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| Featured Designer |
| Oh dear I'm such a dill! When I updated this page I just deleted everything ... then I stopped to think. Typical of me! I always do things in such a hurry. I didn't realise at the time but I had deleted my only copy of the page while Kay McKay was the featured designer and to make my mistake bigger I had done the same thing to Elizabeth Davies the previous featured designer. If anyone kept a copy of those pages I would love it if you could please email them back to me for my records. Thank you! For the next few months the featurered designer is Kathryn Trenholme. From my very own back yard in Canberra, Australia. I’ve known Kathryn for several years now and she has always been very positive and supportive of my dressmaking and of Colleens’ of Canberra. When one of my dresses isn’t sitting right Kathryn is always willing to give me some tips on how to fix my problem – and she is usually correct as well!!!! (Thanks Kathryn!) I block my mind off sometimes when things start looking too hard – angles, geometry and maths in general!!!! But lucky for me, like so many dressmakers Kathryn has a mathematical mind, I can’t believe how much maths can be applied to in dressmaking. Kathryn has also donated a further two designs to Colleens of Canberra. Thanks again Kathryn! |
| How long have you been designing Irish Dance Dresses?
I don’t know the answer to that question! I started off designing with the first dress I made when I was 16 because there was no option. It was wonderful when Seven Gates started producing iron-on transfers, so I used those for quite a long while. I have been “individualising” designs for quite a long while, but I started designing complete designs again about three years ago. |
| Did you learn Irish dancing as a child?
Yes. I started learning to dance when I was 9 years old. I danced for the Williams School in Canberra. Our teacher moved to another state and I took over after a year and that started the Trenholme School of Irish Dancing. In 1988 I became a qualified TCRG. My school is now called Scoil Rince Tir an Oir. (It had to start with T because I didn’t want to embroider more shawls!) |
| What made you first decide to design a dress?
I decided to step up my dressmaking from a hobby to a business and it just seemed to be part of that. |
| How long does it take to draw a design?
It really varies. If inspiration has struck it can be as little as 3-4 hours, otherwise it can sometimes take weeks. |
| Do you use computer programs?
No, I draw my designs to full scale using greaseproof paper and pencil. |
| What has been your inspiration?
I have a Celtic Quilting Book that really inspires me. Just a pretty knot or even a shape can be inspirational. Sometimes even something totally unrelated from dancing. Once I drew a design once based on another person’s earring!!! |
| How does designing fit with your family time?
Luckily, other members of my family understand how you can be so totally “in” something that you’re not aware of anything around you. I’ve always been creative, but I love designing. I can sit down in the evening and look up and discover that everyone else has gone to bed and realise that I’m going to be tired in the morning. I find it frustrating trying to design when it’s busy, so I’m at my most creative on holidays. I always pack a pencil, eraser, black texta, a skirt template and a roll of greaseproof paper. |
| How do you find out what kind of designs your customer wants- how best can they relate that to you?
Sometimes clients say they want a particular thing incorporated and I start from that, other times they point out a few dresses they like and I amalgamate the main elements into a totally different design. I draw the front panel first, check to make sure they like it and then continue on. |
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| Under what circumstances do you feel you create your best designs?
I create the best designs when I’m given something that will inspire a design without being too prescriptive. Most designs I sell evolved by themselves and sit around waiting for the right customer. |
| How many designs have you created (that have been used)?
Lots! 30-40-50? |
| What is the best way for people to contact you in regards to having a design drawn?
It’s best if people email me. My email address is kathryn@damhsadresses.com. You can also find my email address through my website. The address is www.damhsadresses.com |
| Which country do you sell most designs to?
I sell actual designs to Ireland but the US is my biggest customer in the form of both off the rack and dress orders. |
| Are the buyers of your designs mostly professional or home sewers?
Mostly professional, but quite a few home sewers have used my desings on Colleen’s. I have to say that I love spreading the bug. I’m happy doing anything that encourages others to discover the joy of costumes. |
| How does the design process work?
I start with lots of doodling. My students at school often catch me scribbling when I should be marking the roll! When I get a doodle that I think will work, then I draw half of a front panel. This is the bit where you wear the pencil down, drawing and re-drawing till every line is where you want it. Then I draw the other half. Occasionally, I draw the second half in and don’t like it at all and have to start again. Once I have the front panel, I base the rest of the design on this. |
| How do you then get your design small enough to scan and put onto a computer?
First I reduce each piece by 25%, I then glue all the bits together and scan again. If someone buys a design I always draw it to full scale for them. |
| What's the best bit about designing dresses?
Hard question! It’s all just great, getting the ideas, trying to get them on paper, the finished product, seeing it on a dress, seeing it look totally different on another dress… |
| What part of a dress do you design first?
Border or front panel. |
| How has designing dresses changed during the time you have done it?
The biggest change recently is the use of repeated computerised designs. Just because a design has a repeated shape, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s any easier to design. I have a self-imposed rule to include at least one knot, but sometimes I find I’ve done a design without any and have to work out where to put the knot. |
| Do you have any favourite designs?
Usually the one I’m currently working on. I’ve just done a really cool all knotwork design. I thought it might be a bit bland, but I’m really pleased with how it looks made up. |
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| Kathryn's current favourite. |
| Do you have a routine for designing?
I like to design in front of the television of an evening. I have a big board, which I sit on my lap. I also get a lot of designs drawn when I visit my mother on the coast – because there are no machines there and I can’t sew! |
| Funny design stories?
Only a bit funny: I knew I needed a new design. I sat down and started and started and … At 1pm I went to bed very frustrated with 5 almost finished front panels, none of which I liked or could figure out how to finish. The next morning I got up and could see how to finish all of them and decided they were all good! Is it funny that the postman sees me in my pyjamas more often than not? I’ve discovered that I’m much more productive in the mornings before I get dressed. Once I’m dressed, I end up tidying up. |
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| Thanks Kathryn for these fantastic new designs! |
| 15/07/05 |
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| Two of Kathryn's students in dresses she made. |
| Did you know that while over 200+ dresses have been made using the designs from Colleens' of Canberra very few donations have been received. If you use these designs please consider making a donation to help keep this website operational. |