Latest / Project Emerald Collective / The Art of Seeing Possibility | Chelsea Upham on Creativity, Upcycling & Living Authentically

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The Art of Seeing Possibility | Chelsea Upham on Creativity, Upcycling & Living Authentically · Project Emerald Collective

• Eve: I have the privilege today of being joined by Chelsea Uphham, who is the designer and founder of Frogmouth Designs Chelsea is part of the business of circular fashion incubator ahead of the circular fashion festival in Perth happening this October. Chelsea welcome. Chelsea: Thanks for having me. Eve: Chelsea, can you talk to us firstly to set the scene about the three pivotal points that have led you to where you are today? Chelsea: Ooh, all right. so probably firstly, I'm from the state, Maine. I grew up kind of poor, we didn't have much money, so it was all about having to live frugally, having to go thrifting or op shopping, as you call it here in Australia. And that's kind of where it all started: was finding really cool outfits that would fit, that were also Reasonably priced, we couldn't afford to go out and buy new clothing. And sometimes I'd have to like start sewing those items to keep them alive, keep them going, or maybe make them fit me a little bit better. So I kind of I did that as a child. And then as I got older, I still loved thrifting, going op shopping and getting things secondhand. that's kind of where I started to get into art a little bit more. Like I've always been an artist, I've always been a creator. I've always loved working with my hands. But I would say in my teenage to late teenage years, I started selling my artwork and my design. So that would either be like my paintings or jewelry and different things. I did a Conglomerate of different things. And then slowly got into more of the fashion side. And so I would say the next pivotal point would be when I was 18 and I started to paint on some of my jeans that had stains in them or something. And so I was like, I gotta cover this up. How can I make these last a little bit longer? I'll buy some textile paint and put this cool design on it. Or these have a rip in them. I've never been somebody to wear like ripped. holy clothes, even though I was a teenager in the 2010s, and that was like one of the fashion trends then. I would always embroider things and kind of give them my own pizzazz to it, I suppose. And then from there I kind of just started selling my work more and more and doing different shows, being in galleries or being part of festivals and whatnot, fairs and selling my work in a booth. And then probably the next pivotal point was moving across the world to be with my partner. which was just this last year. I moved to Perth in 2025. I haven't even quite been here an entire year yet. So I used to go by Sea Main Art, which is my Art name back home. And then I converted that to Frogmouth Designs when I moved here. I started this business not that long ago. I probably actually I paid for the ABN business name just a month ago. So it's very fresh and new. yeah, I would say those are kind of the three pivotal points where I started when I was really little, just kind of getting into thrifting and being frugal and kind of having to bring things back to life. And then to the point I'm like, okay, well, how can I do this in a creative way? And then just moving halfway across the world. Eve: Yeah, wow, that's such a journey. So you started your journey in on the coast of Maine, painting as a little girl, which was really beautiful. Chelsea: Yes. Mm-hmm. Eve: So were you always someone who saw beauty differently? Chelsea: Yeah, I would say so. I suppose I've always been creative in the sense and I've always had kind of a funky style that wasn't the traditional. Like I never kind of went with the flow of things. I kind of went against the grain, but in my own way and found the beauty and maybe the abandoned or different things that were like salvaged and whatnot, like Sometimes I'll find things on the side of the road and I'm like, wow, that's so beautiful. Well, somebody else thought it was trash. And I was like, no, I can like recreate this and turn this into this other thing. And so I guess it definitely started when I was younger. Like my parents are both very frugal people. My mom would always go like op shopping or to lawn sales. And she was like, wow, this is such a cool piece of furniture. I bet I can like refurbish this or bring this back to life and then it will be in the family home forever. And so I guess I kinda like grew up around people with that mindset. And having people like that to look up to, I guess, has kind of brought me to where I am today. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. what does living intentionally mean to you? Chelsea: that's a great question. I guess being authentic to myself, being true to myself, and how I present myself through maybe my fashion, my wardrobe, to how I present like my art to the world and just like being authentic but thinking about it at the same time, like how can I bring myself into the world and like have everyone see me presentably, but also do it in a fun way that's authentic myself, not just going with necessarily like the flow of things or like what the fashion trend is, like just wearing what Chelsea likes to wear. Maybe that's my own designs or whatever it could be. and just living authentically to myself, which is living intentionally, like thinking about it and whatnot. Eve: there's power in that, for