by the amount of people I don’t know that message to say ‘thank you so much for sharing, that’s so kind of you, that's really really brave.’ And when I would see people I do know they would bring up a post. It was strange because I thought those were people who knew about that stuff already. The most recent thing that I did was I recorded a video myself one Saturday making my dot bag - I have it online for $75, which I don't make money from really. The smaller things take quite a lot of time because I love facings and doing things kind of backwards when I create. So I was I was recording myself making this bag that I don't really get any profit from, and it wasn't selling it at $75 price point
because I think people were like, ‘oh it's just a tote,’ but it takes quite a while to sew each one. It made a lot of people question their other clothes, which is also a really good reaction. I think it's good to look at all of the things in your wardrobe and ask, ‘why is it only this price?’ because if that took that long on fast forward for this girl to make a tote, then what about everything else that I’m buying super cheap?
EM: I think that's why what you do is so important, because not many other labels are offering that level of transparency. What kinds of things would you suggest to other makers is important to share with their audiences or customers who might buy but not know about the making process?
HB: First off, know your worth. Whether you're doing photography or design or jewellery. You know how much time goes into it, so you should be charging the time it takes. The first internship I did I asked the designer ‘what should I be charging?’ ‘cause I was in uni and people were starting to want me to sew them stuff. They were happy to pay for fabric but they thought because I was their friend that I would make it for free. And back then I probably would ‘cause I didn't know any better. But she said, ‘your friends are your first customers, so if your friends aren’t going to pay for you who's going to pay for you?’ and that was just the best advice I think I could have had at the start. Know your worth.
Then also transparency. You know your worth, now you need to teach everyone else why it's that price.
EM: What specifically in your transparency series are you shedding light on?
HB: It’s based on my costing sheet, I got the template at uni, and then I've adapted it to suit myself. So the things that are in my costing sheet - I don't charge the time it took to create the pattern and edit the pattern because that was the last however many years, or if I alter something for someone I generally don't charge for that either. So it's got the cost of cutting the fabric, the cost of like sewing, pressing, the finishings (which I generally undercut how long it takes to sew on all my press studs, but I also do that in my bed watching TV, so it's a nice time) and then I have it the amount of time that it takes me to sew it, times by a 38 hour working week, so the overheads of that percentage are in there as well. And then I have material; fabrications, fusing, buttons, zips, tags. I get my tags digitally printed onto my own organic canvas and then I press them and sew them in individually because I didn't I couldn't find any that were not on polyester. That's all the things, ‘all the things you forget’ - That’s what I write on my transparency posts.
EM: What advice do you have for creatives starting out who are concerned with transparency and using ethical materials in their craft?
HB: Do your research. I'm still in two minds about everything that I do. I try to do the best thing I can but then for example you listen to a podcast somewhere that says you're not meant to be using cotton at all! Just do your best and research everything because there's going to be someone telling you that it's okay and someone telling you that it's not okay. You can't do everything right. That's something that I try not to beat myself up about is that you can only control so much. There's not a brand out there that can be 100% on everything because really, making clothes, we’re still producing stuff. Do your best, maybe figure out the top 3 things are the most important to you and try to stick to them. Everything takes time so if you're starting out, or if you're quite established but you want to change things, it might take a little while.
︎︎︎︎
EM: Who are you and what you do?HB: I’m Holly Banfield, and I run the clothing label HB Archive, which is obviously my initials - HB. And then the ‘archive’ is the library of products, garments and accessories that I have created over the last 5 or so years. What *I* do is I make them all!
EM: You have a passion for using ethical methods and materials - Where did this begin? Was that easy for you to start to do?
HB: Not really. I think it's been a really long research process. The way that I do things is quite slow paced anyway, I like to plan. I can't jump straight into anything in my life. I have to really plan it. There’s a lot of lists in my world!
I did a 3 year degree, studying fashion, and in the last year [of study] the Rana Plaza collapsed, and really I wanted to have nothing to do with fashion after that. I finished my degree and I was like, ‘I hate this, fashion sucks, it's way too fast paced and everything's fucked.’ Yeah. Then I didn’t do anything for a year, and ended up working on the shop floor for the so-called ‘largest ethical women's company in Australia’ - that's like what they like to call themselves, I won’t say who - and I was getting lots of questions from customers, and we were selling lots of polyester, and a majority of our stuff was made off-shore when we were claiming to make it on-shore. I was having to greenwash to my customers. I had the opportunity to meet the designers and the owners of the company and I asked them and they wouldn't have the answers. I just hated that. I started emailing a bunch of small, local brands that I could see were trying, and then I got an internship with an incredible local brand. She was like doing the right thing and making in Melbourne. So from there I started changing the way I did things.
EM: How much of what is out there that is labelled ethical, green or sustainable actually is?
HB: The brands I'm into don’t use those words, because that’s greenwashing. I don't use the word ‘ethical’ very much in my brand, I try not to. I try to think ‘transparent’ is a very important word, because obviously we know what that means. I think there's so many different branches of what ‘ethical’ could be and what ‘sustainable’ could be. I just like to be honest about what I can control and then what I can't control - That’s why me making it all is good but then, still I use deadstock that I don't know where it comes from, and even though I have the certifications of organic for some of my fabrics, I ask ‘where is the dye from?’
