In anticipation of the Walker’s Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart on Saturday, May 4, we highlight some of the 28 local makers and artists whose hand-crafted designs will be on display and for sale.
Twin sisters Kaja and Zoë Foat grew up in a family of artists who were also active in the outdoors, and both went on to study studio art and art history. Despite being separated by miles—Kaja lives in Minneapolis and Zoë in Charleston—together they run FOAT, an endeavor driven by their shared passions for sustainable and fashionable clothing.
DESTANIE MARTIN-JOHNSON (DM-J)
How do you describe your partnership?
FOAT
Our partnership is collaborative, creative, and resourceful. Our brand follows suit but shows our more professional, technical, and polished side.
DM-J
What brought the two of you to crafting clothing?
FOAT
During our twenties, we lived in Brooklyn and worked in New York City. Kaja worked for a photographer, and Zoë worked for a painter, with side jobs styling for fashion shoots. We both learned
DM-J
How do the two of you work together or work separately?
FOAT
We have lived in separate states for 15 of the more than 17 years we’ve been in business, but we work together often. Zoë comes to Minneapolis every summer for three months to work in the large studio we share with other creators and artists. We focus on our fall and spring collections together by coming up with a silhouette, color palette, patterns, and fabric. We then head to our separate studios and start production. We’ll see each other about once a month the rest of the year when we take our collection to curated markets.
DM-J
Where are some places you have taken your collection?
FOAT
We show our collection at the American Craft Council in Baltimore, Atlanta, and St. Paul, and with the One of a Kind Show in Chicago. We also open our studio, located in the Northrup King Building, for Art-a-Whirl every May and Art Attack every fall.
DM-J
Where do you draw inspiration for new designs?
FOAT
We get our ideas from luck and everyday life. We’ll talk about a color combination seen randomly in an airport or a favored piece of artwork we’d like to figure out how to wear. Our products are simplified versions of whatever is running wild in our imaginations from day to day.
DM-J
How did you expand your brand from athletic wear to wedding gowns?
FOAT
Our brand follows our interests. In 2002, at a time when women’s activewear was unflattering, environmental concerns were negligible, and style was homogenized, we followed our interest in yoga and the environment and created a brand that reflected our aesthetics and our ethics. Our goal was to offer a refreshing, eco-conscious alternative in women’s fashion, starting with yoga apparel. Since then, we’ve expanded our designs to additional lines of one-of-a-kind garments, ready-to-wear, and wedding gowns.
DM-J
How are your designs eco-conscious?
FOAT
We use certified organic cotton, mill ends deemed for the landfill, thrift store finds, and pre-owned garments. For example, our Obi Belts are made from men’s neckties, and our custom wedding gowns are made from a mother’s or grandmother’s dress that we’ve pulled apart and made custom for the bride-to-be, often times incorporating a special keepsake into the dress.
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FOAT. Photo: Isabel Subtil
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FOAT. Photo: Isabel Subtil
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FOAT. Photo: Isabel Subtil
DM-J
How do your personalities influence your work?
FOAT
Our work is completely embedded in our lives. Work is always coming home with us, and our kids and partners are often hanging out with us at the studio. Also, we work closely not only with each other but with our mom, a former art teacher and designer who has a huge influence on us. So, it’s actually impossible to keep our work and personalities separate. Our pieces are also personalized by our working process. Each piece is handled by us from conception to finished product. We develop new designs almost weekly, based on the new materials we discover, to create very limited edition runs, each with a history and story all its own. All of our production work is then completed by hand—drawing, cutting, assembling, and sewing every garment in our studios. We like to think that our work ethic is visible in every piece we make.
DM-J
What advice would you give to someone interested in doing a business like this with a family member or close friend?
FOAT
We have a unique partnership with an unusual amount of trust, patience, and support for each other. Most importantly, we give each other creative license and freedom with the room to make mistakes. A business is the sum of its parts. All partners need to have a voice and a vision for the brand to work.
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