Catherine Fisher
"My craft is currently a collection of sustainable clothing, where each design springs from the meaning of a particular poem. I did an MFA in poetry. I went back to doing that when I turned 50. After my experience there I just started to see some of the poems in physical form as garments," said Catherine Fisher, poet and fashion designer who is located in Brunswick, Maine.
Catherine is originally from Massachusetts and had quite the journey before starting her own business.
"I went to a women's college and my major was philosophy -- a very practical major. I have done a lot of different things in my life. I was a clown and then a dental assistant and then I owned an inn and restaurant in the White Mountains of New Hampshire before I moved to Portland, and then I became a personal historian working with people to write their life stories, company histories, family histories, and then I went to Shiatsu school and I did acupressure for a while," said Catherine.
The most difficult part when getting into her own craft and business was sharing it with others.
"As kids being first introduced to poetry, I really thought it as a kind of a magical thing, once I kind of got what it was, you know. And then I think I did some, as an angsty teenager, but I really didn't write very much until I did the MFA. I was surrounded by poets. I was married to a poet, a very established poet. And so that was part of my path. It gave me an assignment and I had to do it and I had to share it. Sharing it was the most difficult part of it. I really feel like my MFA experience was a way of becoming a grown-up really. It was hard for me to put myself out there, show my work, or do anything. It's gotten easier, but it's not easy. Still, for me, this is a big deal for me to put myself out there this way, I'm still pretty shy," said Catherine.
Once Catherine got into the swing of her poetry she took her craft to the next level by crafting small-batch pieces made from sustainable fabrics that were visuals stemmed from her poetry.
"Well, the poems definitely spring right from my life, for sure. Then I think that I hope that there's something universal, you know, I mean, we are all one stuff really all connected. And so I think, I'm not sure I mean, that I can say, why the garment from the poem. Like, why do that, except that, how we adorn ourselves, you know, it is part of our identity. And that, in bringing ourselves out into the world, to connect with other people, we want to feel good, we want to feel like what we are wearing, it is reflective of how we're feeling and who we are. And now, I mean, I feel best, sometimes in my jumpsuit that's covered with paint and dirt, and, you know, I'm happy," said Catherine.
Tune in to learn more about Catherine's past career, where she is at today with her poetry and beautiful fashion pieces that go along with them, and how people connect with her pieces.