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Frankie Four Buy Olympia
How did it all start?
I once made a tie for a play and I thought I could make one that was more interesting. I started making ties out of whatever fabric I could get a hold of, a lot of it vintage inspired. I made one for my brother and boyfriend and soon people were asking for them. I started shopping them around to stores and began Angel Eyes Designs in 2004. This lead me to my next venture, I have always collected vintage stretch fabric from the 60s, 70s, 80s. I found many of these fabrics at thrift stores often from mumus and larger dresses. I had a shirt from the late 70s that I really liked and I decided to make a pattern from it. I started carrying them in stores in addition to my ties. I then decided to make it into a dress so I kept the same lines of the shirt and extended it to an A Line knee length dress and started selling these. I still had a huge amount of vintage fabric because I shopped every week and I thought, I better do something with it all. I have always loved vintage bathing suits but often they’re either just gross or the elastic is stretched out or they’re faded or uncomfortable. I made my first little 60s bikini for myself now I have a bathing suit line which includes three bikinis and two 1-pieces that I sell at the same stores I sell my ties, shirts and dresses.
I currently sell to four stores, two in Seattle one in Queens, NY and online at Buy Olympia (only ties). I have not figured out how to sell my shirts, dresses or bathing suits online, the unique fabrics and stretches cause each piece to fit differently, especially the bathing suits. I am currently starting to talk to a store in Santa Barbara about carrying my bathing suits, which is fun. I have recently decided to change the name of my business to Frankie Four, I never liked Angel Eyes because it sounded too cutesy and I wanted something more masculine for the men. The name Frankie Four is family inspired, my two grandpas and dad are named Frank and my brother is Frankie. It’s great because I’m making men’s swim trunks now, they are 60s inspired and slim fitting because men’s trunks right now are baggy or tight like speedos and my trunks are somewhere in between. They’re made of my thicker stretch fabric so they have a give to them, they’re comfortable.
Favorite Decade?
I love the 50s and 60s and I think mostly because my body comes from that era. I gravitated to the fit of the 50s, the smaller waist and the fuller skirts. I love all the colorful, bold and bright prints from the 60’s and 70s. The dress I make is a little more modern, I don’t think it fits a certain era though. The fabric is vintage so it’s a mix of vintage and modern and a lot of different types of people can wear them.
Favorite Designers?
Honestly I don’t really follow up on a lot of designers. Everything I started making besides ties is something that I made for myself first. I liked them and people started asking for them so I started making them. My designs have been based on things that I’ve liked not what the trend is at the moment. I do love old musicals though. I grew up watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Singing In The Rain is one of my favorite movies. I love Marilyn Monroe she was a huge inspiration for my bathing suits, I love designing for a curvier figure because I feel it’s more realistic. Gidget is the movie that inspired me to make men’s trunks.
Would you ever move anywhere else?
I have considered it but I feel since I’m mostly just in my studio alone creating a part of me wants to live in a country home by the river. Probably in the northwest but I know Seattle is not great for fabrics, then again I source my fabric mostly form thrift stores. I want to move to Hawaii and set up in a little shop. Maybe my husband will play the ukulele in a hotel for a while. We went to Hawaii before we were married and when we came back he put out a Hawaiian album. We are both kind of obsessed with Hawaii. I love the tropical weather..I’m from Southern California. As I get older and live here longer I am realizing I want to be in a warmer place, a sunnier place and it would be better for my swimwear line of course. I mean they started selling in April but come August it’s over. If I do get them into this little shop in Santa Barbara that would be exciting. My biggest fear since all my fabric is vintage is not being able to find it anymore.
I think the reason I started making my dresses was because I can’t help but buy anything with a cool pattern, shapeless mumus mostly. Since I had all that fabric I wanted to make something that was flattering on the body. Now I can keep buying and know that it is going to be made into something, maybe a little bikini or a shirt...I’m no longer just collecting junk.
Recently I needed to fill in some holes in my fabric wall and usually when I go to thrift stores I only find one piece or I don’t find anything but this time I got a whole trunk load of vintage fabrics, yards and yards. So I’ve washed it all its now stacked on my dining room table and I’m thinking, where is it going to go? I also got the cutest bikini top because I’ve been wanting to make a new style of suit top, at the moment I only have two, maybe a triangle style? I think this suit is from the 80s, aqua and hot pink stripes and the bottom is high waisted but with ties so it scrunches to a low waist. I wanted to cut it up for a pattern but now I want to wear it.
When do you wear bathing suits?
When I went to Hawaii I brought six bathing suits. I go to California every summer and winter and Jason’s parent live in Portland and have a heated pool, any chance i get to get into a pool or a hot tub I take it. That will be the next thing we get at our house hopefully, a hot tub.
Expansion?
On the one hand I love how hands-on my line is, I make everything. On the other hand if I want ten more stores I might have to hire someone to sew for me. I never wanted to own my own store because I feel that would just get into the whole business side and I’m not a business person so I’ve never wanted a storefront I just love giving my stuff to stores. I’m a behind-the-scenes-shy-introvert. At the same time I don’t know if I can sew everything for all those stores so maybe I’ll have to hire people. At one time I thought I would mass produce my ties and get them into Urban Outfitters...maybe I’ll do that. I do think that every piece I make is a little work of art because it’s one of a kind so it’s hard to think of getting it mass produced but I might need to if I want to make a living. I also want to make them affordable for my peers. I don’t want my suits to be $300, would be nice but it’s not worth it. I never thought I’d be making ties for so many years but they sell...I collect a lot of non stretchy vintage fabrics so I have cool cottons and I’m thinking of making 50s style sundresses. Last year I made four hoodies...living in Seattle it kind of makes sense. I think in a few years it might shift from what I’m actually doing at the moment.
Thanks Angela!
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