sure. Chelsea: One hundred percent. Yeah. Eve: from what you've said already that you're completely self taught, is that correct? Chelsea: Yes. so I suppose like a lot of people in my family are creatives. my grandmother was a painter, my mom painted some things. My grandmother would sew as well. And my mom tried sewing, but she wasn't very much so into it. She got like too frustrated with the sewing machine and whatnot. So I was always around those types of people, like my neighbor growing up was a quilter and I'd always go over to her house and I was like, can I like help you sew this or like do this or that? so growing up around those types of people and always having paint brushes and paint around me or things to color on or things to create on, I guess kind of just like brought me more into that realm. It was always a comfortable thing or comfort thing for me. to just be able to sit down and doodle and draw and whatnot. but yeah, self-taught. Never went to college for it or uni, I think is what you guys call it here. We call it college in the States. but I did take some art classes in high school, but yeah, completely self-taught. I started selling my artwork, like my paintings and drawings. I do portraits of people. I think it was from the age of 14 on. in high school I used to sell either pictures of artists or somebody would come to me and they'd be like, Can you paint this musician for me? And Yeah, I can do that. And then I'd sell it to them. kind of did the same thing at my job. My first job was working at a tool factory. And people would be like, you're really good at drawing portraits. Can you draw my family member for me? And I was like, Yep, 100%. I can absolutely do that. And so that's kind of where it all started was in that kind of creative sense. And then when I was 18, I really started to sew more, just doing everything by hand. I would kind of like I didn't have a mannequin or anything. I was my own mannequin. I would hold the fabric up to myself and just kind of like figure out how to like shape it to my body. which sounds kind of a weird way of doing it, but I guess it was the best way that I could figure out how to go about it. So like I remember one of the first things I sewed was it was so I had these pants and I used to cut off my pants into shorts when they had like rips or something in them. And so I made this like bikini kind of like I guess you'd call it bikini. out of old denim that I had just I was literally sitting at a booth one day. I was really bored because I didn't have any sales of anything. I was just sitting and I was like, okay, so I'm gonna stitch this here, I'm gonna stitch this here, I'm gonna shape it like this, that yeah, that will work. And I was just sitting there sewing in my booth, and I was like, okay, this is a great place to start. And then I got more and more into it, and people were like, Wow, that's really good. Like, how did you figure that out? And I was like, I just kind of did it. don't know, I had the sewing stuff, and so I just kind of did it while sitting there and they're like, Do you wanna like borrow a sewing machine? It was a woman I worked with, and it was actually her daughter's sewing machine. And I was like, yeah, I'd like like to learn the actual machine. And so I remember just sitting through every frustrating moment watching YouTube videos, being like, okay, like this is how you do this stitch, this is how you do this. And then eventually, after messing with this machine a lot, I went to Walmart and I bought a heavy duty heavy duty singer-sower. And I just went from there. And it's definitely been a lot of trial and error. but I kinda like the process of learning that way it's very frustrating sometimes, but being able to learn in my own way, I think, is a little bit easier than trying to learn maybe through a course or a class. And so I can take my time with it. If I get frustrated, I can walk away. I don't have to sit down, keep doing the same thing over and over again. So I've just mostly with all of the art I've ever done has been completely self-taught, like from when I was little and it's just drawing and painting to the sewing aspect. And then I bring a lot of that same creativity into the sewing realm. I take things and I upcycle them, say it's like an old stained jersey or something, I'll paint on it and do those same designs that I paint on a canvas or onto wood. Eve: Yeah, amazing. That's so cool. So how has teaching yourself shaped the way that you create, do you think? Chelsea: Ooh. it's definitely different from other people. sometimes I'll watch other creators like paint things. I'm like, that's not how I go about it. And so it's obviously not in the same way that somebody would learn from a master painter or if they had gone to uni or college. but it's definitely an interesting approach, but it's my approach, so it's very comforting to me and it's definitely a lot of trial and error, and I just kind of work through the process. but I really enjoy that I'm self-taught. And then I also find it easier. Like I teach a mending program to teenagers, and I teach them in my way, but it seems to be working. They understand what I'm saying to them. so it seems to work out really well. And sometimes I'll have to, if they want to do something specific, I'm like, I'll have to figure out how to do that. And so I'll watch some videos and then I teach myself how to do it. Or I like, I'll read a book. I'm like, okay, this makes more sense. But I know that sometimes when I hand the kids books and I'm