Hello Internet Land!
I felt I needed to write some words for all
the questions, comments and feedback being received about the shirt I made for
him that has caused such a stir.
I would like to thank each and every person
who has supported Matt in his amazing achievement and who has asked after and
complimented my hobby as well as my Husband's artwork on Dr. Taylor.
Unfortunately there has been a lot of
negativity in this which I do understand but is also very upsetting.
Dr. Matt Taylor is an amazing, kind, loving
and sensitive person.
I never expected him to wear my gift to him
for such a big event and was surprised and deeply moved that he did.
I made that shirt for his birthday last
month as I make clothes just as a hobby and he asked if I would make him one.
He is a close and very loved friend so made
sure I did this for his birthday present.
I appreciate that everyone is entitled to
their opinion and having worked with people and events for a long time I have
certainly learnt that you are never going to please everyone.
I defy any living person to tell me
truthfully that they have never made an action that may have caused an unwanted
reaction in their lives even with the best intentions in mind.
I am so proud of Matt and his achievements
and the fact he is an interesting and very brave person to do what he did with
the very sweet gesture he made towards my gift and to wear his individuality
with pride.
It has certainly made history more exciting
and bold.
I do read all your comments you have all
made but there are so many I just can’t reply to you all personally.
The people that have attacked and said
horrible things I am not going to engage with as the supportive and very lovely
comments I have also received outweigh those tenfold!
I would like to take this opportunity to
try and answer all the questions I have been getting.
There is no ‘meaning’ behind the shirt. I
just bought material and sewed it together.
Nothing sinister at all was meant behind it
at any point. It was just a bold and individual fashion item.
I did make Matt’s shirt. You can see it
from a few weeks back on his Twitter feed and our studio feed (@EternalArtEssex) as well as my
Instagram.
There is a similar shirt available on the
internet but as the material is readily available this is no huge surprise.
I customized Matt’s shirt so it does have
slight differences to the one already on line as it was a very personal thing.
I am not going to apologize for having a
hobby. In actual fact I am a nobody who just crafted a shirt for a friend.
I never expected it to get to this
magnitude and am humbled and overwhelmed.
I am genuinely surprised that so many of
you want the shirts.
I am no professional seamstress by any
means. My clothes are made with love and time put into it.
Yes I can make other clothes and pin up (male and female!) printed material is readily available.
Yes I can make ladies shirts.
If I was to recreate the same print and
other similar prints from the fabric designer I use for these shirts I need to
be very clear that they are far from perfect.
The other issue unfortunately for me is
sadly the cost. That fabric designer’s material is very expensive in the UK. I was
shocked to see the shirt available online for only $60!
My fabric has cost me £45 for each shirt
and then 5-6 hours of my time to put it all together!
Because of this that also means I that if I
was to embark on this that unless I can get my costs downs with fabric that I
will have to charge around £150 for 1 shirt which I feel is excessive! From the
magnitude of this I would have to stop working in the daytimes to meet the
demand and I need to make a living like everyone else in the world.
The other down side is that as I am only
just me I cannot mass produce these at the moment as part of why I started making clothes
is that I want to do each one myself and put the passion into every one that I
put into all my clothes.
This means that if all of you seriously
want me to make versions then there will be a considerable waiting list!
Also due to the negative responses it also
makes me a tad reluctant as someone will start accusing me of ‘cashing in’ or
whatever.
My Husband
has said I should embark on this and what is making me feel I want to is that
so many of you amazing people have asked for them simply to support Matt which
I think is flipping awesome!
To support Matt to show how many people are
behind him I am going to try.
I have set up an email account called redfoxcreations@hotmail.com for
any of you who want to enquire more.
I really am just a nobody who is lucky
enough to have an awesome friend who was just being sweet.
