Feature Friday - Random Ally

This week's feature Friday highlights another Aussie seller - Random Ally - which is run by two sisters, Sarah (yellow tee) and Kat (grey tee).

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Random Ally is an art inspired fashion label bringing art and fashion into fusion. Both my sister (Sarah Lloyd, 27) and myself (Kat Lloyd, 20) choose to produce unique designs with a strong artistic influence, on top quality ethically manufactured clothing.

My sister and I were brought up with art in our lives but grew up in a town where it was not a part of many people’s world. It wasn’t until we moved to the small coastal town of Robe SA that we were surrounded by other artists and were finally able to embrace our artistic side.

Despite having our business as our first passion we both have “day jobs”. Starting our business from nothing means that everything must go back into it, and therefore means working for others is still a part of our lives. Despite this, we still keep our personal artwork as a major part of our day to day scene. From local art prizes to exhibitions we somehow find the time to keep our artistic personalities satisfied.

All our designs are inspired by the things in our live. Influences such as our local area, music, friends and media are a big part of our designing process. Sarah and I have different styles but some how we manage to bring them together to create fun and exciting designs. Sarah finds inspiration from fashion, shoes and music; where as I find inspiration in graffiti, manga and rockabilly. Due to our differences we find that we can offer a variety in designs and products for our business.

Cat Long Sleeve Tee

Describe yourselves in 5 words.

We are both artistic, outspoken, imaginative, political and dedicated.

When and how did you first start crafting/creating?

We have both been doing art for most of our lives but it wasn’t until October 2008 that we decided to start our business. Sarah and I were both working in jobs that we did not enjoy, and wanted to be able to be creative and work on our own terms. We both love clothing and were both frustrated by the lack of quality, individuality and ethics in the products around us. So we decided to base our label around these three factors. We had just over a month until we had to get our first products ready for sale and there were a lot of highs and lows getting started. With the help of our family and friends we had our first range of t-shirts ready for a festival in our town. From that our business grew quickly with commissioned designs and retail stores picking us up. We are determined to keep our business fresh by continually adding new designs and items as well as tying new thing.

Green Amy Tee

What do you create and what are your favourite materials with which to work?

We started off screen printing t-shirts for women and within a matter of months we moved on to men’s t-shirts as well. This year we have launched our cotton screen printed scarves and homemade badges. With all our products we look for ethical material and quality. We try not to use chemicals in our screen printing so that it benefits both the environment and the wearer. Our badges are made from both printed paper and material. We are in the planning stages of bringing out new items such as bags and jumpers. We prefer to print on cotton as it gives us the best quality print and is comfortable to wear.

When and how did you start selling online?

We started selling on-line at the beginning of 2009. It was only a couple of months into our business adventure and we tried selling on Ebay but it wasn’t what we were looking for. Sarah had read about two great websites for designers, both Australian and worldwide. Ever since then we have been selling on Etsy and Madeit. In March  of this year, we launched our website where we sell all of our products.

Mushrooms and Aliens Scarf

Describe your store in 5 words

Unique

Artistic

Fun

Bright

And of course Random!

Where can we find you online?

Random Ally has its own website at www.randomally.com where you can purchase our products, sign up for our newsletter and specials and simply see what’s happening in the world of Random Ally. We can also be found on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/Random-Ally and our products can be bought at Etsy www.randomally.etsy.com and Made It www.madeit.com.au/randomally