like, okay, if you read this, because I'm working with like three other people over here, you should be able to figure it out, And they're like, This makes no sense to me. I'm like, okay, let me try to figure it out. And then going from there. So it seems like being able to teach myself makes it easier to teach others. And being able to explain it, I guess, in my own way, allows them to kind of grasp it easier than them trying to maybe read it out of a book or watch a YouTube video, even though that's sometimes how I have to go about it. If I'm like, I really don't understand how this works. or it's just like that trial and error of like, alrighty, well, we're just gonna go for it and try the best. if we mess up, it's okay. We can just like undo it and try it again. Eve: that's so great that they're seeing that you are learning alongside them and you don't have all the answers and that's okay. Chelsea: yeah. Yeah, that's how we grow. That's how we learn. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. So looking back, do you think that those the limitations that you've faced, throughout your life to date has actually made you more creative? Chelsea: Yeah, probably. Cause you have to you take something and you're like, Okay, how do I turn this into something else? And so you have to really get into the mindset of thinking that way, versus like if you just go to a store and you're like, Okay, I'm gonna buy this canvas or I'm gonna buy this fabric and then I'm going to buy this pattern. It's just very kind of not set up for you, but there's not that same creative approach versus if you see something like this is a tablecloth. This is actually one of the things I might be putting on the runway. It's still a work in progress, but I saw this tablecloth. I'm like, okay, I really like it. What can I do to make this into a dress? And so I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna start pleating it here. Okay, I'm gonna cut it here. I'm gonna shape it this way. And so it gets you into the mindset of you can look at something and turn it into something else, just in your own mind. And sometimes it doesn't completely turn out the way that you'd like it to. But I think that's a totally different way of being creative, is like The curbside collection that you guys do here. Cause Eve: Yeah. Chelsea: my partner and I will drive along and I'm like, my god, that cupboard door. I like that cupboard door. And he's like, You want it to paint on, don't you? And I was like, Yes, one hundred percent. So, like, we'll bring screwdrivers and stuff with us and we'll like take it apart and then we sand it down. And then I turn it into a painting or something. And it's just it's a different way of seeing something, turning it into something else, versus like most people with the their creative approach, they might go to Spotlight or to a store and be like, I'm going to buy this canvas and I'm going to do this thing with this canvas. Or like, I'm going to buy this fabric and look at this pattern to turn it into something else. But my approach is a lot different than that. Cause I can just see the beauty and everything. That was one of your questions earlier, like how you can see beauty and different things. And I'm like, Eve: Yeah. Chelsea: this old cupboard door I can like turn this into a cool painting. And the design on the outside looks really cool. that would be the perfect frame or seeing a tablecloth or a blanket and being like, that would be such a cool coat. I can like put this pattern down this way and that would make a really cool arch in the back or like this different design in the piece. But it's like taking creativity to the next level of just being able to look at anything and be like, I can turn this into this other thing and make it look really cool. Or try to make it look really cool. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. That's definitely a Chelsea: Mm-hmm. Eve: skill that you've built up over time. but Chelsea: Mm-hmm. Eve: that's seeing opportunity where others can't. sounds like one of your superpowers. Chelsea: yeah. Most people would see like trash and I'm like, no, that's this other thing. Let's turn it into this. Eve: that's so cool. do you think we've become too reliant on having the right tools before we begin a lot of the time? Chelsea: Well, I think for some people, they need that. They like to have that set up. They like being able to just like go and get those things and be like, okay, this is how I'm creative, which is perfectly fine. I think for some people, that is just the correct approach for them. For me, it's not. It's not for everyone. I think sometimes having those tools and relying on them can be a really beautiful thing. generally, I can like look at something and I'm like, I want to do this. Or sometimes I'll just wing a painting. I'll just start doing it. I'm like, okay, this is where I'm going from this. And then say, I had this white pair of pants I got and I'm a very messy person. Like, I know I'm gonna get paint on it, or like destroy them or stain them or something. So I'm like, I'm just going to destroy them before I can do it unintentionally. I'm gonna do it intentionally with purpose. I wanted to do this pair of pants. And these are actually on my Instagram. You can kind of see the process and then how they came out. I'm like, I want to put wildflowers on here. And I had the idea of what wildflowers I wanted, but I'm like, how do I line these up? How do I want to do this? And so I typed into AI and I was