Designer Spotlight: Abigail Designs (Q&A)
Want to support small, ethical clothing creators, but don’t know where to start? Keep your eye on our “Designer Spotlight” series, where we interview slow-fashion-centric small business owners.
Image Credit: @abigaildesignshandmade on TikTok
This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Abigail Designs, a mother-daughter duo out of southeastern Pennsylvania. Known for their ankle-length skirts and bloomers, they consider each and every one of their garments to be “homemade, handmade, and heartmade.”
If you’re familiar with these designers, chances are you found them from TikTok. Their first video was posted last June, and they’ve been on a steady upward climb ever since! With a solid following of 37.4k, their super cute, flowy, and prairie-inspired designs have all but ensured that they’ll only continue to grow.
Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
What does the phrase “slow fashion” mean to you?
“Slow fashion is a phrase I love and am proud of, and I wish more people cared about this. For an artist, so much time is put into the work that we do. From thinking about what you want to make, until the finished piece, is a slow process, and slow processes are not respected much in our unfortunate fast paced world.
I also like to say that my clothing is made with love, because it is true. So much care and love goes into everything, every little detail. Choosing fabric I not only think customers will love, but also that will look good with the idea I have, is an example of what I consider slow fashion.
I also like to add a lot of ruffles, handmade flowers, and things like that, to my designs, and of course these details take time. It is so enjoyable for me to make these clothes and spend time perfecting them. I understand it is then harder for people to afford slow fashion, but many people think they have to consume a lot of things without really knowing or caring where it comes from. If more people can appreciate the process of handmade clothing, they could purchase special quality pieces that they will treasure, knowing exactly who made it, where it is from, and it is helping to support an artist make a living doing what they love.
Because I know how to sew, it also brings me a lot of deep sadness to know that big corporations take advantage of desperate workers in other countries to mass manufacture clothing for extremely little pay and terrible working spaces... clothing is not an easy thing to make, and the fast fashion industry kind of actually disgusts me.
Also, it brings me great joy to make customers happy with my clothing, as clothes can give us extra confidence and happiness in an otherwise crazy world.... and all around I think slow fashion is a beautiful interaction between people.”
How do you practice sustainability with your brand?
“This is important to me, and I do what I can to have as little waste as possible. Because of the many details I add to my clothing, I tend to use almost all of the fabric I get, and any left over I use to make my own tags... I simply use a black marker to write my ‘Abigail’ tags for each piece... and I also use scraps to make ties to wrap around clothing for shipping. I will also save large scraps for patchwork, which I love the fact that I can make an entire new piece out of leftover fabric! If I have shipping boxes to reuse, I will use those first before reaching for a new box.
Image Credit: @abigaildesignshandmade on TikTok
Another thing, I am not sure if this fits into this category, but I also like to purchase fabric from small businesses, (and fabric shops are mainly woman-owned too!), such as small quilt fabric shops. This way these families can be supported as well, and I know they love what they do... it's an amazing circle of keeping super small businesses alive and staying away from large corporations that may not care so much about sustainability.”
What are your biggest sources of inspiration, both for your business and your designs?
“My own mother is a huge inspiration to me, for both designing and having a business. My parents are both artsy and free-spirited, and basically raised me to let me be free to try anything out. They gave me confidence to not only start a business, but also have nothing holding me back in my designs. Also, my mom is very earthy and loves flowing clothing, and she really passed that on to me and my daughter! Being a teen in the 90's was also very inspiring, in my opinion we had the best clothing and music! There was a lot of freedom to express yourself.
Other than that, I just personally always hated regular clothes, and from a young age started to just make my own by trial and error, often taping tissues together for stuffed animals to figure out how shaping clothing worked! The book Anne of Green Gables was my absolute favorite as a child and also inspired me to make cottage/prairie type clothing years ago! Oh, and one day when I was in my early 20's, my grandmother gave me a serger, so my seams of my clothing would look professional and not fray... and eventually started making clothes for everyone!”
Your brand is a mother/daughter team. What’s it like working alongside family?
“I love it! My daughter (Abigail) is more on the business side, she made my website for me and taught me how to use social media (I had nooo idea how to use it at first!), and she will ship for me. For now, she is in college, and while her school is close and she can come home anytime, some weeks she is helping more than others.
Image Credit: @abigaildesignshandmade
But all in all I love family businesses, I grew up with a dad who had a small family business as well. I even had the chance to homeschool/unschool my kids while still working and designing/sewing from home when they were younger, and it was truly a great experience.”
On that note, how did sewing become such a big part of your family life (if at all)?
“I am pretty much the only one who sews! It is hard to put into words but I just have to sew, I love everything about it! The fabric, my machines, designing... all of it! Basically our entire (small) home is a sewing business... I have my machines in a separate room, but I cut fabric on the floor of the family room, and clothing is hanging up everywhere to dry after washing it!”
How do you guys divvy up the work for the brand?
“This was pretty easy! Abby and I get along really well and naturally she just started showing them on Tiktok and making a website for me, and from there her role was this kind of thing! And she often gives me ideas on a design or fabric she thinks customers will like. It happens naturally, it works great!”
What would you say is the most difficult aspect of running your own slow fashion business? What about the most enjoyable?
“The most difficult part of having a business is (and I am sure others think this too!) that people who you know tend to think you do nothing and have tons of free time. It is very frustrating!
As for having a slow fashion business, the hardest part is when people either complain or are sad about the prices being high, which I completely understand.... it is hard to know some may not be able to afford something they love, and I do offer random sales here and there. I find it hard to help others realize it is a slow process and also my life's work... many people do not realize how hard sewing really is... and I am also just trying to pay bills while doing what I love.
The most enjoyable thing is making others feel amazing in the clothing they get! I love talking to my customers and getting their feedback, it is the best feeling to know that folks out there are wearing my clothing and loving it, because it truly is made with love and I think once they receive it, they can tell the love that went into it. Art in general is good for the world and brings happiness to others!”
What kind of career goals or hobbies do either of you have outside of this?
“Abby is in college for political science although she is unsure what she wants to eventually do with it, and she crochets like crazy!
I am working on my degree as well, in Theology and Psychology, with a focus on research, and hope to do much needed research and study into domestic violence, as I am a survivor of 20 years of this (I got out of DV in 2016), as well as focus on helping those in religious marriages/relationships get out of DV. I am very passionate about this as domestic violence is more terrible than people know, and something needs to be done about it! I will be starting my master's program this fall. We also love animals, and have six guinea pigs and two cats, and love anything that has to do with animals!”
What can we expect to see next from your brand?
“I am always thinking of new things and what's next to make...sometimes it just hits me and I suddenly make totally new things...I hope to get more exposure on social media, and maybe somehow be able to talk to customers and those who just like the work I do a bit more...such as doing live talks or something like that. I love when younger people tell me I inspire them, I hope to help younger generations feel empowered to be themselves, do what they love, look how they want to, make art, and not worry about what others think of them.
I not only care about spreading my own slow fashion out to new people, but also the understanding of what slow fashion is, and how supporting artists of all kinds can truly help make life a better experience. I would love to see super small businesses rise in number and see less support for fast fashion in my lifetime and be a part of the movement to make that happen.”
You can find Abigail Designs on Instagram under the handle @abigaildesigns_handmade. Their website is abigaildesigns.shop.
Written by Sara Traynor
Sara uses she/her pronouns. Fashion and writing are her two favorite modes of creative expression, and she loves to combine them in SFUSA. In her free time, she does crossword puzzles, reads, and watches SpongeBob.