MANXONETEASPOON

I reckon press release-style company profiles and bios kinda lack soul. They feel like publicist spin and never really offer the authentic story behind a label. We’ve run a bunch of these PR ramblings in the past but this time I thought I’d have a crack at telling the story of OneTeaspoon myself.

So, here goes…

My darling mum taught me to sew when I was a kid and I instantly fell in love with the idea of making my own clothes. By the time I was 21 I’d worked a bunch of jobs in the fashion industry. Around the year 2000 I decided I wasn’t at all that inspired by what I was seeing on the racks so I got myself unemployed and got to work on designing my own collection. I wanted it to be more a reflection of my own style and a departure from what was available at the time.

The name of this new label came during a morning coffee stop. I was sitting in a little café getting a plan together for the launch. I was tipping a packet of sugar into my coffee and the side of the satchel I read “OneTeaspoon”. It was only a small idea that got me to that point in the first place so it seemed fitting. I was excited about the name straightaway and got OneTeaspoon registered that day.

The fact I had no money didn’t stop me. I worked three jobs and scrounged together $3,000 to get that first collection designed, made, photographed and sold. The hard work paid off, 42 stores picked up the line.

Since then I’ve designed around 90 collections for OneTeaspoon. It continues to be a lot of fun and I’ve learnt a lot about myself. Like, I’m a tragic for denim shorts, I can’t resist a good top hat and I can never go past a good tuxedo shirt. Oh, and I can’t seem to resist ripping stuff up. I love evolving and doing things differently each season to see the unique results it brings.

In 2008 my friend Liz Roberts joined the company as partner. We give each other the confidence to trust our instincts. We allow ourselves the freedom to run our business on intuition – creatively and financially. She’s a bit of gold!

Our collections are damn big and diverse. I guess industry folk would call it “high-end street” or “contemporary” but I don’t like to pigeonhole what we do because I feel we offer something for everyone. The best description of the label I could provide actually came to me in a letter from a fan of the brand that said OneTeaspoon was “FANTASTICALLY REBELLIOUS, SEX-INFUSED OLD SCHOOL ROCK & ROLL GLAMOUR”. Ha! I like that.

2017 will mark the One Teaspoon’s 17th year; A pretty big achievement in this industry. I think we’ll throw a big party or make a book (or a movie with Kate Moss playing me. Ha!) We’ll see. In the meantime, we’ll continue to do what we’ve always done: enjoy the hell out of creating original collections for glorious individuals.