Today we are featuring Milk Milk Lemonade who will be attending the Fall Market on September 7th & 8th at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre in the Olympic Village!
Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope, and couldn’t forget the array and mixture of colours? Or seen the puff of colour when you dip a paint soaked brush tip, into a clear glass of water? These moments in time, that only last as memories are immortalized into gorgeous prints on even more so beautiful clothing by Milk Milk Lemonade.
Ella Kirk, the founder of Milk Milk Lemonade established the company when she left University in the UK in 2009. There she had studied printed textile and surface pattern design at Leeds College of Art and Design. She moved to Canada in 2010 and became a permanent resident just month ago and says “I am very very happy about it!”
During Ella’s time at Leeds College in the UK she spent most of her time playing around with images, explaining “During my degree I loved to manipulate drawings and photography in Photoshop to create digitally printed textiles.” She says “It was only when I moved to Canada that I began to source dress makers and garment manufacturers to help turn my textiles in to wearable pieces.” Ella continues, saying “I like to offer a variety of pieces; from graphic tees and tanks for men and women- (my most popular design being an illustrated image of Vancouver’s iconic landmarks which is printed locally) – to statement silk dresses and separates for women and (hopefully coming soon!) dress shirts for men.”
Milk Milk Lemonade is still on the rise, and Ella has worked very hard to establish herself saying “I started my company incredibly slowly and still feel like I’m still starting out! Using small investments from friends and family as well as my own income from part time jobs, I printed a metre of fabric here and there when I could afford it.” Every piece produced by Milk Milk Lemonade looks incredibly crafted and unique, and with good reason Ella explains “Digital printing is an expensive process as it is still a fairly new technology. There are not a huge amount of places offering digital printing services, especially in Canada! I found a few wonderful dressmakers on Craigslist and I work with them to produce my garment designs from scratch.”
When asked about her design process Ella said “I am inspired by literally everything! Last year I created a dress inspired by office fixtures! That’s the beauty of digital print- even a light switch can be digitally manipulated in to something interesting and wearable on my laptop screen and then printed out like a photograph on to silk or cotton.” Ella continues, saying “I think walking around and taking photographs in Vancouver tends to spark my interest a lot, especially in the Summer time.”
Though Milk Milk Lemonade is a fairly new company and even Ella herself is a new resident of Vancouver, her prints are making an impact more than anyone could know. On being asked what it’s like being a unique vendor in Vancouver Ella says “I’m a bit of a newbie and have only taken part in two designers markets in Vancouver! So far I have found them to be an amazing experience. The feedback from customers and vendors alike is always very positive and everyone is extremely supportive.” Not only have her designs made an impact on spectators and customers, she has been able to create valuable relationships through living and manufacturing in Canada, saying “The connections I have made with other vendors are invaluable and there is a huge sense of community among fellow designer/ makers. It’s a lot of hard work! But the payoff is definitely worth standing in the sun or rain all day!”
It’s difficult to forget a Milk Milk Lemonade design after you see it. Like a kaleidoscope or a blend of colour, Ella Kirk’s designs leave you wanting to see more and more. And a strong feeling resonates, that there’s only a wider and more intricate array of colours in the kaleidoscope to come.
VISIT: http://www.milkmilklemonade.org/
LIKE: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milk-Milk-Lemonade/336704414745
SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/milkmilklemonade