NAME : DOMINIC READ

OCCUPATION : FASHION DESIGNER AND ARTIST

AGE : 27

HOME : BORN IN DURHAM

CURRENT LOCATION : NORWICH, NORFOLK

FOOD : CURRY OR MEXICAN ANYTHING SPICY!!

MUSIC : BONOBO

FAVOURITE CREATION : ASHA’S SUIT

Hello, I decided to introduce myself and explain a little bit about the journey that got the brand to this point.

My interest in designing and making clothes began in 2010 during Textiles lessons at school. The idea of taking flat pieces of fabrics, using a sewing machine and some pins, and creating 3D wearable pieces of art captured my imagination. I had always been an arty child loving to draw, paint and illustrate at every opportunity. The making of clothes had always been in my periphery, both my Grandmothers were nifty with knitting needles, thread and thimbles. That said I never really paid much attention until my teens when I first set foot on a sewing machine pedal. At that moment everything changed and I knew the tapestry of my life was being woven with a new set of threads.

Years went by of study, stumbles and growth. I focussed my attention on developing my skills in art and design, garment construction, pattern cutting and anything textiles related. At the same time another obsession blossomed, after picking up one of my older brother’s tattoo magazines I spent hours copying the tattoos and practicing my illustration skills. Eventually I decided to focus of the fashion work and leave the dreams of being a tattoo for the future but to this day the bold, graphic lines of traditional tattoos influence my design aesthetic daily. I aim to approach the surface adornment and decoration of textiles with the precision and boldness of a tattoo artist.

I briefly lived in Amsterdam for half a year pursuing fashion studies at AMFI, this didn’t work out but the things I learnt in those 6 months still influence my artistic vision today. I then moved to Norwich where I completed my Fashion Design studies at NUA. I was always eager to get going and impatient to start my business, this is when Dread Decks was born. Hand painted skateboards and casual garments printed with my illustrations. This was a great time of learning, experimentation and growth.

Years later I found myself alienated from my work and my brand. Having worked as a Fashion Technician at NUA and having spent a lot of time helping students realise their creative dreams I decided I needed a change. I had outgrown my brand and felt limited by what it had become. This is when I made the decision to close, go back to the drawing board, rebrand, rethink and rebuild…

This leads us all the way to today, where I spend my day creating limited runs of handmade garments and art pieces, made by me, one at a time in my studio in Norwich.