Latest / Project Emerald Collective / It’s Your Turn: Backing Yourself, Dressing for You and Beginning Again | Jessica Lawrence
Transcript
- Jessica Lawrence: I want women to feel sexy for themselves before they feel that for anyone else and it's not about impressing anyone else but yourself first and foremost. That means exactly that you you wear what you want to wear and you don't you don't change for someone else if they don't if they're not comfortable in what you're wearing before you walk out the door. Eve: Welcome to the Project Emerald Collective. I'm your host, Eve McIntyre. Every week I sit down with women who have chosen to live differently. Designers, founders, creatives, psychologists, adventurers and change makers. People asking bigger questions about how we live, work, create and connect. These conversations aren't really about fashion. They're about living with intention. finding the courage to be yourself and discovering what becomes possible when you stop living by expectation and start living by choice. If that's the kind of life you're creating too, you're in the right place. Now let's go. Okay, hello and welcome. Today I'm joined by Jessica Lawrence, who has spent most of her working life in the fashion industry, across retail, styling, management, design, pattern making and production. after returning to study fashion design in her thirties, Jessica developed a strong focus on sustainability and quality. In twenty twenty four, she and her husband moved from Melbourne to Hobart, where she is now creating a Tasmanian inspired clothing label grounded in playful personal style, local collaboration and lower waist production, so aligned with what the Project Emerald Collective stands for, and I'm so grateful that you're here with us today, Jessica. Jessica Lawrence: Thank you so much, Eve. It's a absolute pleasure to be here. So thank you for having me part of the community. Eve: absolutely, and I can't wait to see your designs on the runway in a few weeks' time. talk to us about where your relationship with fashion began. Jessica Lawrence: my mum tells me that her first memory was when I was around eighteen months old and I was at that point pushing back or not wanting to wear the things that she was wanting me to wear. So it's been a long time that the love of clothing and fashion and styling I have a sister who is seven years older than me, so I always got her hammer downs, I suppose. So I would always be styling those up through primary school and was actually very much teased or bullied for my my clothing attire through primary school, but I think that that's been part of the journey and and what's helped me to to shape me to today. Eve: that's incredible. those the definitely formative years and yeah, some dark times when you have bullies in your life. Hmm. Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, it is, isn't it? But it's it's always at the at recess time and you'd sort Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: of expect to meet these group of older girls at school and then there was a I guess the element that I was wearing these clothes that my sister had given me and whether it was a an envy but also the fact that I was probably pretty random with what I put together and and dressed, but definitely a formative time and I think looking back it was a quite a Blessing really that you make all the mistakes when you're a kid, and then that flows from there. And then high school I wore a uniform and then just had those social days that you get to express yourself, which was all always exciting and good and bad as well. And then I used to, when you get older, I used to start to sew my own clothes. My mum has always sewn and she used to make our clothes and then when I got old enough I would start to make my own and then every Saturday night was a new outfit because I didn't ever want to wear what anyone else was wearing when I went out to the nightclub so it was always the the race for something new to wear on a Saturday night. Eve: that's so cool. So you've worked across so many different areas of the fashion industry and what has that taught you? Jessica Lawrence: Now at this point in my life, it's given me a lot of experience and understanding and and probably more than anything clarity of what I'm wanting to do and achieve from the next steps in my life. I I came from a creative family, but not in a creative sense that we were probably not that we were discouraged of for following that as a career, but more our creativity was like a s a craft I suppose for want of a a better word and so I didn't really think about going to do to study fashion design. I did apply when I I lived I grew up in Bendigo in central Victoria and I applied to the local TAFE and got in for fashion design and then I turned it down and continued working instead. In hindsight it probably was not a bad thing that I turned that down for the circumstances of the the person that I was dating at the time and the time that it takes to put into Going back to store school school and putting all of that in, I probably didn't have the support network that I have now. But what that meant was that I ended up I moved to Melbourne and moved into fashion in a retail sense. So the plan was just to move to Melbourne and work in retail fashion management. And so that's what I did for for quite some years. And then weirdly enough, in my thirties I pretty much had exhausted almost every option to avoid going back to study fashion to to dare to do that. And I w moved into real estate for twelve months and then loved it but not the right thing and then I actually came back from a trip from Tasmania, interestingly enough, and a I yeah, resigned from my job. Frank my husband gave me a flyer and said, Well look, there's no excuses now. we you know, fashion design. So I went back to school and so that was started a three year journey of studying. So that was a whole new world again. Eve: Yeah, it would have been. And when was that? Jessica Lawrence: That was in twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen and twenty sixteen. that I went back to school. So I went to one Eve: Yeah, right. Jessica Lawrence: school one particular school that was only a twelve month course, which probably was a really good thing because I mentally you think, you know, I'm leaving work or I I had a job that I could do remotely. So I could work full time and then I could study full time as well. So that was a pretty massive balance. But Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: psychologically good because you think I'm only going to do it for twelve months but then I was hooked and moved to a different course and did my