The name Roisin Fagan first sauntered into the One of a Kind office a few years ago when the recipients of our One of a Kind Canadian Craft Scholarship were revealed. Still a student at NSCAD University, she was awarded a cash prize because of her unique approach to textile design, which held great promise.

Our individual student scholarships have since been replaced by our Craft Schools of Canada exhibit, and while we’ve lost touch with many of the recipients, we’ve always been confident that their talents and artistic passion were alive and well, and would eventually resurface.

Last summer, Roisin reappeared in the form of a Christmas application, and we were ecstatic to view her new clothing designs for toddlers! Her love of craft is visible in every aspect of her work, and she hand-dyes, prints, sews and embellishes each article of clothing herself. Her hope is that her company, Bespoke Uprising, will “bring Maritime romanticism and an artisanal flare into nurseries the country over.’

Where did you learn your trade?
My mom was always into doing arts & crafts when I was little, and my dad built me two fully wired dollhouses as well, so I saw first hand at a young age what it means to build something from scratch, and the sense of pride and accomplishment that goes along with it. I later got into Fimo bead and jewellery making, and spent about four years in elementary school and early high school doing the local craft show circuit in London with my mom. I went on to take Home Economics (remember when it was still called that!) and Industrial Arts in high school, getting heavily involved in the fashion show productions put on every year. I was invited to join a larger group that put on a fairly professional AIDS fundraising fashion show yearly in London, called Underground Groove, which taught me a lot about making connections with people and working towards common goals. I then heard about a specialized art program at another high school, H.B. Beal Secondary, and was accepted into it. The art program is referred to as Bealart, and it teaches you ten different studios, all taught by practicing, professional artists. It was a huge eye-opener for me, going to galleries to see the work of your teachers and being able to see how they make their living. I specialized in Textiles and Ceramics, and then went on to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, earning my BFA with a double major in - you guessed it - textiles and ceramics in 2005.

What inspired you to pursue your art or craft?
Definitely those teachers I had in high school that were so enthusiastic about teaching high school kids art and art history and sharing everything that they knew. The same can be said of my University professors and the environment that NSCAD U provides. Halifax has such a wonderfully tight-knot artist community, and meeting other craftspeople who are so generous with their knowledge, like Alison Cude, persuaded me to stay here.

Do you currently have another profession?
I am currently teaching the very course that triggered in me a desire to print textiles all day long - Introduction to Screenprinting, at NSCAD U. I am trilled to be sharing my love of textiles with the fantastic students there; it is such an inspiration to watch them discover new techniques to express their art.

What gives you the greatest amount of inspiration?
Babies! They are just great, so much vitality and potential, right there in that tiny little person. I think that giving them stimulating colours and patterns to surround themselves in is very beneficial, and they get so much attention when they go out in public with my clothes on!