Toronto designer, Lee Dekel of 100% Silk, is another woman on my top 10 Instagram feeds. Enjoy her 7 answers below and see Lee's shots here... @100percentsilk
Angelina: I see lots of travel pics on your instgram feed. Where have you traveled in the last year, and what's in the works for 2018?
Lee: You're right, it's been a particularly travel-heavy year! I got married twice (to the same man), at my uncle's garden in Israel, and on my best friend's property in Cape Breton. Since then I've been developing fabrics for 100% SILK in Peru, Ghana and Uzbekistan.
So far my only travel plan for 2018 is LA in February. I'll be installing an exhibit at 67 Steps Gallery, my first attempt at combining my design work with the environments I'm attracted to, and obsessively documenting on Instragam.
A: What are you currently working on?
My first collection was made with silk velvet that I dyed in my Toronto studio. It was a very personal vision, clothes that I imagined myself wearing but couldn't find. I'm also really interested in folk textiles, their social histories and aesthetics which has lead me to all the wonderful places I mentioned above. I'm currently collaborating with Asafo flag makers in Ghana on appliquéd and embroidered designs, as well hand spun silk ikats and gold thread embroidery in Uzbekistan. They're all very powerful mediums; I'm honored to be working with them.
A: What are 3 of your favorite instagram feeds?
L: I love that people are using Instagram to create archives that tell their own communities history.
@panama_brim is a writer and photo print archivist in the NYC area whose posts are always making my day.
@veterenas_and_rucas is another gem dedicated to 90s SoCal subcultures.
@adjoaarmah is an anthropologist who collects and posts negatives from Ghanaian photography studios, her account really capture what I love about Ghanaian style.
A: Favorite fruit?
L: Just had my first Uzbek melon. If you ever see one, buy two. The clean sweetness is unlike anything I've ever tasted.
A: Morning dress routine?
L: At any moment in time I usually have two or three things in my closet that are on extra-heavy rotation. Right now it's a gold horse medallion necklace, a pair of vintage brown Adidas pants with a gold stripe, and the 100% SILK Smoke Coat in Dragonfruit. Getting dressed in the morning usually doesn't take very long because I'm building around those pieces.
A: What time of day do you work best, and are you an animal of routine, or do you prefer the spontaneous?
L: My brain works best right when I wake up so I always try and get some work done between 7-11am. Being a gemini three times over, keeping a normal schedule is near impossible for me. I've come to accept that I'll always lose focus by the afternoon, so after lunch I leave the house to go for a walk, see a friend or run errands, and then come back to my studio in the evening to keep working. When you're your own boss there's always a million things to do. It's really important to listen to your body and find a routine that works for you, otherwise you can burn out quickly, and become really unproductive (even though you're working all the time).
A: Beklina picks?
L: I would flip if anyone got me a Bari Ziperstein Vase, a Japanese Fish Welcome Soap or a Boucerouite Rug.