like, hey, I want these wildflowers. Here's the picture of the pants. Can you kind of give me some ideas of how to put these on here? And then It came up with a few different ideas for me. I'm like, okay, I really like this one, kind of like how it was set up. And I tweaked some things so I didn't like how it put like a bunch of blue flowers on this side and then a bunch of yellow flowers on this side. So I like switched some of them around. But it gave me that format of like exactly what I wanted to do. Eve: I think that there's something really beautiful about repairing rather than replacing. do you think that's a lesson that extends beyond clothing? Chelsea: Yeah, 100%. we should do that with clothes because so many clothes do end up in landfills and in the oceans and polluting our earth in so many ways, but so do other items. So we try not to buy any plastic or polyesters in our house. and so we try to buy primarily like wooden items or refurbished things. And luckily my partner is very much so like me. And we can look at something and be like, we can turn this into something else or we can fix this. And so being able to repair, like maybe a piece of furniture you found on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace and giving it a second chance, bringing it back to life rather than bring it to the dump and or having it be burned or maybe slowly break down. sometimes people will just leave things on the side of the road here and then they get rained on a bunch and then they're completely ruined. and maybe you can't bring them back that. Point, but if you had found it a little bit sooner, you could have. And so I think we just need to get back into that way of life. Like that's what people did forever. Like we didn't rely so heavily on being able to go to IKEA or Kmart or these different places to buy things. We had to take what we had and either fix it, repair it, make something new out of it, because that's all we had. And so humans are very much so capable of doing this. We just look for the path of least resistance and the easiest approach. And so sometimes that is just going and buying something new. But I think we need to slowly get back into that approach of like, no, like I can fix this. Let's just not just buy new things because then we're just literally contributing to the waste and landfills and basically the buildup of toxins in our soils or different things that aren't biodegradable. we need to really be conscious about all of that. I know it's hard when we're accustomed to something, relearning it, but I think it's a way of life that's people are slowly getting back into and being like, no, I can repair this or I can fix this in any realm in their house. Like say it's maybe it's a table or a cupboard or their clothes or Maybe it's a piece of leather on their furniture that's coming apart. Like there's ways of either painting over it or sewing it back together or repairing it, rather than just discarding of it. Eve: you touched on more and more people are, finding those opportunities to be more live more sustainably. what can speed up the process do you think? Chelsea: Ooh, well, I guess just kind of going for it, right? it's hard to get that idea out there to people. It's something I preach a lot and I also practice, because obviously you should preach what you practice. but I think it's easier for us to just go out and buy some things. And sometimes my partner and I do that. We're like, we don't have the time, we we just moved, we need to do this or we need to do that. But just Going ahead and doing it and learning through the process will just make it easier for the next piece you do and just Eve: Mm-hmm. Chelsea: trying it out. I know that's obviously not for everyone. Not everyone is creative, but maybe you know somebody who is that can maybe guide you through the process of doing it, or maybe you can just pay somebody to do it. Like People pay seamstresses to fix things for them rather than just get rid of them because they're like, these are my favorite pants. They just don't fit me like they used to. Can you take them in? Like you're not just discarding of that thing. You found somebody to fix it for you to live more sustainably, right? We can do the same thing with furniture. there are master craftsmen out there that can do these things. Or maybe you just have a really incredible friend who knows how to fix things. Like a lot of my friends are like, this is broken. I'm like, I can help you fix this. And they're like, Really? And I'm like, yeah, let's let's do it together. so I guess it's just the process of like maybe putting it out there, trying it for yourself. If you fail, maybe finding somebody who has the ability of doing it and just slowly start incorporating this into your daily life rather than like the more you push it aside, push it aside, push it aside, like you're never gonna get to that point. You're never going to progress to the point where you probably want to do it because it's just easier to forget about it. But I would say just like putting it out there, trying it. If you fail, like Try again if you feel up to it. If you don't, maybe find somebody who can do that for you. there are a lot of crafty people out there that would be happy to take on your project. And then you're also like supporting locals by doing it. that money is going back into their project to fund maybe their next fund project or like bring the next sustainable thing back to life. I think just like doing that, like just like we did for thousands of