Frustration turns to joy

A model at the World of Wearable Arts event. Photo / Tessa Flowers

Months of hard work learning how to weave flax and fire clay paid off for young local designer Anna von Hartitzsch whose garment Turangawaewae placed third in the South Pacific section of the World of Wearable Arts last month.

She had her first taste of wearable art when she was 13, winning first place in the Taradale High School wearable art awards for her "Metal Max and Metal Molly" but did not return to wearable art until this year.

After spending four years studying fashion design in Wellington, including entering Style Pasifika and winning Fashion Quarterly Young Designer of the Year in 2008, Von Hartitzsch worked in textile design in Dubai for six months before returning home to Omarunui, Napier, where she currently had an office job.

It was that short OE she kept returning to when she decided to give it a go.

"It represents Napier. When I was overseas, although I was having a great time I did think about home and there's not really any English word that can describe it, that's why I called it Turangawaewae."

Turangawaewae comprises a dyed harakeke (flax) dress, a ceramic bust, and flax and ceramic headpiece. The bust took 10 hours to carve and three attempts before she was satisfied with the result, but the headpiece was one of the hardest parts, she said, taking nearly 24 hours to create and hand stitch together.

She learned how to harvest, prepare, dye and weave flax from Ronda Lidgard at the Two Craft shop at the Waiohiki Arts Village, and became a member of the local pottery club, using their kiln. She also asked "101 questions" about clay and glazes of Paul Pepworth from Decopot in Palmerston North, and Kimber Buglass and the Charmans Motor Trimmers team in Onekawa allowed her to use their industrial sewing machines to sew the flax to the garment's bodice.

While she still thought about creating her own fashion label, for now she was content to concentrate on her next big WOW idea.

By the way her garment was presented during the show, Von Hartitzsch said she felt the WOW organisers really understood what her garment was about and to not only become a finalist but become a winner was "mindblowing".

"It is 100 per cent hard work. It is all about how dedicated you are to your vision and how stubborn you are to see it through to reach your vision.

"That and finding the right people to ask millions of questions to. It is months of hard yards, but once you are there sitting in that seat in the dark and seeing another world come to life, (the) tears and frustrations are worth it. I will do it all again."