Colourful treads “draw” intricate stories but just a storyteller like Lorena Balea-Raitz recalls tender family memories with them! Ink & Lace is her novel made of bold and structured jewels made with a mysterious Eastern land in mind. These statement accessories are bearers of ancient traditions…
I think of Lorena like the child I was, that young V with her little hands tangled in cotton and woollen yarns. Little V admired her grandmas, able to sew and knit whatever they liked or needed, while she was ending up with endless wool scarves, quite miserably…
There’s something more in Ink&Lace: Lorena’s past, her culture, and her heritage. There’s something of an archaeologist in Lorena’s crochet jewellery, and she allows me to dig into her memories…
How and when was your shop born?
My shop was born actually late, two years ago. I started to teach Romanian Point Lace here in Brisbane and people were interested in book workshops. This is how my journey started. In the meantime, I designed jewellery using the same technique that I teach for workshops.
Could you tell us something about your background? Where are you from?
I come from Transylvania, Romania but being half German I grew up in Germany almost all my life. After I finished school I lived in Los Angeles where my fashion career started. I went to College there and moved back to Romania where I studied fashion and worked as a designer.
When have you met your passion for creation?
I guess you can make my mum responsible for that as well as my grandma. LOL They were always making clothes for us because back then when Romania was under the communist regime, there was not much available. Fabrics….. no way, but we had threads galore! So that is how I fell in love with cottons, linen threads and learned different techniques to create lace, ancient designs, old crochet, etc….
What’s your goal?
My goal is to make my brand known to make Ink & Lace a to go company when it comes to unique statement jewellery, learning Romanian Point Lace – a technique that I try desperately to keep alive and a brand that is known for uniquely bold, and feminine fashion art and fashion style branding.
How do you imagine your typical customer?
My typical customer is a woman who knows what she wants, a woman who dares to be original and wants to make a statement with her jewellery. My typical customer is not defined by social status or age. My customer is an interesting person who shows style and personality via its outfit.
What inspires you the most?
I get inspired by cultures, but the places I have been and sometimes by the trends, colours, and of course threads 🙂
Do you have an inspiring place, where you create or sketch the product?
I do have a little office where the magic happens, sometimes early in the morning where you can hear only the kookaburra or late at night when the bats fly near the window. You find me almost all day at my desk testing out threads, blogging about them, teaching lace or sketching fashion.
Do you have a project for the near future?
Yes, I am working on a few projects at the same time- madness galore! LOL I have a book cover illustration to finish and I am working on some new prints! That said about art and the other projects involve two new lines one about custom necklaces introducing gemstones and the other a fashion collection – an accessory line inspired by Cubas National Flower La Mariposa.
And so, I met Lorena over a virtual coffee and discovered a wearable way to keep the past alive. Lorena’s past speaks a feminine language made of bright colours, elegance and a bit of beach style.
You can discover globetrotter Lorena Balea-Raitz on Facebook. She doesn’t stop at patterns and fragile flowers: Lorena offers workshops and knitting kits to get into crafting instead, and fashion illustrations to create a Miranda Priestly-worth living room. Ink & Lace is one click away, from wild Australia to cryptic Transilvania.