years. and just slowly start doing that more and more. We'll just encourage everyone to start doing it eventually. And hopefully it will become a major thing worldwide. But that's what we can hope for anyways. Eve: sometimes we lose sight of the agency that we actually have to make changes. we can make a difference if everyone adopted that mindset. I think it's just a matter of believing in yourself and your ability to change your world and then that has a ripple effect out into the Chelsea: One hundred percent. Eve: the broader world. do you think everyone is creative or do we lose it somewhere along the way? Chelsea: Well, I think everyone can be creative in their own way. maybe you really like cooking. That's a creative mindset. Like you're making a dish, you're being creative with what ingredients you're putting in it. Or maybe it is gardening that is being creative. Like you're choosing certain flowers that maybe are sister plants that work really well and provide nutrients for each other, but you're also providing a beautiful landscape that is well intentionally thought out. The colors, maybe the textures and whatnot. Eve: Mm. Chelsea: Or that could be you're creative with your wardrobe. That could just literally be going out, op shopping, finding your favorite colors that maybe you've done color analysis and you know what colors work best on your skin tone. And then you take this outfit and you pair it together. So every color just works really well together. That is being creative. I feel like most people are creative in their own way. we might lose touch with it or not realize that we are being creative individuals in our own way. But I guess it's just your perception of it. but I do believe that in one way or another, most people are creative in some aspect of their life. Or I would like to think Eve: Yeah. I guess it's leaning into what brings you joy rather than thinking that you should be doing, your neighbour or your friends are into, because everyone's Chelsea: Yeah. Eve: different. Chelsea: Absolutely. We should live authentically and do what make us happy. That's something that I've had to learn throughout the years. Like when I was younger, felt really pressured being in a small rural area to dress like everyone else, be like everyone else, because that was what was acceptable. Like people get married really young there, have kids, they have to buy a house. There's like a way that you have to go about life. And I was just like I get to a point where I like dug my heels into the ground. I'm like, Nope, that's not the life for me. Like I'm gonna Do what Chelsea wants to do, wear the colors that Chelsea wants to wear, design the things that I want to do and just live authentically. And that's really hard because it's really scary to just be yourself because you might be shunned or rejected. But that's also the beautiful thing about being yourself is just going for it anyways. And yeah, it's scary, but that's how we grow. That's how we learn more about ourselves and just become more comfortable. Like not everyone's gonna like what you do. And hey, your neighbor might think you're weird for maybe. I don't know, doing yoga in your yard, but you like doing yoga, so that's what you should do. Or maybe you have a cool mural on the side of your house. You know, they might think it's ugly, but you might really like it. And it makes you smile when you do it. So, like, you know, doing what everyone else is doing just to fit in with them isn't that fun. You should just do things that make you happy and that are authentic to yourself because you only live once and you might as well be happy while you're here. Eve: moving from Maine to Perth is a huge life change. how has Australia influenced your creativity? Chelsea: I think it's brought a new light. So back home I focus a lot on the nautical aspects because it's a small rural coastal town. and I would do like seagulls or lobsters or crabs, and I got into doing these same things, these repetitive paintings that people really liked. And I enjoyed doing it because I find beauty in where I'm from and all the aspects of it. But When I moved here, I kind of felt stuck at first. I was like, how do I like I have to go out and buy all these supplies or like go op shopping and find these things, which take a long time. and I I kind of felt stuck. I was like, where do I start? What should I start doing again? Like I just felt very lost. Obviously, like uprooting your entire life and moving to the opposite side of the planet. Like you could basically dig a hole straight to Maine because of how it's Eve: Yeah. Chelsea: located on the planet. but It brought new light. It brought new ideas. I've been doing a lot of black swans and I just like I have a painting of one I did on a cupboard. I have one that I'm embroidering right now. I have one that I have painted with textile paint on to an old jumper that had a stain on it. Cause they're such beautiful birds. I actually didn't know black swans were a real thing. I thought it was just that movie, the or the ballet of like the black swan. I I Eve: yeah. Yep. Chelsea: just thought Swans were white. or like the beautiful birds when I go hiking and I hear a kookaburra I'm like, I want to like paint one of those necks, or seeing the wildflowers that are just so like almost like alien-esque. They just look so weird compared to the flowers that we have back home. Like, they're just completely out of this world to me. And so seeing all these things are giving me so many ideas, so many. Creative thoughts are coming to my mind. I'm like, I can create this. I can do this. I like just so many new things. And so I kind of felt renundant with what I was creating back home. And so I feel like it's given me all this new creativity in moving here and all these new fresh ideas. And I just don't have time to make all the things. So I'm like, I wanna do this. I wanna do that. But it's kinda fun because I'm like, okay, I can just put on a list and eventually I'll get to it. but it's definitely it's been very eye opening and refreshing, I guess. