Saggy, rolly polly BOTTOMS
My love afair for fashion all started with a blue polka dot bikini with ruffles and the tiniest triangles you ever did see. Flash back thirty years ago to an age when little girls in my family wore one pieces that had saggy, rolly polly bottoms because their older sisters had already stretched them out the previous summer. Ugh, I just had to have that blue and white polka dot bikini!!! (psst... TBC in a future blog post).
As the youngest of FIVE
I grew up in a small northern California town where the closest retail store was thirty minutes away and our options were a tiny JCPenny or Kmart. Both of which were almost always picked over, which didn’t really matter because money was stretched tight in my large family. As the youngest of five, my wardrobe was a hand-me-down CENTRAL!
That YELLOW BODYSUIT
I began sewing doll clothes by the age of five, but my world altered upon witnessing the je ne se quoi that was Tamsyn’s yellow bodysuit (my childhood bestie) . I was determined to make my own. Before that, I'd mostly worked with non-stretch cotton and felt a bit overwhelmed with the technicalities of zippers and buttons. However, that all changed when stretch knit fabric presented itself to me in the form of bodysuits. From then on out, my seedlings for fashion became an all-encompassing passion that would cause me many a sleepless nights with fleeting visits of inspiration in my dreams.
And a random stray DOVE
I will be ever grateful to my parents for endorsing my creative ventures in the midst of tight finances and with the most valuable resource they had to offer me, their time. My mother taught me how to wallpaper my room with fabric and starch. One of my many room remodels she fully supported. My father helped me build an outdoor bird aviary in the fifth grade, so I could start my first business of breeding and selling birds through newspaper adds no less. I started with two Parakeets, two Cockateels and a random stray dove that had a chronic mite problem! Haha... NO, it wasn't profitable!! (Hmmm, possible blog post?)
Blessed to have two HANDS
Thus, the essence and origin of Veiled Beauty began long before 2008. Learning to sew as a youngster showed me how to create something from nothing. Creating something from nothing gave me value, vitality and a passion that coursed through my veins. With that passion I curated a lifestyle that was forged by diligence and fervor for the craft of creating. I am blessed to have two hands and a pair of eyes that see the veil trapped within a roll of tulle. And as long as I do, I'll keep designing VEILS in hopes that something will dazzle your fancy!
Yours Truly,
Kat Krafel
Photos: Kurt Boomer | Hair (b&w photos) Ruth Tedmori |Hair: Cristin Mulloy Mendoza | Dress: (black with crystal cap sleeves) Shop Gossamer