second and third year. Eve: Yeah, that's so inspiring. So when did sustainability and quality become central to your thinking then? Jessica Lawrence: So leading up to that I will definitely say that when I worked in women's fashion and retail, I I worked in fast fashion and I did quite honestly love the love the pace of the store and love the pace of the the garments. So I was not in such a clear mindset of how that affected our world and our environment then. And then when I went back to school I had a teacher, my Vicky, one of my teachers who taught us sustainability and started to make us a little bit more aware of that and then that became into my ethos of what I wanted to do from there then on. My graduation collection From a sustainability point of view, I guess you'd clarify what does that mean? Because I used a whole range of mix of fabrics and and textiles, but from a quality point of view, it had a high sustainability factor because it's there for life. It's it's well made and well executed and it's there for life. So in that sense it there has that sustainability aspect, and I think when you Decide to do something that you've deprived yourself of for so many Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: years, you just have to go for it without any rules or restrictions, and so I had to just do what I needed to do to express me and myself, and and then from there find my feet with how I wanted to do that for the next level. And that's actually taken basically taken ten years to move through different career paths, different areas of the industry and start to think about what I want to do because there this is it's so important the sustainability factor in a whole realm of areas and then it's so it's now finding what does that mean to me with it and I one of the jobs that I had when I came out of school which was fairly unexpected was designing and and then ultimately running production for race car suits for you know, like you see on Formula One, but for the supercars in Australia. Yeah, so that was and you know what? A very unexpected role, but absolutely Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: loved it. Yeah. And ended up it could almost be one of the best things I've ever done. So that was not what you think you're gonna do when you go back to school and study something, but be open to opportunities and it's funny the things that come about. Eve: Yeah, incredible. And what do you think the benefits were of finally doing that study when you're in your thirties? Jessica Lawrence: you get to appreciate the study and how important it is compared to what you do when you just finish, high school and you bring a whole world of of knowledge And appreciation for where I guess and also the time frame because I was working as well. So I was working full time but remotely. And so I had to prioritize my work. And so that meant Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: sometimes putting hours and hours of work into a garment, but because it was submitted late, because I had to do my job first, I would get a pass. And it's being at peace with that and recognizing that that. just how it had to happen sometimes. It didn't always happen but it had to happen sometimes and I think there's a lot of challenges. I I went to a doctor in that time about just a I had a stress fracture and he said to me my wife's always wanted to do fashion design she's always wanted to study and I said to him well you know she needs to do it because she now she's not gonna get any younger so Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: you do have to you do have to go back and you know income wise start from scratch again you Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: do have to be the new kid on the block even though that you are older and so there are some challenges with that and there There are definitely you know, you're gonna come across people who enjoy you know that aspect that they can speak to you like that or treat you like that, but that's just the way of the world, and that's that's life. But ultimately, what would I be doing if I hadn't done that? And I would not be a satisfied person. It was the just the absolute best experience, and it cracked me if I can say that in a really good way. way. Like I don't think I've felt so much stress and pressure as I did when I having to get things finished and balance all other areas of of what life demands as well. And so I think you just come out a better and stronger person, especially when Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: you realise that what you've always wanted to do, that there is something there that you can actually do it. Eve: Yeah, that you're giving yourself permission to actually do it and achieve one of your dreams. that's so inspiring. Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, we could all do it. It's not easy. We can all do it. Eve: Yeah. And No. Well that's true. what prompted you and your husband to move from Melbourne to Hobart? Jessica Lawrence: our birthdays and our wedding wedding anniversary all sit within a week of each other in August. And we started I'm not sure how or why, but we started to come to Hobart for that week. And then in twenty twenty four we just decided, okay, why what do we want to do? there's no specific reasons to be in Melbourne. or where do we want to live? Do we want to live in Melbourne? Do we want in another live in a p another part of Melbourne? Do we want to live live in another state? And then Frank, my husband, said, you know, we've always loved Hobart and so we started looking at Hobart. And I think within a few days of us making that decision, we did actually come across the house that we ended up buying. And that was a bit of a journey in itself. We put in an offer but someone else's offer was accepted. That fell through and anyway that was a big journey but ultimately the first reason that we moved was because of this house. It's a crazy nineteen seventies house. we call her Lola because she's a little bit like the song by the Kings where she's a little bit masculine and a little bit feminine. And so that was probably what made us go, all right, what if we wouldn't make this leap? This house needs to be showcased and shown for its seventies glory. And then as we started to think about this, it really did dawn on us and me and how the placement of Hobart and just the location could be a great opportunity for us to build more than a life but a the a brand and the the things that have all through my life that I've been pulling together through the fashion industry, this could be that right amount of space to to make it really happen. So the the house was the