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. You're definitely out of your comfort zone. what Chelsea: Yeah. Eve: what has starting over taught you? Chelsea: A lot of things. it was kind of a slow rolling process back home. And I had done a lot of things, and I'm like, okay, like, yeah, I've had my stuff in galleries, I've done this, I've done that. And I felt really stuck. I'm like, I'm going to abandon all of these connections I've made to all these wonderful people and have to start all over again. How do I go about that? and it It was so challenging at first. I was like, I felt very stuck. I didn't want to pull out those roots. I was like, I have worked so hard so many years to create these connections. And now I have to do it all over again. But it's been kind of nice in a way because I'm like, I can create these new connections. I'm getting to know a whole new area. I'm just broadening my horizons if anything because I still have all those connections back home and now I can have new connections here. I can open new pathways, new doors. It's been hard because I'm like, okay, I need to change my name so it's more fitting here. Like no one's gonna know what Sea main art stands for, which Sea is the last three letters of my first name. Main is where I was from and then art is because I'm an artist and I'm like, how do I re- configure that. how do I change my name to something that's more fitting for Australia? I always like frog mouth bird. So I was like, okay, well, I'll go with that. I'm like, okay, I have to create a new website. I'm going to make a new Instagram page. But it's it's been all really refreshing, but it's definitely been really challenging. Cause I've I didn't want to make all those changes. But it's good to have change in your life and to try new things and just put yourself out there. but it was definitely, it was hard. But I feel like it's slowly after almost being here a year now, is slowly getting better and easier for me as an artist. when I first got here, I was like, my God, I just threw everything away. I don't have anyone here. I don't have anything. And then all these things kept coming to me. And it's just been a really beautiful process that way. I'm like, I feel so lucky to To be a part of the incubator and to meet all these wonderful designers. And I'm meeting like all these different artists through these different things I'm doing. So this is actually really great that I'm doing this. It sucked that I threw everything away, but I I really didn't. I still have all of that back home. I can always go back to it if I needed to, or have both, but it's been rewarding getting to put myself out there and try new things. Eve: sounds like you've landed where you meant to and you're just, you know, expanding rather than missing out on anything. Chelsea: Yeah, and that's a great way of putting it. Cause at first it it felt that way. I was like, my god, did I make a horrible mistake? I'm like, I love my partner and I want to be here and do all these things, but at the same time, this is really scary. But anything that makes you feel scared is room for growth. It's time to develop a new pathway. And everything's kind of like landed on my lap in this weird way that I'm like, okay, this just seems like it's meant to be. Like obviously I'm on the right path. I'm where I'm supposed to be. Just keep dredging through it. Like you've got this, like giving yourself that courage and that ambition to keep going is the biggest thing you do, especially as an artist or a creative. You're like, you nope, you just keep doing it, things will come to you. And that's exactly what's happening. So just allowing that to come to me is the best thing I could have done. And it's just allowing, like I said, to create those new pathways and to keep going forward. Eve: teaching the teenagers is a really interesting avenue, what have the teenagers taught you though? Chelsea: that's a great question. they always surprise me with the things that they come up with. And so they're so creative in their own ways. They're like, yeah, I'm gonna turn these shirts into this other thing. And then sometimes they'll get really frustrated with it, which reminds me of myself in some ways. And then they like work through it, and then they're like, Nope, I'm gonna do this other thing, and this works really well. And so, like, just seeing how they adapt really quickly to different things, I'm like, that's a great approach. Doing things like never thought about doing it that way, or just the different ways that they're creative and how they have so much life and youth to them. They're just like, yeah, I did 20 things last night and I stay up until midnight to do all this. I'm like, I wish I had that kind of energy. Eve: Mm-hmm. Chelsea: but being young again and like being in that environment, it's just so much fun because you see so many parts of them and you get to know them so well. I've been working with them for six months now, and it's