Designer Spotlight: Donna Cain Carty

By Dana Holler

I recently had the pleasure of meeting local textile designer Donna Cain Carty over coffee to discuss her ideas for fashion design in Charlottesville. Here, she shares her story, creations and aspirations with us.

Tell me about your journey into the world of fashion. You worked previously as a scientist—how did you become a textile designer?
I’d say that I was a born textile designer because of something that happened when I was in kindergarten. At a parent-teacher meeting, I was given a pair of mittens to color. All the other kids finished coloring, and all the parents finished talking with the teacher. Finally, my mom hesitantly asked the teacher if I was “slow.” The teacher said I wasn’t and she should go and look at what I was doing with the picture. I had a complicated pattern going with all my crayons.
But no one in my environment ever thought of textiles as a way of making a living. I was good at science and math in school, and I think what got me into chemistry was all the experiments my high school teacher did in which things kept changing color. Chemistry was definitely a way of earning a living, so I took that as a college major, and then the offer of paid graduate school seemed too good to turn down.

Through all this, though, I kept learning textile skills. I kept changing every pattern I used until it was totally different from the original. And I kept selling my work at crafts fairs. It wasn’t until I moved to New York City that I discovered that there was a way to earn a living with what was my passion. I got back into school to get a degree in textile design within months of finding that out.

How long have you lived in Charlottesville, and what brought you here?
I’ve lived in Charlottesville twice. The first time was for 13 years, as a graduate student in biochemistry, and then for several years after I got my Ph.D. I didn’t really want to leave, but it seemed essential that I do a post-doc elsewhere. That elsewhere turned out to be New York City, so that was a good thing in the end. Before I left Charlottesville, I’d bought a little house and had held onto it all those years. I came back to Charlottesville last March.

Most of us would envy the places that you’ve traveled! Other than Charlottesville, what was your favorite city to visit or live in, and why?
It’s really hard to choose. I really loved living in New York City. Copenhagen was so sensible, but almost too civilized. I had a great apartment in Krakow and learned so much from living there. And England was beautiful. I loved visiting Barcelona. I love the spirit, and how every surface seems to be decorated—even the sidewalks, the doors, all the stained glass windows—and the architecture, especially the Gaudi buildings. And the food was delicious. I just really think they know how to live.

Tell us what kind of items we could find at your online store, Pockttorian Textiles.
Right now, there are hand-painted silk scarves and ties, some hand-woven scarves and some beaded jewelry. I hope to expand my offerings this summer with hand-painted garments and more hand-wovens.

How long does it typically take you to create a hand-painted scarf? Is it a difficult process?
It depends on the pattern, somewhat. Usually six hours, counting drying time between layers. I think I’ve worked out a process that takes a lot of the difficulty out of it while producing very interesting results.

I know you have aspirations (as do I) to place a new focus on the fashion world here in Charlottesville. Tell us how you’d like to put the spotlight on local designers.
I’ve got this idea for a fashion show of exclusively local designers. All the garments would be designed and made by locals. I would hope all the hats, handbags and jewelry and shoes and scarves, and every other kind of wearable designer we can locate. I’d love it if some of the fabric was of local design, as well and locally printed.

And I’ve met so many designers in the short time I’ve been back here. I’d really like to help all these local artisans to get better known and have a better market for what they do. The way I see it is, every time we buy something from a local maker, we save all the energy being used carting materials and finished goods around the world. Then, that local maker spends the money locally, so the money you’ve spent has at least a double stimulating effect on the local economy. There are even sources for local yarns and fibers. I know someone weaving fabric of locally sourced yarns. Imagine having a skirt or a sweater that came from a local sheep or alpaca.

I’d also like to establish a shop that sold only things made locally or by locals. That could include furniture, pottery, books—all sorts of things. I’m working on both these things slowly. I’d love to hear from local designers and makers who might be interested in working together on these ideas.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
Don’t let anyone tell you that your aspiration is no way to make a living. It can be done. To succeed in anything, you’re going to have to be willing to invest a whole lot of energy and time into it, and it’s much more likely that you’ll be willing to put that amount of effort into something you really want to do, love to do, than into something you don’t, so you’re more likely to succeed if you go for something you love. Look into FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology). If you want to start your own fashion company, get Kathleen Fasanella’s book “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing,” and read her blog. If fashion is your interest, use the web to watch fashion shows. Watch for trends in garment shapes, colors and textures, but don’t let them dictate your own work. Set up a shop on the web. I think that technology has reached the point of miniaturization and mechanization that cottage industries are quite possible again. I think that kind of work is very fulfilling. I’ve heard it said that if you love your work, you never work a day in your life, and I believe it.

See Donna’s designs in her online store at http://www.artfire.com/users/PockttorianTextiles. You can also find her blog at http://pocktoriantextiles.wordpress.com/.

Dana (a.k.a. Cville Fashion) writes monthly columns for the Charlottesville Woman blog. In between you should definitely take the time to explore Cville Fashion for ideas on local fashion finds, fun health tips, beauty advice and so much more.