SuiteVirginia
Upcycled garments, accessories and art - California printer and fashion designer
My name is Gini Holmes and I live in the City of Shasta Lake, CA. I am a traditional print/paper maker who loves combining the old with the new. I also like to sew. For years, I have been combining these two skills, creating my own clothing fabrics and textile art using digital and hand printing techniques. Most recently, I have switched to working with “dead” fabrics – those thrown out, those made for other purposes, and those that need re-invention.
I currently work at the Redding Fashion Alliance, a local non-profit focused on supporting and educating makers and designers in our region. I began volunteering there during the Carr Fire (July and August of 2018), which burned so many of our community out of their homes, and have graduated to teaching and media support. I love the nurturing environment that has truly strengthened my work.
I was lucky to be raised in a family that believed in the arts and sciences. “If you want it, make it,” and “Figure it out,” were family mottos. Curiosity is my driving force. Solutions are my passion. These two things influence everything in my life.
A big challenge started 40 years ago when I had an accident while teaching printmaking and my right arm was crushed. Several reconstructive surgeries did give me partial mobility and I am very good at “faking it.” On the up side, this accident taught me to seek alternative avenues to creating and I have been very successful. On the down side, arthritis is setting in.
I would love customers to be curious – to take that leap – to not go for the ordinary. I do accept commissions. My garments and some of my fine art is on my website, SuiteVirginia. I also have more originals and prints on Fine Art America.
Examples of what I have made are below.
These all link back to my website: www.suitevirginia.com