through the Kwinana Youth Center. there's a bunch of different creative avenues they can do. there's like a music thing they can do. They can do my workshop. They can do like there's like video games they can do. They can learn how to cook. There's all these different avenues they can take. So it's like you just kind of see they try things out, I guess is a good way of putting it. And they're like, I wanna cook this day or I wanna sew this other day or tomorrow I'm gonna make a music video. And it's like, that's so cool. so I learn a lot of different things from them. But I guess it's just having a fresh look at things through a youthful lens. And it's just it's great to see them grow with their different passions they're like learning how to do and seeing that growth mindset. I think it helps me a lot as somebody who's in their thirties of being like sometimes you feel a little stuck and you're like, no, you're not like you just try this new thing. And they're like always coming up with new ideas and new designs that they're doing or whatever it could be. There's always just something new and fresh and there's always changing. Eve: Yeah, that's so cool. have you noticed a shift in how younger generations think about clothing? Chelsea: Yeah. so it's funny, a lot of them they all have their own styles. a lot of them they kind of go based off the brand names, but then some of them are like, I've never heard of this before. I really like this one. I want to look more into this designer or like get to know like maybe some of them are getting really into the Y2K fashion, or some of them are really into like 80s, 90s grunge, or it kind of it just depends. Like every fashion trend kind of comes back around again. it's actually through the city of Kwinana. I work there one day a week and I'm a support worker, otherwise, and then artist part-time. I go there once a week and it's through the I kind of do different things, but it's mostly for that one department. And so I'm considered a circularity engagement officer. And so I'm the one who runs the op shop. I work with the teens to run the mending workshop with them. I might go to Good Sammy's and buy a bunch of products for or search through the bins because it's at the big outlet store to look for like zippers or different things that they can use at their mending workshop because everything there is basically secondhand. we do have some new things that we've bought from Spotlight just for the youth center as a whole. but then I do other things like I've taught mending workshops through the library or just taught people about fabrics and other things through the library or different engagement opportunities. And so it's been a really fun job. It's something that I didn't think I would ever do. Like these are things that I would talk to people about or like kind of work one-on-one back home with people like teaching them maybe a little bit more about fabric or things that I was passionate about or like, hey, do you know how to sew that? Like I can teach you how to sew a button on, but taking it to the next level. Teaching youth about this or the general public as well has been really eye-opening and a great opportunity in just seeing how people perceive fashion, how they perceive different fabrics, what they thought was good or bad, or not having any knowledge on it and giving them maybe the book to read, or just talking to them about it and just having that opportunity to broaden their horizons a little bit and getting The word out there has been really great. it's been a really fun process. it was something I didn't think I would ever end up doing. But when I was given the opportunity, I was like, you know, that's that'd be a really fun job. Like that's right up my alley, like being able to talk to people about these things and putting it out there, like absolutely blissful. but yeah, it's been a fun process. Eve: how has working in waste management changed the way that you see our culture? Chelsea: Well, it's so much different here than back in the States. And so I'm still very new to Australia. And there's some great things that have been implemented here, but there's a lot of things that I could see room for growth in. I guess just learning more about what materials can be recycled here versus things that can't, or ways that they're developing new processes for it and just creating that knowledge for people too. Cause I know that a lot of people that work in like throughout that sector are able to teach people about what things can actually be recycled here, what can be done in these different councils and these different communities throughout WA as a whole. it's been great to know it because it's just so much different than back home, like how we do things. and so it's kind of like a learning process for me too of what I can recycle or what I can throw away here, what I can do with these different materials and just learning more about it. and it's it's been interest yeah. