I’m Gabriela, and my journey into handmade crafts began in Australia. When I returned from my travels, I felt lost and longed to slow down. I couldn’t think of anything slower than handmade work, so I decided to fulfill my childhood dream and, without any prior preparation, applied to art school.
I graduated in Fashion Accessory Design from the School of Textile Crafts, where I fell in love with weaving.
Weaving continues to teach me how to slow down, enjoy the entire process, and let go of the attachment to the final result. The desire for perfection and for having things "right now" is simply unattainable in craft—and my work reminds me of that every single day.
GABRIELA HNÍZDILOVÁ
In 2013, I entered the glittering world of fashion. However, I quickly discovered that this glamour comes at a high price. Through various roles—from Sales Assistant and Store Manager to Fashion Coach and Brand Manager—as well as internships where I wrote for fashion magazines and styled music videos, I had the chance to see the different stages of the fashion industry and understand how this massive machine truly works.
I began to encounter the incomprehensible dysfunctions behind the beautiful illusion that fashion sells. This led me to the non-profit organization Fashion Revolution. In 2018, while in Australia, I became a Student Ambassador for them and started spreading the idea of a fashion revolution. It gave me a new impulse to do things differently—to clean up one of the dirtiest industries in the world and make it better.
This journey eventually led me to traditional crafts, which cannot even attempt to compete with fast-paced demand. Instead, they carry higher values: quality craftsmanship, unique design, and the irreplaceable experience of the object itself.
Sustainability is a massive topic these days. And greenwashing is even bigger... I won’t lie to you. I’m not perfect, my products aren’t perfect, and a 100% sustainable business doesn’t exist yet.
However, I strive to find a better way in everything I do. I’ve fallen in love with working with deadstock materials—fabrics from the ends of rolls, misprints, or samples that manufacturers would otherwise send to a landfill or incinerator. Using these materials, which are already here but classified as "waste," down to the very last thread, makes perfect sense to me.
Instead of leather, I use washable paper (or scrap leather from the automotive industry). Instead of plastic, Eli and I decided to 3D print our own frames from biodegradable plastic. I often source materials from second-hand shops and pack your orders in reused boxes.
It’s certainly not perfect, but with every step of production, every process, and every material, I think about how to make it better. And to me, that is the way forward.
I’m always happy to chat about sustainability, so don’t hesitate to ask.