the pulling card that made Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: us take that first leap, but then we started to think that this was an amazing opportunity to be somewhere and do something a bit different. And look we had no idea what Tassie was gonna be like and absolutely love it. une unexpected. I think that the people here are absolutely incredible. The place is incredible and we had no idea what what we were getting ourselves into so to speak. But it is such a great place to be and yeah it's been a it's been a journey but so good to have moved. Eve: Yeah, incredible. So was the move part of a part of a broader desire to live differently? Jessica Lawrence: Yes, it was. not as intentional as moving states. But it was more a case of living differently to start to choose for us and what we clearly want to do and not proximity or location and sometimes I feel like in a bigger city, so in Melbourne, a lot of living happens to be proximity to whether it's proximity to because of the size of the city, it's proximity to work or it's proximity to friends or family, that type of thing. Whereas We wanted to be somewhere that we just wanted to be, not just a proximity to convenience. So we have all of the proximity to in Hobart because the the place is so small. But it's a great diverse city My first concern was that it would it be too slow, but definitely not the case at all because you are so close to everything that you we have a busier social life than we've ever had, and you you are with people or you're with nature and you have great pockets like you have in a big city you've got great pockets of different types of people and environments and nationalities, but it's in a much smaller scale. So there's a local community feel with that at all. But we really wanted to make change and feel as though we're not just existing in a urban jungle that we have have something more than that. we're quite fortunate with the house that we found. It is unique. we've got some great views over the river and we've got an exciting project both with that and building a brand and a life here. Eve: That's really inspiring and I know what you mean, about community and nature and consciously choosing what you put into your life. Jessica Lawrence: That is yeah, such a great great line and a great comment 'cause it is consciously choosing and even just that move, it's interesting how I don't know if the the water between the states is such a psychological barrier, but we've had friends that we've had that that are in Melbourne that have become stronger since we've moved and then we've got friends who I don't see as much that you think, you know, we had a stronger friendship. So it's amazing the the what that move and how that clarifies relationships and opportunities and all of that type of thing. Yeah. It's quite a gift. Yeah. Eve: Yeah, it is, you're right. so how has Tasmania's people, the landscape and the wildlife influenced you creatively? Jessica Lawrence: People I find, well the women of Hobart and Tassie I find really direct. I love that They are straight up. If they wanna tell you you look tired or you they wanna tell you you've you've done well or they they there's you know, they're proud of you or anything like that. People are s absolutely straight up here. And I'm actually my husband's Norwegian and we're here at the moment and I find that there's that similarity between Norwegians and Tasmanians in their directness and that was something that I s in initially found confronting but it is so good that you really know where you stand with the people in Hobart and I love the strength of the women. they're no BS, they don't take it, they just straight up people and I find that there's not the I guess the the the f the fluff that sometimes would be in Melbourne and then in the environment it is just remarkable the hills and the across the river and because Frank's Norwegian he would call the river a fjord like we have in Norway and it is so it sounds far more glamorous than just across the river, but it is such a beautiful it is a beautiful fjord and we have incredible use of the mountain and just to wake up and see that every day and I don't ever think that I've been able to see the way that the sun or the moon move in on the earth until we moved here and see that this the moving of the weather and the the time the time is just absolutely remarkable here and to see now that we're almost at two years and to see that that that you know you've got some the warmth and the sun's coming and the sun is in a different place and it comes into the house so differently to what it did through Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: the winter and it's just remarkable that in just in that sense the connection with nature is is beautiful. We also back onto A reserve so we have patty melons and wallabies, and anyone that doesn't know what a patty melon is, we didn't either, but they are basically an even smaller wallaby that is all over Tasmania, and we have them all around our yard and our our garden, so just to be that close to nature is incredible, and then the landscape, so I feel like the diversity. of the people and the land is really quite remarkable and you get to be so close to it all in s because you everything is so small and so close. Eve: Mm. Yeah, it must have shaped your creative journey quite remarkably. tell us about your brand that you've created. Jessica Lawrence: So my brand that I have created is actually called Map of Tassie Map of Tassie Swim. It is what it is with MapATazzy Swim and Map of Tassie AproSwim. Eve: when did the idea for the label first emerge for you? Jessica Lawrence: So I guess the first thing to to talk about is that Map of Tassie is a couple of things. Map of Tassie is the actual map of the island and the islands surrounding Tasmania, but it is also a clo a colloquial term for a women's pubic area. So that has been something I guess that has been a a little bit of a a fun joke for people for for many a time. And it the the name came to me when we we run along the beach on a Sunday, that's Frank's and my joint time and we go out to the Bel Reve cliffs and we sit and we just have a you know, just look at the water and go, my gosh, well it's like we're on holiday all the time. And August is I find remarkably a warm month in Tasmania and people are out swimming in their bikinis and out swimming and it's just absolutely amazing. And so there was one particular day that just the the name just seemed appropriate with the the way the women that were dressed and also the empowerment and the strength of the the women and doing their own thing. So we'd we had a little bit of a laugh and could