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. what's one item people throw away far too quickly? Chelsea: Ooh. Well, in the sense of like what you do at home is probably like cardboard or plastics, something from like you eat something, you just throw it away. But we're actually a part of plastic free July right now, which is a really fun thing. so we in the beginning of the month you're able to do a pledge of like, Can you try to go plastic free for a day or a week or the whole month? and it's kind of Created this idea every time I go to like woollies or Coles But also I would say plastic gets thrown away more so than anything else. And if we can try to reduce it in any way we can, we should. Because there's less of a carbon footprint that way. but that would probably be the thing that we throw away most that we just we don't think about because we just like open a package, throw it away. And most of that's not recyclable. There's nothing you can do with it. Eve: I guess having that awareness that there's another way to live and then just starting one step at a time. Chelsea, tell us about frogmouth designs and the philosophy behind the brand. Chelsea: So this brand is all about rebirth, upcycling, bringing things back to life, pre-loved objects that can be turned into something else. most of the outfits I create are say like wool blankets that have holes or stains in them and they can be turned into something else or like a tablecloth or Brandon things I find at op shops, lawn sales on Gumtree that I'm like, okay, well, I can turn this into something else. Another thing I do is take old cupboards that I have found on the curbside collection days or on Gumtree that I'm like, okay, I can sand this down and paint it and give it a second chance rather than it just going in the bin or being turned into waste essentially. a big thing that I try to do is if a blanket is perfectly fine, I don't touch it because It should be used for its original purpose. However, if it's stained holy or tattered in some way, that like obviously someone's not gonna put that on their bed. It might become a dog blanket. Then I wash it and I give it a second life. So it's all about recycling things that we already have readily available all around us that people have just thrown away essentially or abandoned and giving it a second chance. That is definitely the biggest thing that I I've always tried doing my brand from C-Main art back home to Frogmouth Designs here. And I guess paving that pathway for instead of just throwing things away and being a part of that type of culture or society, like throwaway culture. I'll just buy something new. No, let's step back a little bit and figure out, no, that can be actually turned into this other thing, or no, let's fix that. Repair it, mend it. and so that would be the biggest thing that Frogmouth Designs is a part of. It's just bringing that idea, that concept to WA, to Perth specifically, and keeping that going. Because it was a big thing I did back home and it's becoming really popular there, which is so great to see. But I think it's something that is getting very popular here as well as upcycling and Giving things a second chance. And so if I can just kind of continue to bring my enthusiasm to that and my passion about taking something and turning into something else and keeping that going throughout my lifetime and maybe for the generations to come here in Perth or back in Maine or wherever it is is really important to me and to my brand. Eve: we're looking forward to seeing your designs on the runway this this October. Chelsea: Thank you. Yeah. I'm excited as well. it's just kind of fun being able to come up with these ideas and concepts and be like, I wanna do this or I wanna do that or whatever it may be. And I'm I'm really looking forward to this opportunity. It'll be a fun one. Eve: Yeah, amazing. Chelsea, what advice would you give to your younger self? Chelsea: Ooh, great question. I guess just being true to myself and authentic to myself, loving myself. I guess there's a lot of things I would say to my younger self, but just keep going. and yeah, I guess mostly giving love to myself and being authentic to myself because that's all you can do in life. Trying to be someone else is never gonna get you anywhere. You might as well just Be your truest self and the world will either hopefully love you for it, but if they don't, you can at least love yourself and go from there. Mm-hmm. Eve: So true, so true. what does take your power back mean to you? Chelsea: taking my power back would be, I suppose keep doing my designs, keep putting myself out there, despite any challenges, being authentic to myself, just giving myself that self-love and whatnot, rather than having society in the world pressure you into do all of that, just be true to yourself, wear the things you like to wear, design the things you like to design, and just put yourself out there. and like fuck fast fashion and big corporate and just like make all that stuff for yourself and like have fun while doing it. because I feel like a lot of us are surpressed with what we're supposed to wear, the ideas that we're supposed to be behind. And it's like, no, take your power back, be yourself, be authentic to yourself, wear what you like to wear, be who you want to be. Design what you want to design, whatever it may be to you, and just keep doing it. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. Chelsea: Mm-hmm. Eve: where can everyone follow your work, Chelsea? Chelsea: Right now it's just Instagram, which is at Frog Mouth Designs. eventually I will be making a website. It's in the works. Eve: thank you so much for your time today. It was a wonderful chat and I hope this has brought you know enlightenment and inspiration to our audience. And as we grow the movement, if you know someone that you know would benefit from hearing conversation, please share it with them as we yeah, move forward to inspire women. empower them to take their power back and live authentically. Thank you, Chelsea. Chelsea: Absolutely. Thank you so much.