On this episode of FashionTalks host Donna Bishop chats with designer Alan Anderson. Alan has been designing his eponymous line since 1997. His fashion history (and British Royals) knowledge is deep and vast. Alan and Donna discuss:
Alan Anderson - @jewelsbyalan | alananderson.design
Donna Bishop - @thisisdonnab
FashionTalks - @fashiontalkspod
CAFA Awards - @cafawards
TRANSCRIPT:
00:01.27
Donna Bishop
Alan Anderson, it is so wonderful to have you here on Fashion Talks. Thanks for being here.
00:05.81
Alan
Thank you, Donna. Thank you for asking me.
00:08.02
Donna Bishop
And look at you in your beautiful atelier. I know we'll get into, you know, kind of your your work and all sorts of things about crystals and costume jewelry, but I love that you're in your workspace.
00:20.06
Donna Bishop
It's so nice to get peek behind the curtain that way.
00:21.36
Alan
I am. I'm actually in the workroom. The atelier, of course, is in this historic mansion on Jarvis Street in Toronto. And we we like to say it's one of the last Gilded Age mansions.
00:33.61
Alan
There's just this little stretch between Carleton and Isabella where we've they've saved these beautiful Victorian buildings.
00:34.83
Donna Bishop
Thank you.
00:40.33
Alan
So we've been here now. It's weird to say we've been in this space over two years and we just signed the new four-year lease, which is kind of exciting. And we're going to be expanding. We're actually renovating this summer to make the showroom bigger.
00:53.43
Alan
But the workspace is, this would have been one of the principal bedrooms in this beautiful house. This house is This half is 1891. The showroom half is 1897. It was built for Edward Blake, who was one of the first premiers of Ontario.
01:09.10
Alan
And it's Elliot Knox, one of the foremost Victorian architects in Toronto. And 1900, Jarvis Street was the most fashionable address in Canada, which is really funny to think. Like this was the Gilded Age show. This was the Gilded Age.
01:28.93
Alan
And then the history of this building is so intense because not only do I work in this room and I pulled the blinds down cause it's so sunny out. Um, but Ben Wicks, the famous cartoonist, we all grew up with Ben Wicks.
01:42.29
Alan
Be nice, clear your eyes for 20 years.
01:43.65
Donna Bishop
Absolutely.
01:46.21
Alan
This was Ben Wicks cartoon studio and where my work bench is in the window was where his cartoon bench was. And I've actually had people in the neighborhood that are old enough to remember him.
01:58.34
Alan
Say they used to look up and seeing him, seeing him, him drawing it as bench and...
