BoardedHall

I've spent the past 2 decades scouring the usual (and unusual) sources for fashion inspiration, including magazines and blogs, and people watching for those with incredible individual style. One magazine that stood out for me was WAD (We’ar Different, get it?) as the editors, contributors and featured designers were fearless in their use of prints and styling. The conception of Boarded Hall, and all that it would entail, came to me in a red wine and bourbon induced dream. For the past year my mind was in a perpetual loop, constantly thinking and rethinking the creative trajectory for Boarded Hall: What should I make? What should I offer? What fabrics do I want to work with? Why this, why that, etc.

Let me flashback to how it all started [fade in on a young woman slaving over an unfamiliar sewing machine in a cramped apartment]…I made my first tie for my husband (then boyfriend) for one of his birthdays. It was a denim tie. I made a rookie mistake of buying a store bought pattern, which for a beginner looked decent, but now I understand the nature of what makes an impeccable tie, and how construction can affect the beauty of the knot or the way it hangs, . I know now that these things cannot be store bought. I then spent months creating my own pattern, working with different materials, interlinings, decorative pieces, and researching who I want to work with for packaging and branding needs.,. After much thought and preparation, I am now ready. Over these past months, juggling a full time job and sourcing various elements of my brand, I have been consumed by excitement and anxiety. Those who know me know I’m a perfectionist and love ‘geeking out’ over small details, in every facet of life, and so I wanted a name, a brand that had meaning and heart.

The roots of Boarded Hall extend back to Christ Church Parish in Barbados. My family on my mother's side, the Whartons, grew up in the Boarded Hall district of this parish. My grandmother, Mother Wharts as she was affectionately known, was the matriarch of a large proud family. They prided themselves on achieving elegance and grace even when times were tough. Their contributions to their community, and their reputation for class, were recognized when the street on which they were raised was named after the family. My journey, in a sense, started at the corner of Boarded Hall and Wharton Drive, hence the name Boarded Hall.

After sourcing a variety of fabrics that I love, finalizing the pattern and working with PARTKL to help actualize my brand, Boarded Hall was born…It’s a child born of blood, sweat and threads, with dominant genes in denim. I love my child and hope you will to.