A few weeks ago, while on our way to the Wild Mountain Music Festival, our friend Emily told us about an amazing tent full of vintage-inspired bags, scarves, and headbands. As soon as I was through the gates, wrist-banded and camera-outfitted, I made my way over to the vendor tents to seek out the creator of these hand-made treasures. For anyone who knows me and my penchant for anything vintage, Maple And Oak Designs did not disappoint.
Maple And Oak’s vendor tent was full of color and pattern, with prints of gingham, polka dot and floral taking center stage. Vintage crates that had been painted a lovely shade of turquoise were stocked with headscarves and bow ties, while a rolling-rack displayed eye-catching triangle scarves and silk-screened bags below hand-printed tea towels.
Enter Leonie Vatter, the owner, designer, and maker at Maple And Oak Designs. Originally from lovely Lübeck in northern Germany, Leonie and her husband Guillaume now make their home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; just outside the Rocky Mountains. With her gorgeous German accent, Leonie tells me how she designs, sews and markets her creations by herself and finds inspiration in vintage photographs, personal travels, old diaries and the fashions of times gone by.
I was amazed to find that there are still designers out there who design, pattern, cut and sew their own product. As a former-fashion designer who designed, drafted, cut and sewed everything myself, I can definitely appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into creating hand-crafted garments and accessories. It really is a labor of love.
Maple And Oak Designs are wonderfully-designed, beautifully-made, and well-priced. It wasn’t surprising to see a lot of traffic at the tent, and I had to return a couple of times when Leonie wasn’t helping customers so that I could photograph what I needed for this post.
Besides the nostalgia factor that goes hand-in-hand with vintage garments and accessories, the concept that old materials destined for a landfill can be fabricated into something fresh and given new life is phenomenal. Leonie says that with textiles, waste is a huge problem, and that landfill sites are full of discarded fabrics such as old clothes, home decor materials and vintage fabrics. “Maple And Oak Designs is committed to helping reduce the strain on the planet’s resources by saving old fabrics from becoming landfill and up-cycling them into new fun accessories,” explains Leonie.
But don’t think these are your grandma’s scarves and hairpins. Maple And Oak Designs deliver current-yet-retro styles that would easily find a place in almost every wardrobe. From stripes, prints, solids, plaids, and florals, there really is something for everyone. My daughter, Gabriella, had a hard time choosing which rockabilly headband to buy as there was no shortage of fun patterns and colors to pick from. With her fantastic eye, Leonie suggested the perfect, most flattering cornflower blue headband, which was made from vintage fabric decades older than the wearer herself.
With a little help from family and friends, Maple And Oak Designs is achieving great things. Husband Guillaume packs the car before craft shows take photos and help with sales. And fantastic friends like Daniela, Megan, Carla, Nancy, and Jillian have been known to lend a hand with modeling, photography, graphics and web design skills. A thankful Leonie says Maple And Oak Designs would not be what it is without them.
For Maple And Oak Designs, a highlight of being an artist is collaborating with other artists. Currently, Leonie’s been working with Heather of Mumble Tease on a line of accessories and home decor items. The duo discusses all design ideas together, followed by Heather drawing and silk screening her artwork onto the vintage fabrics that the two have chosen together, and Leonie drafting the pattern and sewing the items to completion. They call their collaborative works ‘Fools Alike’ because “Great minds think alike, fools seldom differ!” Another artist Leonie’s been working with is Jillian of Logee Photography. “She prints her photography (mainly abstracts) on fabric and I turn them into headbands! How cool is that?” says Leonie.
You can follow Leonie’s blog “The Maple And Oak Diaries”, which will keep you up to date with Maple And Oak news, travel posts (with a handmade twist), tutorials showcasing Maple And Oak art and craft projects and much, much more.
And if you’re not fortunate enough to catch Maple And Oak Designs at an upcoming festival or market throughout Alberta (see dates and times plus a list of Calgary stores carrying accessories at mapleandoakdesigns.com ), there’s a lot to choose from on their 5-star Etsy shop. Maple And Oak Designs makes it so easy to add a little color and a lot of style to your wardrobe, all while supporting an incredible small-business and saving some stellar vintage fabrics from the landfill. And to quote Leonie, “How cool is that?”
This post is not affiliated with Maple & Oak – I’m just a fan of their work and wanted to share it with you:)
*UPDATE: Maple & Oak has currently closed their Etsy shop.