Designing Artful Ease with Katrina Bennett of Katrina Z’Chori

Katrina Bennett is a Fiber Artist, Fashion Designer, and the owner of Katrina Z'Chori - a brand of handmade wearable art. With over 18 combined years of sewing and pattern making experience, Katrina conceptualizes, designs and produces hand knotted and hand-dyed wearables from natural fibers such as cotton and hemp twine, string or rope and cotton and linen textiles. She’s inspired by natural fibers due to their breathability and ease of care properties. Adding to that, natural fibers like cotton show the vibrancy of Procion fiber creative dyes extremely well when combined with Japanese Shibori hand-dyed methods. Katrina draws inspiration from the traditional yet contemporary and relaxed aesthetic of these materials and how well they hold up over the life of each design piece. Her pieces are designed with the inspiration to travel, attend a festivity, or just stylishly lounge around. In most cases a single design will fit into all of these occasions. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Katrina’s experience with excessive sweating, known as hyperhidrosis, impacts her designs and material choices. What her one-of-a-kind hand-dyed creative process looks like and how she tests new silhouettes. What benefits she’s seen from selling at in-person vending events like art fairs and pop-up markets.  Why storytelling is a big part of how she communicates her brand. Katrina’s tips for becoming a pro at brand storytelling.  How Katrina found her customer and market niche.  How Katrina starts conversations with her customers to get their feedback What activity Katrina has been doing during COVID to set her up for better work in the future. People and resources mentioned in this episode: Katrina Z’Chori  website Katrina Z’Chori on Instagram Katrina on LinkedIn Katrina Z’Chori on Facebook Katrina’s email KTRN single “Sweat” Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.