A chance experience in an Op Shop led Lobby Till to launch her own brand Gathered.That about 10 years ago after years of sewing she started when she was just ‘knee high to an Elna’.
“I started using a sewing machine when I was quite small. My mum had a knee-lever Elna sewing machine that she made most of our clothes while we were growing up. My legs wouldn’t reach a foot pedal but I could use the knee-lever!” explains Lobby.
“I was a bit of a fashionista from a young age. My mum had Vogue pattern books sent to her – we lived on a Mallee farm – that I would flip through. I also used to watch the Saturday movies that used to run on the ABC during the 60s. I loved all the outfits worn by the Hollywood actors … mainly designed by Edith Head. My love of lipstick is a bit of a trademark!
When she reached her 20s, Lobby got a job making the staff costumes for a local heritage park, despite not being entirely sure what she was doing.
“I had no idea what I was doing really but twas a huge learning curve. I loved every minute of the time spent creating,” she says. “Then when my kids were young, as my mother had before me, I made their clothes … or purchased them from the Op Shop!”
THE ORIGINAL IDEA
“I started repurposing outfits about 10 years ago when I was standing in an Op Shop, ‘love the jumper, hate the style’. So then I decided to start altering jumpers. As well as making other clothes,” Lobby says.
After creating some pieces, Lobby eventually went with her idea and bought some brand labels after starting a stall at the Castlemaine Artists Market about 10 years ago.
“No launch … more of a slow cook.”
Lobby says that rather than seeing the brand, and herself, as part of the fashion industry, she is rather more of an artist and maker. “I just enjoy the challenge of taking scraps, linen and left over fabrics and letting them dictate what is created.”
The brand’s name originally came from a pre-existing email address: “I loved gathered skirts and I gathered the materials including all the haberdashery to make my pieces … it seemed fitting.”
GATHERED PIECES
When Lobby first started the brand she was also making 50s style gathered skirts and selling them at a local market in Castlemaine.
“Someone came up to me and suggested I join the local artists market. From there I started making different items. When the Castlemaine Bazaar opened I left the market and took up a shared stall there.
“I finally took on a full stall site in 2023. I started a Facebook page followed by an Instagram account which gave me greater exposure. It’s been modest growth since then!”
Lobby says that she is inspired not only by fellow makers and creators on social media, but also by her original muse, Edith Head.
“I love classical designs. I don’t really do names … I can never remember them! My ideas are inspired by the past. That said, my favourite Australian designer would be Stuart Membery.”
SUSTAINABLE, ETHICAL, NATURAL, AFFORDABLE
The main focus of Gathered.That is creating classically styled garments that fit into four core requirements. They need to be sustainable, ethically made, use natural fabrics, and be affordable.
Lobby sources her garment materials mainly from Op Shops and other sources of either deadstock or secondhand fabrics.
“I use fabrics that others have discarded. I repurpose items that have ‘potential’. For example, I see so many pairs of jeans going to landfill; it is just reducing them one item at a time!” Lobby says.
“I also try to use patterns that use up all of the available fabric. But if there is anything left, all my offcuts go to my cousin who makes them into quilts.”
FORWARD, BUT SLOWLY
Gathered.That is a dedicated ‘slow fashion’ brand, but that doesn’t mean Lobby doesn’t have plans for its future.
“I want to make constant improvements to my skills and maybe have a bit of an equipment upgrade. Each garments’ fabrics and haberdashery are sourced by me. I also do the designing, the cutting and the sewing, plus posting on social media.
“I can’t see any of that changing anytime soon, but as I only have one outlet and sales via my Instagram account, I think that is fine.”
You can shop Gathered.That in real life at Castlemaine Bazaar at the Old Mills, 9 Walker St, Castlemaine, 10am-5pm, 7 days a week. You can also contact Lobby via Instagram at @gathered.that.
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