this actually be a name? And then it just really just sat on the back burner. So that was before the Taz Fashion Festival last year. And Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: it just started to really stick with me as a name because of the fact that there are a couple of components that really resonate with me with this date and that one of them is the women and the people and the the strength of the women, but then also when I see the young girls that I I catch the bus to work for my part time work and I look at the different young girls and they're so feisty and they're so strong and I'm so inspired by them and I think about, you know, what was I like at that age and where where are they going? Where are they going in their life? Have we moved enough as a society and as women that they are gonna have the full choice of a family and a career and an equal opportunity with the the young Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: boys that they are sitting on the bus with. And I I just listen to the conversations and I I enjoy seeing what I see. my bus goes through a whole lot of socio economic areas I've never heard anyone talk about people going to jail or their friends in jail and it's almost every day feels like this whole journey. So it's sat simmering with me about concept of female empowerment and you know owning our map back and then the other aspect of it is as well the literal map of Tasmania and the environment and where we are all living and we live on one of the most amazing places on the earth. It's just remarkable and so moving that was what I first saw. I have since as well seen that there isn't a cohesive environmental view, on the state. Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: And there's there is that conflict where we go for our run down on the cliffs, there's often fathers and young boys who are fishing and it's like so gorgeous what you see down there, but then they leave all of their rubbish on the cliffs and all of the everything that they've taken their hooks out and all of that type of thing and that's just left to to go into the river. And so I feel like there is an environmental element that is a little bit opposite. And so Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: that has been something that I've also, I guess, feeling like I'm wanting to highlight. it all brings together in a mix of looking after the people and the health and the long term well being of the people and an empowerment side to to the map of Tassie And also Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: the actual the state and how do we get this balance between people needing to create an income from the state and what does that Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: mean? And so I think that there can be an environmental balance, but we haven't got it there yet. we've got to work out as a state how we look after ourselves as a state and how are we going to sustain ourselves because we can't stay stagnant. you know, it has to be Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: every single thing in life has to be growing and so we need to work Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: out how we do that. there would have been a time that before a particular gallery called Mona was built that they would have said, We've already got an art gallery, why do we need another one? But the the vision and then the people that Mona has bought brought to Tasmania has helped the infrastructure of the state. I think we need to look at how we grow the state to a sustainable, livable, long-term state, and then also how we you know, put food on the table and and make people Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: happy. And then I also think though if we're going to grow the state, we need to help that environmental factor that we all are on the same page with how we make it a a forever place and a forever wilderness that has a has a balance to keep everyone happy. my brand is about bringing awareness to the state, also bringing I guess empowerment to to women and and how we take care of ourselves and look after ourselves and and I don't mean that from a like a a visual fashion point of view, but it's actually about putting us where almost first I suppose that we are taking care of ourselves and our health. And and then the other component is also the environmental aspect of how we look after this place that we all are calling home. Down here and how we keep that as a long-term factor. So the swim swimwear came from the fact that I really love swimwear unexpectedly. I had a friend's party a few years ago that I made swimwear for Frank and myself, and that started the ball rolling of an unexpected journey. And then the that so that became where I could see that I could build a brand that I would be more comfortable to be for myself wearing something similar to what other people are wearing. That there's I can have a bit of a mix and match in swimwear. So that's where there would be more production side to the business. And then the appre swim. So a pre swim Eve: Mm. Yeah, tell us about that. Jessica Lawrence: comes from so that First place I've got the swimwear side of things and then the Apreswim. So for the northern hemisphere there is com something called Apres ski which is a term it's a French word and it means after ski. it's a way of life that you you spend your time on the ski slopes during the day and then you Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: afterwards you change your change your gear s slightly or substantially and you have a frisky and that can be anything from sitting around the fire having a hot chocolate or dancing the nightclubs till early hours drinking. it's a movement and a feel and a fun way to incorporate how we build and grow Tassie and think of it Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: and elevate ourselves in Tassie. And then also a way that I can incorporate more of my limited edition garment plans into my collection and my brand. So I have something that's more re I can reproduce and then there's something Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: that will lean more into vintage fabrics, minimal repeat designs, that type of thing. And that's where it started to feel like the two can sit together really nicely and I can help people Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: dress for themselves and be themselves through those brands rather than feeling like I need to have a repeatable garment that everyone wears that I personally Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: don't even want to dress like that. Eve: Yeah, there's so many elements