Ratbags co-founders Richie Boyens and Mitch Smyth.
Ratbags co-founders Richie Boyens and Mitch Smyth.
Former reality TV winner Richie Boyens is using his fashion brand to help support up-and-coming designers in an experimental workspace in Auckland’s Eden Tce.
Boyens, who starred in the 2020 season of The Bachelorette NZ, has run fashion brand Clothes I’ve Made for over 10 years.
He was in themiddle of operating a fashion design business in Wanaka during lockdown when he was approached to go on the show, which included a trip to Argentina.
Boyens said it was an easy decision to go. He found love with Lily McManus, but they went their separate ways in 2021.
Three years later, the designer is still putting the mahi in with his community to support himself and other creatives to earn a living wage.
But the potential economic downturn has made him look for other ways to support designers, who often find it tough to turn their creativity into a business.
“In the recession we’re about to go through, there are going to be impacts on staple [businesses] in clothing, gigs and events.
“What are we supposed to do apart from look into the community to continue doing what we’re doing?”
Boyens and his friends have set up Ratbags, an experimental workshop/retail/exhibition space on Eden Tce.
“Ratbags is a kind of dream child that my friend [Mitch Smyth] and I came up with so we could support up-and-coming designers like ourselves,” he said.
“Ratbags is dedicated to providing the community with locally made garments, jewellery and accessories.
“We’re a place that supports and uplifts neighbourhood makers and creators by giving them a platform to showcase their work, get a fairer share of the pie and have fun doing it.”
The space features garments, jewellery and shoes designed and handcrafted in-house by Boyens and other designers, including his brand Clothes I’ve Made.
This week Boyens and his team ran a fundraiser which welcomed over 200 people to the space, to support cyclone relief on the West Coast of Auckland including Piha, Te Henga/Bethells Beach, Muriwai and Karekare.
“As soon as it’s off the news, people forget it even happened. Those communities are still struggling and they will be struggling for a long time.”
Boyens says Ratbags is a community space for creatives and designers to showcase their work.
“The community love the beach so much and they haven’t been able to go out and do things that they love.”
At the same time, he hopes to do some good for his peers in the creative industry in the midst of the tougher economic times.
“Our industries are hopefully going to stay above water and if we can help the community keep small businesses afloat, that’s going to be really great.
“Here, they’ve got a platform to tell their story their own way.”
As well as supporting creatives, Boyens said Ratbags was designed to give customers transparency over where their clothes come from and to understand the creative process behind a piece, “all the way to walking out the door with a garment they have an imprint on”.
“I always loved the transparency of what my sewing has been able to show - we’ve got a shop you can come into. You can grab a garment off the rack that was made by someone in New Zealand that they spent a lot of time designing.”
Boyens said creatives trying to catch a break into business in Aotearoa faced significant hurdles.
“It’s really hard work in any industry and any small business, let alone creative.”
It’s the second time Boyens has set up a space for creatives.
His first experimental space brought together work by designers and artists including shoemakers, jewellers and graphic designers.
Boyens designs and handcrafts garments for his brand Clothes I've Made at the workshop.
“The first time I rented a space was when I was 26 in Dunedin. It was affordable at the time, nothing like what we’re going through now,” Boyens, now 35, said.
He says of the basement spot, sarcastically titled Above Ground: “It was a place where graffiti artists could come down and slap a tag on the wall and not get caught.
“I want to set up a space to do that for other designers and anyone else in the creative world.”
Acquiring enough capital to establish a smoothly operating small business is a challenge many small-business owners and creatives face, Boyens said.
“I’ve never had any capital. I have to do so many different things to keep the small business afloat being in a creative industry in New Zealand.”
Boyens said Auckland Council’s plans to cut funding for arts and economic development is another blow to an already struggling industry, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Rather than slowing creatives down, Boyens said the pandemic had helped people find their own artistic potential at home.
“It gave people a chance to think about things other than work, so people realised they were skilled in other things.”
However, he said taking your designs to the next level was a challenge in Aotearoa.
“There’s not really much in New Zealand until you are really big and are earning a lot of revenue. There’s a huge gap that needs to be filled.”
Ratbags is currently open on Eden Tce and features designs from locals including Franksilverr, Pistol Knits, Clothes I’ve Made, and the self-titled Ratbags collection will be dropping soon.
