The tip of the iceberg:
A word from Alix #1
#empowerwomenthroughcreativity
I am often asked how my collections are born and I never really know how to answer this question because they are all related: I do not know when they start or if they really end. Heimstone is like a big open book: the one of my life, my inspirations, my memories, my trials, my challenges, my travels, what I like but also what I struggle against. The creativity I've been talking about since the beginning is what fulfills me, and Heimstone is the result of all that. If there is no beginning and no end, there is no frontier between Heimstone and I. I think I can say it's like we're one. I put all of myself in this brand which I consider as a whole universe, the extension of myself. These are not chapters one after the other but a great discussion that I opened and never stoped, feeding from each new season, new capsule, new desire, new person in my life and all my energy.
"Heimstone is like a big open book: the one of my life, my inspirations, my memories, my trials, my challenges, my travels, what I like & what I struggle against."
I was lucky to have a very happy childhood with wonderful parents who, despite their busy working lives, have always favored us. We had the chance to travel a lot, to have parents for whom art, interior, decoration, well-being, sport and quality food always had an essential place in their balance. Our childhood was bathed by visits to museums, the discovery of new culture, outings to the theater etc. It was our daily life. I give a real importance to creativity, it’s a tool and an extraordinary force in life.
I think my parents have awakened this at home. As far as I can remember, I have always loved drawing. I remember that my father had taken me to see an exhibition of Rembrandt's drawings, and it had been a revelation for me, I was amazed by the complex simplicity of the pencil line. I can't say that I am a very good designer, but I love it. Even more than drawing, I like painting, colors, fabrics and prints.
Travel Journals
"I have always wanted to keep a record of my travels, a trace on which I can come back, to remember, to remember how I thought of such a period of my life."
When I was a little girl, I traveled a lot in Africa, Morocco, Egypt, the United States and India. I had a fascination for each different textile work for each of these countries. I love Maine's, old Maine style boutis blankets, as much as the beautiful Moroccan Kilim carpets. I find that travelling helps creativity in the sense that we see a lot of new things. I also love jet lag. There’s something about that timeless moment that allows the mind to wander freely, reinterpreting images we’ve seen from a new perspective. I believe I’ve created some of the most beautiful Heimstone pieces while on a plane!
I have always wanted to keep a record of my travels, a trace on which I can come back, to remember, to remember how I thought of such a period in my life. I started making travel books at a young age. I do not really like writing, but I like collages, I like to paste all kinds of things: my plane tickets, a restaurant card, a dried flower, a theater ticket, a piece of tissue ... In short, I love to stick! But I also like to color, paint, draw, frame and surround. I find an incredible satisfaction in it. So I started making travel books. They were ugly at the time, I was finding for my style.
Ivory Coast
When I was a teenager, I remember having traveled to Ivory Coast several times (the parents of my best friend lived there), and I spent my days in the markets, on the hunt for fabrics. I loved seeing all these Wax fabrics. They were all colorful with patterns that had nothing to do with each other. I thought "But what a creativity, what a cheek to mix all these patterns!". I remember on that day understanding that everything is possible, that in fact, the only barriers we have in life are the ones we create ourselves. If I found them beautiful, it was precisely because they were not matched. Even today, when I create my collections, I'm still looking for that, I often say to the girls with whom I work: "I love it so much, it doesn't fit together." It makes them laugh!
United States
When I started Heimstone, I was 23, and I was traveling a lot. My twin sister Caroline (@threesevenparis) lived in New York, my brother (@antoineblanchetfilms), lived in Los Angeles, and I spent my time going back and forth to the United States. From that moment, I kept everything. Everthing I had the chance to see has continued to inspire the Heimstone collections. The United States is a major influence for me, they have inspired and continue to inspire many of my collections. In July 2007, I started one of the most beautiful trips of my life: the United States tour by car. The goal was to cross all the states, without ever taking the highway. This trip inspired the Fall-Winter 2008-2009 collection with the Indians of America collection. Six trips and two years later, it was done, in August 2009, I closed this journey with my final destination, Alaska. It inspired the 2010-2011 winter collection, Nome, and was probably the most beautiful trip of my life. I went to Hawaii after.
One of four notebooks on the tour of the United States.
Favorite U.S. Addresses
The Deetjen's Inn in Big Sur, California
Dunton Hot Springs, Dolores, Colorado
Thunderbird Hotel, Marfa Texas
(The hotel has inspired the Heimstone Thunderbird collection for summer 2013.)
In Monterey, California, I photographed jellyfish in an aquarium (just with my iPhone) and made the Jellyfish print. A few years later, I met my husband, Onur, in New York. He is of Turkish origin but he grew up in Australia. When we met, he was still living in Sydney. The first months of our relationship, we met in Turkey, a country he made me discover and a country that inspired my life, and the December winter 2013-2014 collection. A fish market in Istanbul inspired the fish print.
“Creativity is in every corner of my discoveries. I think it's up to everyone to find ideas and inspiration at any moment, just see them.”
“Creativity is in every corner of my discoveries. I think it's up to everyone to find ideas and inspiration at any moment, just see them.”
We also traveled to Australia a lot , which gave birth to our Victoria Bitter print. A photo of a ship and container port in Canada inspired the "Steamers" print, Alberta Winter 2015-2016 collection.
Beyond travels, I'm also inspired by artists that I like, such as the Dia collection, for the summer of 2012. This collection made references to the Dia Beacon art foundation in the United States, which I had the opportunity to visit in Marfa, Texas, but also Upstate New York. I love the neon work of the artist Dan Flavin.