to your designs and what you're creating and I just love that it's so considered. how do you want someone to feel wearing your pieces? Jessica Lawrence: you'll see that there are a varying styles with the swimwear and that is because we don't all feel the same way about ourselves or even just about the weather. And so it it requires sometimes more covered up and sometimes less covered up depending on how we're feeling or what we're wanting or where we're venturing to swim. So there's that variety. So I want people to feel comfortable in themselves that they are addressing appropriately for themselves for whatever swim environment that they're going into. And then for the after swim, I want people to use my clothing or accessories as a tool rather than what's the term, don't wear the dress, don't let the dress wear you. I want my Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: garments and my accessories to be part of your ensemble so that you are dressing you might see different ideas that you can you can pull from whether it be a magazine or the the internet or someone in the street and you can pull something and put that together yourself and you pull all of that together yourself. And I want I I like to I like to push the boundaries a bit with You know, whether it be the flowing, the big collars and I love caftans and I want people to feel like that they can walk into a room and feel good for themselves and not for anywhere else. I want women to maybe feel sexy for themselves before they feel that for anyone else and it's not about impressing anyone else but yourself first and foremost. Eve: Yeah, I love that you've said that, previously that you know it's all about dressing unapologetically for ourselves. So what does that mean for you? Jessica Lawrence: that you wear what you want to wear and you don't change for someone else if they're not comfortable in what you're wearing before you walk out the door. And also I feel like feminism I suppose has a new angle to it where we are needing to I think to to help women move forward we need to celebrate how we each choose to see ourselves and dress ourselves. So if someone is maybe being a little more revealing than you're comfortable to be, that you're letting that person be that way because that's how they feel good about themselves. I think we need to continue growing as women, we need to make sure that we are not holding each other back. And if you feel good in that for you, then you go girlfriend and you you wear that for you. It's not about what you should or shouldn't do or too much or too little or too covered or too revealed. It's about you feeling good when you walk out the door and feeling like you can, yeah, kick ass with the world. Eve: Mm I love that. So can knowing ourselves, do you think, and our style help reduce overconsumption? Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, I do. Big time. I think that when when we know ourselves, I there's a I guess a c a few classic ways, isn't there, that you can go that when you know it, we know ourselves, we know what we do or don't want to buy. but also I think we when we know ourselves there's probably a less of a you know ups and downs of needing to to shop for the sake of shopping that we feel more content with ourselves and we don't actually need to to fill that void and so I think that it also means that we are more considered to either go and try something on if we're able to do that or we think about what we've already got in our wardrobe and have the confidence to reuse that rather than buy something new. I also think that it means that we can shop more sustainably in the sense of or the way of secondhand or we can make our own clothing and we're not worried about whether it's a brand or not a brand, that we can be more comfortable in ourselves to go, you know, go to the op shop and buy something and feel good in that and not feel that we're we're shopping secondhand because we're poor, we're shopping secondhand because there's not many of the these around or we're not seeing anything else so we can be unique in ourselves. Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: So I think that that is a crucial part that we have I guess a smogest board of options of where we draw our clothing from and our dress scents from, from our own wardrobes and trusting what we've bought in the past and then yeah, whether it be being new or having the fun and a a rubbish in a I love a good vintage shop in a second hand Eve: Mm, snipe. Jessica Lawrence: store. Eve: Same, it's fun and it's helps your creativity and helps your confidence because you're expressing yourself authentically, like when you find something that you really love. It feels so good. Jessica Lawrence: feels so good. It's so good. And there are things that Eve: Mm. Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: I have bought before that I loved it but didn't dare buy or didn't dare wear 'cause it's like, that's a bit full on, which it makes me love now. But it is a bit full on. But sometimes you still, you know, get by those and then you find that whether it be in a a couple of months or a couple of years later, that they're just the right thing and then they become just a staple in your in your wardrobe. Eve: I guess it's looking to embody the woman that you're becoming and that's what you were drawn to at the time, but potentially yourself was still needing to catch up with that woman. Jessica Lawrence: Yes. Yes. That's exactly right. And sometimes it's circumstances of maybe who you're who you are with or who you're not with that helps you be yourself or or to not. And you know love exactly what you were saying before, that it you get to express your individuality and and it's also that you found this. So there's always a great story when you buy something second hand that you yeah, you are able to find that and no one else is gonna be able to get that. So I think that Eve: Mm. Absolutely. Jessica Lawrence: that mix. So I would never want someone to just fully dress in garments and accessories that I have on offer. it's like a good soup or a good recipe that we bring it all together and you pull something from here and your own archives and you you mix it all in together and I think that's what style is and creativity is and it's bringing out that history and the stories in something. You can't you can't get that from just a great clean shop. You need to to have a whole mix and that brings Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: it out of you. Eve: Absolutely. And drawing out your personality as well. Jessica Lawrence: Yes. Yeah. Eve: Hmm. Yeah, it's so much more than fashion is so much more than how you look. And