Read office's exclusive interview with Lily below, and check out her pieces available for sale on apoc-store.com.
How are you?
I’m good! The pace of the world for me has been speeding up which can be overwhelming but I'm trying to lean into this time of change and create constantly as a way to process it all.
Where are you from?
I am from Southern California, greater Los Angeles area. I grew up in a couple different places as my parents are divorced, but Long Beach and Orange County area mostly.
How did that inspire your work?
Growing up so close to the ocean and natrue of Southern California, I spent a lot of my time playing and exploring nature. I developed a love and respect for the natrual world, something that has definitely carried into my work.
When did you first start making clothes?
I have been making clothes most of my life in some form. Both my parents are designers, they have always been very supportive of me doing anything creative. My mom taught me to sew and gave me scraps from samples to experiment making with, and I never really stopped experimenting with garment making!
What made you transition into crochet?
I think I learned how to crochet in middle school, and I’ve been doing it so long that in a lot of ways it has become second nature. I find it very natural for me to conceptualize and create as it’s a single line that can be connected and added to in a way that is very intuitive and organic. I was revisiting it a couple years ago first as a medium for sculptural art objects which eventually evolved into making clothing this past year when the pandemic started. I think the tactile practice of crochet can be really meditative and comforting. I was creating garments that made me feel safe and held, that felt like armor against the world.
Who or what is an inspiration for you with your clothing?
Nature has always been one of my biggest inspirations, the organic forms and lines realized on walks in nature and palpable memories of interactions with water and earth have translated into my work subconsciously. I also have been working with natural fibers from the region I live in as well as dying my own fibers, and the textures and colors of the materials themselves have often served as inspiration for the garments.
What do you see in your brand’s future?
I really love my current model of one of a kind, custom, and made to order pieces so probably sticking with that and letting it grow organically. I’d love to go deeper into the process of creating garments, so focusing more on the materials I source, I’d love to collaborate with local fiber farmers, learn to spin my own yarn, and maybe someday even grow some of my own fibers that I use!
How did your collaboration with Apoc come to be?
I had actually been following them for a while! I really admire the artists and designers that they showcase, and the focus on wearable one-of-a-kind art pieces. So when they reached out to me on Instagram it felt like a perfect fit!
In celebration of the capsule collection released last week, Everyday People organized one of their iconic events, co-hosted by Daily Paper, at Elsewhere in Brooklyn. The event harkened back to the New York roots of Everyday People, which started as a series of small gatherings in the Lower East Side.
Shop the collection at dailypaperclothing.com and any Daily Paper flagship store.
