‘Everything changed when I turned 30. I was determined to find a more fulfilling lifestyle’

My background is in costume, having completed a degree in Design for Stage and Screen in IADT in 2020. 

I worked in the theatre and film industry throughout my education and for a time after, including a stint in the costume department for The Last Duel, but I always felt inspired to create a brand of my own, so that I always had a space to express myself creatively.

During my third year in college, I had the opportunity to design and hand-dye costumes for an opera to be performed in Kilmainham Gaol. 

I absolutely loved the control it gave us in creating whatever colour palette we wanted, so I revisited fabric dyes as a way of finding my textile niche. This is where I discovered natural dyes. I will never forget the pure excitement I felt creating the most amazing shades of yellow and abstract textures from onion skins in those early days in my kitchen! I still love using them. I then began experimenting with whatever food scraps or foraged plants I could get my hands on. I expanded my knowledge through YouTube tutorials and natural dye books and then learned from other natural dyers through online and in-person tutorials.

In 2021, after about a year of experimentation, I launched my brand Modh.

Pronounced ‘moe’, the name is the Irish translation for “method”, which is central to the slow and conscious extraction of colour from nature and the hours that go into the drafting, cutting and sewing of each and every garment I create.

Once you start working alongside nature you naturally become more and more aware of your influence on the environment and this becomes an obsession!

I initially sold hand-dyed scarves made from linen and silk, using avocado stones that I collected weekly from a local Mexican restaurant. I loved how circular the whole process was! Discovering natural dyes and establishing Modh has connected me to a whole community of like-minded, earth-conscious people, expanded through collaborations, social media and workshops. 

There is a thriving community of environmentally conscious makers, thinkers and activists in Ireland and I am so honoured to have gotten to know so many of them through my business.

I now specialise in eco-printing, an environmentally friendly dyeing technique that involves using leaves, flowers, and other botanical materials to create unique patterns on fabric. I began hosting regular and private workshops last year that allow people to try this eco-friendly art form out. The response has been amazing and everyone loves the fact that they get to pick the plants themselves and leave with a piece of unique and special textile art that they have created themselves. It’s truly such a magical process!

As well as using locally foraged plants, such as oak, rose and blackberry leaves, for eco printing, I began growing dye plants in my garden last year to expand my range into flowers. 

The specific species that I have grown from seed, Coreopsis and Dyer’s Chamomile are abundant with dye and beautiful printers. I used these flowers to eco-print my first collection of Irish linen clothing released earlier this year. The collection is called ‘Grounded,’ which carries a double meaning – drawing inspiration from the therapeutic practice of working intimately with nature and the literal soil that cultivated the plants used to create the fibres, colours and prints for the collection. For any dye material that I don’t have access to at home, I source from an Irish company called Appleoak Fibreworks in Co. Clare. They are a fantastic hub for all things natural dye, education and horticulture and we are so lucky to have them on our little island.

Our mission is to dress people in nature so that they can carry its essence wherever they go.

I want people to know that they have made an important and conscious decision to support a slow fashion brand that truly focuses on the importance of creating high-quality sustainable garments. Our ethos is to ensure that when an item we’ve crafted reaches the end of its life cycle, it will return to nature harmlessly, leaving no negative impact on the environment.

I absolutely would never have imagined I would be a designer! 

I was always artistically inclined as a child and showed talent in both art and music while I was in school but I had no belief in my abilities and was encouraged by my parents and teachers to pursue a more financially stable career after the Leaving Cert. This only led to multiple course dropouts and job hopping within the fashion retail sector over the next decade.

Everything changed when I turned 30 as I was determined to find a more fulfilling lifestyle. 

So with a lot of hard work and dedication, I finally found the courage to pursue a creative career. I am now 40, running my own textile business and very happy and proud of where I’ve landed.

Each garment in my ‘Grounded’ collection is handcrafted in Irish linen on a made-to-order basis and is designed to be worn either separately or as a set. 

The collection offers a choice of four unisex capsule pieces that can be eco-printed or naturally dyed in a botanical colour or print of your choice, using locally sourced plant dyes and flowers from my garden. The four garment options include; a chore jacket, wide-leg drawstring pants, a loose-fitting shirt with a grandfather collar and a pair of boho-style overalls with adjustable straps.

I am currently working on expanding my product offerings in the near future as I prepare to trade at Showcase in the RDS in January. 

You will see some brand-new eco-printed accessories in both fashion and homeware and I hope to have some eco-printing DIY kits available before Christmas. These kits will give people a chance to try the whole process out in the comfort of their own homes using dye flowers that I have harvested and pressed from my garden this year.

I think knitwear designer Ryan Koenig is so inspiring. 

Originally from California, he has completely immersed himself in Irish culture through Aran knitting. Most recently, he recreated a knitting pattern for the only knitted cap found in Ireland in 1847! And because of my ties to costume, I absolutely love what the team behind Circular Costume Ireland are doing. They are successfully filling a huge sustainability gap in the film and theatre industry, which I’m sure is making a big impact. They seem to be expanding so quickly and I can’t wait to see where they take things!

Funding is always a concern; it’s a 24/7 job to run your own business. 

Apart from investing in a photographer every now and then, I have to cut expenses by doing everything myself. As a creative, I find it very difficult to look after the marketing and administrative side of selling products. That can take up most of my time and so the actual making and designing constantly gets pushed aside which makes it very difficult to grow as a brand. A six-figure bank balance would be lovely to see someday, but for now, I celebrate each and every customer purchase and just take it one step at a time. I like to look back every so often to see how far Modh has come since it all started.

I don’t have exactly one piece of business advice to give but I would say seek out a business mentor! 

Finding the right kind of support can be so valuable, especially with the parts of the business that you are most uncomfortable with. I worked with an amazing woman earlier this year to help with some PR before launching my collection. I learnt so much and I couldn’t have done it without her!

I am not at all into fashion labels and am a die-hard fan of vintage. 

My favourite fashion piece is my blue vintage French work jacket from a vintage shop that I managed in London over 10 years ago. I wear it year after year and never grow tired of it! I am jacket obsessed and I love staple pieces – it is what inspired my linen collection. My favourite fashion/design accounts to follow are By the Moon Vintage, Olwen Burke, Jen Byrne, Síne Vasquez, Alice Halliday and Saltwater Design. In terms of Irish brands on my radar, I love Appleoak Fibreworks, Talú Earth, Hurst Botanicals, Nature Therapy Ireland and Fabric Romance.

You have to be brave and try the scary things.

 I have put myself in so many situations that are way out of my comfort zone, but it is the only way to grow and learn. I actually went on national television earlier this year which is something I never ever in my wildest dreams thought I would do. But I did it and I survived and it went very well!

My proudest moment so far is winning a DCCI Future Makers Award this year.

I want my brand to be remembered for making garden-chic sustainable linens! If I could have anyone wear my designs it would be James Blake. It’s probably a bit off-brand, but music accompaniment while I work is so important to me and he is my all-time favourite artist so his albums are ones I constantly return to. It’s only fitting that I would love to see him in some Modh floral linens. Maybe writing these words will manifest it into reality!

modh.ie

Feature image by Aoife Long.