that's why I love it so much. It's just so many layers of ways to express yourself and your creativity and what you stand for and I think it needs to be taken more seriously. Jessica Lawrence: That's it's so true, right? I guess there has been this superficial element that has been built into it, but it's not. We all need to express who we are on the outside. I think it's important to express that inside part on the outside and then that there is no other way to be able to do it. And some people love it more than others but ultimately we are all telling a story visually of our ourselves from from Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: from the inside out. And once you start to to dress for yourself and to wear what you want to wear, you you get to express that side of you. Or you get to start to feel that you can express that side of you. Sometimes you know Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: you start when you're eighteen months old that you you know what you want or what you want to wear, but sometimes it's much later in life and it might be after you've, married, divorced, kids have moved out, all of that type of thing that you actually get to to be you. And I think as you go through, perimet and menopause and you're changing and life's changing that you get to think differently about how you want to be and how you want to express yourself as as well. Eve: Yeah, it's never too late. I would encourage any woman, wherever they're at in life to use the way that they dress every day to communicate what they stand for and who they are because it always does start a conversation, Like, you know Jessica Lawrence: It's so right. It does. Eve: fashion is really for me, I've noticed that it's a way to connect. Really. Because, you know, you could be Jessica Lawrence: And how do you do that? How do you find that? Eve: Yeah, well I have just been noticing that women naturally will just if you don't know someone and you're waiting in the bathroom, you'll comment on someone's outfit it's a way to kind of meet new people as well. there's so many layers to to it, but I do feel like it's a connector. Jessica Lawrence: Absolutely I don't think. Eve: 'Cause we all have to get dressed every day. So you you might as well take the opportunity to express your personality and, your style and what you stand for. Jessica Lawrence: Absolutely. And if you don't know what that is, it's just having a go. There's Eve: Hmm. Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: I think you just try something and if that didn't work then now you know that didn't work. So yeah, you just try something else next Eve: On with it. Jessica Lawrence: time. Yeah. The mistakes I suppose are are part of the progress and putting together is part of the learning. And so, you know, everyone Has done that, and I also think that style is really that like an inner self, an inner confidence that's what comes out, and that's why you'll hear. I feel like, she she could even just wear a paper bag. You know, that's because Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: there's it's so much more than the garments that we wear, and I think the the garments can trigger something that makes us. low or you know, be that otherworldly. And there's sometimes days that I've gone to work and I'm like, what's going on here, Jess? But that's part of the fun as well. And then I think when you do that, just stand tall, chest out, shoulders back and just walk. And it's like someone just might go, I didn't know that that was a thing, but it is, because you've just Eve: Yeah. You've just owned it. Jessica Lawrence: you know I just owned it. So if it doesn't feel right, you know, head back, shoulders back, chin up, own it. Eve: Love that. Until you can get to somewhere that you can change or when you get home and yeah, reassess then. Jessica Lawrence: Reassess, yeah. Yeah, different point of view. Eve: Mm. Yeah, it does have a massive impact on how you feel and how your day goes. Cause I can remember commuting to Sydney for many years and one morning I just got off the train in the QVB and I just did not like what I was wearing. I just felt uncomfortable and I was just not feeling it. So I actually walked into a shop and just bought a new outfit and then I walked out of there and that was when I had my shoulders back and my chest proud and like the day just flowed because I just couldn't stand another moment in what I was wearing. So I highly recommend Jessica Lawrence: Isn't it remarkable? Eve: that. Mm. Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, it's absolutely remarkable. it is just so important Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: just how we how we feel, and what impact Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: that has on us. Yeah. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. So your runway in the upcoming festival, why is collaborating with Tasmanian artists important to your vision? Jessica Lawrence: this first collaboration that I am doing for the festival. So I have two swimwear prints. One of them is one that I have designed and it's a reflection of our house and the the seventies bottleglass that's in the house. And the other one is a collaboration with a Tassie architect and artist and We met so some of you may or may not know Stephen Last. we went to his fabulous garage house and he had a postcard sitting behind his bar and I asked him about this postcard and He had drawn it back in 1985 and it encapsulates pretty much everything that I want to I guess the cheeky wink of what Map of Tassie offers and so Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: I have collaborated with him to turn this image into a repeat print and that will be that has been produced and that will be the first collection. the first swimwear collection that comes out on the runway that was a lot of fun and that's a great experience as well. I hadn't made my own print before and that is his but for me and my own so to to design something to become in to be a repeat print was a great process. And then also working out how you have an agreement of a collaboration. And the the workings of that was also a collaboration from the different people in the industry and different industries who I was able to draw on to how we do this. And you don't need to do a legal document because as long as it's spelled out, it becomes an agreed document. So that's a the whole process was a fabulous experience as well. And That is a that's a design that I hope that we can we can take forward for a long time. And then I look forward to creating a collaboration with other Tasmanian artists as well. Eve: I can't wait to see it. And