/ 20 May 2011

We ? handmade

We ? Handmade

Sailors are — like dragons, phoenix and giant sea turtles — creatures that lend themselves to myth and legend. The call and response of the open seas is one of mystery, adventure, danger and superstition.

There is a story that women on the Aran Isles would knit distinctive sweaters for their seagoing sons, brothers, fathers and husbands, so that the báinín (unique stitch pattern) could be used to identify drowned, decomposed bodies.

Textile historians have taken pains to prove that the story is untrue and is in fact the product of a successful marketing campaign in the 1930s, possibly based on a plot device in a popular play, Riders to the Sea, where a woman recognises the corpse of her dead brother by a dropped stitch in his stockings.

The semiotics of young men and the sea are, perhaps, better represented by centuries of nautical tattoos — stars, girls, ships, swallows, pigs and roosters. Ideograms that, though useful in identifying corpses (or pirates!), were more commonly used to ward against ill luck and mark significant journeys and events — permanent picture postcards.

Durban-based fashion designers Laurie and Gary Holmes (better known under their label Holmes Bros) have recently commissioned a limited-edition range of handmade felt badges based on contemporary versions of traditional naval tattoo designs. “I like vintage tattoos,” Laurie says. “There’s always an element of that aesthetic in our designs, as well as surf and hot-rod culture.”

She saw a series of Victorian-looking felt badges produced by Durban designer Sara Trickett and asked her to come up with some ideas for the shop that had a slightly edgier vibe. “The tattoos were Laurie’s idea, but I’ve always been interested in that aesthetic,” Trickett says.

Trickett researched and compared traditional nautical tattoo designs and came up with a set for the Holmes Bros stores, including an anchor, a pair of swallows, a flaming heart and a red heart with a scroll that reads “HONOR”.

Trickett dyes her own felt in a pot on her stove, a few squares at a time. “I wish I had access to more 100% wool felt — here we get acrylic. The colours you get in the shops are disgusting.

“I buy plain white felt from the wholesalers and experiment with colour. The hand-dying makes it a bit more special.” Trickett has an assistant who helps her with stitching but makes each badge herself by cutting the felt by hand.

“Not everyone understands the [cost of the] handmade process,” she says. “It’s not easy, not like ordering something from China. But it’s worth it. There aren’t enough handmade beautiful things.” Sara Trickett’s tattoo felt badges are available from Holmes Bros stores in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

To find their stores, go to www.holmesbros.co.za. For more of Trickett’s work, visit luckyouhandmade.blogspot.com