EM: All we can do is the best we can.
HB: Yeah.
EM: So for consumers who want to buy, wear and contribute to a sustainable cycle - What should they look out for in the art and fashion that they buy?
HB: What I do, I look at their ‘About me’ to see where it's made and if they're honest in the ‘About me’ section on their website. If it’s not listed I just close the tab. Sometimes if I have a little bit of time I’ll email them and ask.
EM: Why do you think it is important for people to know where the things that they wear come from?
HB: Well there's the whole thing of ‘we're all human,’ if you wanted to go down that path. Everyone deserves to have a good life and not be stressed and not be working every single day to try to support their families. And then I think it's important to connect the whole life cycle of the garment that you're wearing because, for me if I know the person who made it, where the fabric has come from, and the thought process that gone in it, I can see there's so much care and detail in each thing that I treasure that item and I love it. But if you’re just buying something from like, Zara for the weekend, you don't really care about it and you don't have the love.
EM: You’ve described your process as slow paced. How do you start the planning process?
HB: To get a product into the archive where I'm happy with it being on the website takes a couple of years. I don't do seasons. I don't design out of wanting to sell. I design either something I need, or there's someone, like a friend, that is wanting something that I make for them. That adds to my creative process. For instance the jeans that I'm wearing now, I made before I had a brand, they’re now the chore pants. There’s a post on my personal instagram before I had a brand of them captioned “I think I just made the best pants in the world!” They were a white denim, then I made a matching jacket that's become the chore jacket. But so many things have changed - I’ve tweaked the zip and the crotch and the leg shape and the length and how wide the hem is and the pockets. I’ve changed everything over. I think the design process is always adapting.
EM: Why did you start making?
HB: My earliest memories of sewing, I remember making cat clothes. I made my cat a fleece blanket, I hand sewed elastic under the bottom so it would go around and a big sock for her tail (laughs.) So why did I start sewing? I think I was just a kid who needed to be creative in some way.
EM: A little while ago you started posting a transparency series on Instagram - what was the reaction that followed after you started sharing that information?
HB: I’ve done quite a few and every time it surprises me by the amount of people I don’t know that message to say ‘thank you so much for sharing, that’s so kind of you, that's really really brave.’ And when I would see people I do know they would bring up a post. It was strange because I thought those were people who knew about that stuff already. The most recent thing that I did was I recorded a video myself one Saturday making my dot bag - I have it online for $75, which I don't make money from really. The smaller things take quite a lot of time because I love facings and doing things kind of backwards when I create. So I was I was recording myself making this bag that I don't really get any profit from, and it wasn't selling it at $75 price point
because I think people were like, ‘oh it's just a tote,’ but it takes quite a while to sew each one. It made a lot of people question their other clothes, which is also a really good reaction. I think it's good to look at all of the things in your wardrobe and ask, ‘why is it only this price?’ because if that took that long on fast forward for this girl to make a tote, then what about everything else that I’m buying super cheap?
EM: I think that's why what you do is so important, because not many other labels are offering that level of transparency. What kinds of things would you suggest to other makers is important to share with their audiences or customers who might buy but not know about the making process?
HB: First off, know your worth. Whether you're doing photography or design or jewellery. You know how much time goes into it, so you should be charging the time it takes. The first internship I did I asked the designer ‘what should I be charging?’ ‘cause I was in uni and people were starting to want me to sew them stuff. They were happy to pay for fabric but they thought because I was their friend that I would make it for free. And back then I probably would ‘cause I didn't know any better. But she said, ‘your friends are your first customers, so if your friends aren’t going to pay for you who's going to pay for you?’ and that was just the best advice I think I could have had at the start. Know your worth.
Then also transparency. You know your worth, now you need to teach everyone else why it's that price.
EM: What specifically in your transparency series are you shedding light on?
HB: It’s based on my costing sheet, I got the template at uni, and then I've adapted it to suit myself. So the things that are in my costing sheet - I don't charge the time it took to create the pattern and edit the pattern because that was the last however many years, or if I alter something for someone I generally don't charge for that either. So it's got the cost of cutting the fabric, the cost of like sewing, pressing, the finishings (which I generally undercut how long it takes to sew on all my press studs, but I also do that in my bed watching TV, so it's a nice time) and then I have it the amount of time that it takes me to sew it, times by a 38 hour working week, so the overheads of that percentage are in there as well. And then I have material; fabrications, fusing, buttons, zips, tags. I get my tags digitally printed onto my own organic canvas and then I press them and sew them in individually because I didn't I couldn't find any that were not on polyester. That's all the things, ‘all the things you forget’ - That’s what I write on my transparency posts.
EM: What advice do you have for creatives starting out who are concerned with transparency and using ethical materials in their craft?
HB: Do your research. I'm still in two minds about everything that I do. I try to do the best thing I can but then for example you listen to a podcast somewhere that says you're not meant to be using cotton at all! Just do your best and research everything because there's going to be someone telling you that it's okay and someone telling you that it's not okay. You can't do everything right. That's something that I try not to beat myself up about is that you can only control so much. There's not a brand out there that can be 100% on everything because really, making clothes, we’re still producing stuff. Do your best, maybe figure out the top 3 things are the most important to you and try to stick to them. Everything takes time so if you're starting out, or if you're quite established but you want to change things, it might take a little while.