what do you hope people feel when they see the collection, Jess? Jessica Lawrence: I want people to have a little bit of a giggle. I want them to have some fun with it. When I went back to school one of my teachers had said to me that I know how to I push it to the edge, but I pull it back before it gets I guess too comical or it doesn't quite cross that boundary. So I'm hoping that that will be the case. That I want I want playful and fun. I think that clothing and what we wear should be fun. I want people to feel that little bit of a a giggle and fun in the swimwear. and feel good in themselves. the collection is both swimwear and a pre swim. And so there is the pieces that you would throw on after being at the beach or at the pool all day and then you can just put on your shoes, throw something over the top and head straight to a bar and that's what the looks are intended to do, to have that that flow through. I want people to feel good about that, that they they can just s go from you know, from the beach to the bar and and feel really good. Eve: Awesome. Jessica Lawrence: And create the talking points, I guess, like you said, Eve. Eve: Yeah. Yeah, so what has creating the Map of Tassie taught you about yourself? Jessica Lawrence: Probably the biggest thing that it is teaching me about myself is taking a risk, having Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: a go. this is a name that I recognise that may not appeal or may not be approved by some when they know or think about that side of side of things of the you know, the colloquial term. But I have a message that I want to share for this state and so I feel like as as quirky as it is, it it's the message and it's the name that I want people to hear and want them to remember and want to investigate a little more. And I guess it's teaching me t that if I'm prepared to put myself out there with this, that I might be able to get a broader message shared and said. I and so that, you know, it it's definitely been like, my gosh, am I doing this? Are we doing this? we're doing this and it's really important to me. The We moved for a reason and we didn't know we didn't fully know what that was as to why we moved to Tasmania. but I wanna be part of this state and the part of the people that are really making a call to action to to build and grow this state into what it deserves to be. that's not overpopulated but that is a functioning, living, growing organism that it needs to be from a long term perspective. And so I feel like that I need to say something out loud. and just along that I am talking with some different charities for me to align with them to donate a percentage or a a dollar amount from my collections and they I'm still finalising with them but they sit in two camps. One is in the way of women's health and women's empowerment and people health. and then the other one is in the environmental point and that's actually been a little bit harder to find something that is clearly resonating in the s in the way of a I feel like there needs to be something that quite localized and that talks to the everyday and not Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: it yet that needs to be something that that connects with us all on a day to day basis. So that's actually been a a little bit more difficult. But that will all come together in the next month and I will have, you know, sometimes you can you can change if things don't sit sit right. But this is about drawing attention to the state Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: and how we grow it and maintain it and look after it and Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: So what it's taught me, I guess, to round all of that up is that it's, you know, it's time for me to to put myself out there and and believe and back myself and this is a cause that I wanna lead the charge with or pa be part of leading the charge with. Eve: Mm, it's so inspiring. I just love it. Love the name. Love what it stands for. I'm gonna be so proud of you when those models Jessica Lawrence: Yeah. Eve: come out wearing wearing their garments and Jessica Lawrence: Yeah. Eve: Yeah, go you. Jessica Lawrence: Thank you. One of my models I actually met at the bus stop. So stay tuned 'cause I have men's and women's and Eve: Okay. Jessica Lawrence: yeah, he's divine. So yeah, stay tuned what we're gonna be doing and and achieving. Eve: I love that you're obviously looking out. So when you are at work or on the bus, you're looking out, you're not looking at your phone. you're looking out and taking notice of, what's going on and looking and listening to what's going on around you so that you can read people and gauge how society is functioning. I think there needs to be more of us doing that. Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, thank you. I read a book on the bus if I'm going to do anything. I don't really like to look at my phone, although it's sort of kept me a catch up sort of time for things. But Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: it's true. I think it's really nice. You you get to feel the the heartbeat and the soul of what is around you and get to know and listen and ask questions. And I feel like when you've got a book it's easy to look like you're reading but you're just listening Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: to the to the and then I'm not e meaning to eavesdrop in any negative way but I I feel like I've got more of a connection to Eve: Hmm. Jessica Lawrence: the the people that are around me and I feel really blessed that I get to hear and see this incredible cross section of people. But all Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: all make up the state. We're all the same. We all make up the state. Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: We're on this piece of the pie which is really beautiful. Eve: I find it super inspiring that you're using fashion to, showcase what you stand for and your values and what you want to see changed in the Tasmanian landscape. Jessica Lawrence: that's 'cause we I feel like there needs to be something done. We can't expect the the government to do it or both federally and and state and I can see moving here that the state has not been cared for federally as much as it should and I again don't want to talk about from a political point of view, I mean it from let's all take some ownership and of where we live and Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: and see what we can do and and clothing is what I love. And that is my language so that therefore I guess becomes my vehicle of me doing my part t to to shine a light on people here and and where we live. Eve: Mm, amazing. So what does taking your power back mean to you, Jess? Jessica Lawrence: means a few things to me. gosh, I'm like emotional. Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: it's it's really about for me ultimately being becoming the person that I was supposed to be and I haven't found the circumstance until now to really be that person. ironically my travels through Fashion after leaving Lunar going back to school and I've worked with more men than I'd ever worked with before because I'd always worked in women's fashion and in you just that was just the norm, but I've worked with more men and so I have it's been a, you know, roller coaster over a time and the I guess it's been the the the positive has been definitely the the disim some of the disempowering environments that I was working in and so now it's about me learning from all of that and gathering all of that from from prior and to to now and and putting myself in the driver's seat and Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: going, you know what, you're getting older gathering information, let's do something with it and and back yourself Eve: Yeah. Jessica Lawrence: and know that you've you've got the goods to to get the job done. Eve: Mm, it's your turn. Jessica Lawrence: My turn. Yeah. the thing as well, I guess, it's all of our turn. And I feel like Eve: Mm. Jessica Lawrence: that that is a we don't have to have a hierarchy of turns, that it's all of our turn, that there is enough playing field for us all to have our turn at the same time. Kinda thing. That we all Eve: Yeah, it's just about recognising that. it's not a dress rehearsal. So like we've just gotta Jessica Lawrence: That's right. Eve: do the thing that we're, you know, here to do and you know, if you don't know what that is, which, you know, I certainly didn't for many years, but being consistent in finding it out and owning that and yeah, showing up for yourself. Jessica Lawrence: Yeah, that's absolutely right. And I think that it it we all all some of us know exactly what we want to do, but a lot of us don't. And so you do have to keep trying new things and doing new things and you know, you hear people about say they start a project and then stop, but that's all about exploring what you're supposed to be doing and so don't ever stop doing that. Just yeah, keep trying new things and doing new things and then suddenly you feel or find that everything links up and if I'd Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: been if I'd taken on the you know, going back to school to study when I was just in my early twenties, I possibly would have left. So I can think, I wish I'd started back then but I possibly would have quit or I wouldn't have pursued it the way that I have a vision to do it now and therefore I might have said I tried that once but it didn't work. But now it's all everything's coming together to to be where I'm supposed to be and and where where life's supposed to be. Eve: Mm, absolutely, that's so beautiful. So what's your vision for the label's future? Jessica Lawrence: w I have a few more arms to it that I would like to build. So this is where I start and something that we are going to do is also to have made to order for want of a better term, so I'm wanting to reduce the the amount of product that's made and there's a few different Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: reasons for that and that is firstly is to manage the capital. And then also I don't know what sizes and who is going to want to wear my garments. So I Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: don't want to pre-decide who should or shouldn't. I want to find that out. And then I also from a fit perspective want to make sure that everything is working the way that it should for for my customers so that it is actually fitting them the way that they they want. So the stuff to start small with that and then also I from from a bigger perspective of that it's all about growing people and the impact that we have in the state and what I can generate to put forward to causes to help people grow and further in the state. So there's there's step at a time I've got a big vision but I I want to create this small part first so that I can then empower myself and to make it what it should be with less waste and more decided and clear actions along the way. Eve: Yeah, that's awesome. what would you say to younger Jessica if she was sitting beside you? Jessica Lawrence: You got this girlfriend. Eve: Mm-hmm. Jessica Lawrence: I yeah, definitely would be say back yourself because you don't. from a creative perspective, while I had that growing up it wasn't something that we were and not in a negative way that we weren't encouraged with it. It was just not one of those things. We all did creative things and it did not really occur to me to think that I could turn this into a career. a singer or an artist has a child and they suddenly they just naturally do something creative because the the pathway's already been opened up and s Set for them that they can do whatever they want to do, but it doesn't always work that way if you've come from a more mainstream work form environment. And so you don't know, especially as a kid, that whether you're going out on a limb or whether you can do it. So my my advice to myself as a younger self is to just keep pushing forward. You know what you're doing, you've got this so let's just go. Eve: it's been so nice chatting with you, Jess. thank you for sharing not only what you're creating but the intention behind it and I'm so looking forward to seeing the collection come to life on the runway at the Tasmanian Fashion Festival. Jessica Lawrence: Thank you so much, Eve Thank you for everything that you are doing and bringing. there are no words. You're bringing an amazing community of people and women together and you know, we're really blessed to have come come across you and crossed paths and I'm excited to share more with you and also to watch your journey as well. Congratulations and thank you. Eve: Thank you so much. Before we finish I'd love to leave you with one question. When did you last feel most like yourself? Not the version shaped by expectations, deadlines, or everyone else's opinions, but the real you. Maybe that's something worth sitting with this week. If today's conversation has resonated with you, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing the episode with someone who may need to hear it. Every share helps us reach more people and grow a community that's choosing to live with greater intention. Until next time, remember, take your power back, one conscious choice at a time. I'll see you in the next episode.