My name is Kathy Lamont and I am the creator of Lamonster Handmade Clothing. I make dresses, tunics and bloomer sets, pantaloons, rompers and suspender rompers in sizes newborn to size four. I sell mainly through Etsy and also at various market stalls around Perth.
Overwhelmed by the lack of sleep and the all consuming needs of a newborn, I taught myself to sew after the birth of my daughter in October 2010 as a way of finding a little outlet for myself. I immediately loved the process of sewing and soon progressed from simple things like pillow cases/baby toys to clothing for myself and my daughter.
A few months later, I entered a picture of myself and my daughter wearing matching dresses that I had made into a Spotlight competition and won the first prize!
After the competition I received a lot of great feedback. In particular people loved the little vintage inspired outfits that I was making for my daughter and soon received orders for children’s clothing from family and friends. My little label has been in operation for just over one year, and it’s been a great year!
The highlights have been receiving pictures of children in their outfits and also being featured in some of my favorite magazines such as Frankie, Peppermint, Tickle the Imagination, Kid Magazine and Kid Independent. I also won a market stall for a year in Fremantle.
I am inspired by so many things but mainly my daughter (my favorite outfit for her is her Beatrix Potter suspender romper), fabrics, vintage children’s fashion and pattern books, the sewing community and meeting like-minded local creative people.
I work part time as a legal assistant in a busy law firm in the CBD. That as well as caring for my now two year old daughter and finding time to sew keeps me very busy, and is perhaps my biggest challenge. Luckily I have the support of my amazing husband who helps with my promotional photography and all graphic design tasks.
Making garments by hand is a time consuming process: all fabric must be pre-washed, and then you cut the fabric, then assemble the clothing – which includes hand-stitching buttons etc and lots of pressing. Also there is work to do to get the garments into the Etsy shop (such as photos) and marketing – so people know that I exist!
This is why I love handmade – the process. A handmade item has had someone’s valuable time and care and is unique and one of a kind. I believe that supporting handmade is a way of connecting with the community and encourages individuality by being able to customise garments for the customer.
It’s for this reason I am so excited to be a part of Montage!
This is my first Montage collaboration and the opportunity to be surrounded by so many creative and talented people is mind blowing!
I think the idea of a group of artists creating their own pop up shop is so resourceful – what a fantastic way to get some exposure for our products.
I definitely have big plans for Lamonster and hope 2013 bring lots of great opportunities.
CONTACT LAMONSTER
ph: 0421 160 605
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LamonsterHandmadeClothing
web: www.lamonstershop.com