6A — Monday, April 16, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Making
art
—
with
all
its
intentions,
elements
of
unpredictability and rewards
— should be meaningful from
start to finish. Or, at least, so is
the case for Ohio native Allison
Hylant. Hylant, who graduated
from the University with a BFA
in Fine Art in 2012, decided to
dedicate her professional self
to creating textile products
that are eco-friendly, hand-
crafted and entirely inimitable.
“I come from a long line
(of artists, and) ... although
none
have
pursued
art
professionally, being creative
was something that was always
encouraged
in
my
family,”
Hylant wrote in an email
interview with The Daily. “My
father has a minor in ceramics
and my grandmother was a
painter. I started taking art
classes at age three. I always
thought I would probably study
Art History in college, but I had
some amazing teachers and
advisors in high school (that)
really encouraged me (to) apply
to studio art programs.”
Dale & Blue, her Detroit-
based
business
and
design
studio,
launched
in
2016.
Currently, Dale & Blue offers
a
selection
of
indigo-dyed
pillows and home goods; all of
which, of course, are handmade
in small batches. Though a few
years out of art school, Hylant
still finds joy in her process.
“The first time I learned
about shibori dyeing, I was a
freshman in college. Almost
10 years ago,” she wrote. “I
can’t even tell you how many
hundreds of yards of fabric
I have dyed in that time, but
there is a magic to it every time.
No matter how many times you
prepare fabric, fold it, bind it,
wrap it, block it into place, you
never really know what the
piece will look like until you
pull it from the dye bath.”
Hylant was living in Boston
working
as
the
in-house
seamstress
for
Marimekko
after pursuing an additional
degree, a post-baccalaureate
year at the School of the
Museum of Fine Arts, when she
founded the LLC.
“(Marimekko) proved to be
the perfect training ground
to launch a business,” Hylant
wrote. “After several years
of working, I realized I had
gone as far as I could with
the company. I wanted a new
challenge, to be working with
my own designs, making my
own decisions. I kept working
at Marimekko, while I was
figuring out the particulars of
the company.”
One such particular was
the company’s name — Hylant
wanted something personal,
but something versatile enough
to work as the company grew
and
changed.
Eventually
settling on Dale & Blue, Hylant
opted
for
family
names.
Ironically enough, she didn’t
know she would be working
with Indigo when settling on
the name.
“Dale & Blue were the names
of my two grandfathers,” she
wrote. “Neither are still alive
today, so I thought it was a great
tribute to them. I was very
close with my Grandpa Dale;
he lost his battle with cancer
when I was a senior in high
school. And (my) Grandpa Blue
passed away a year before I was
born. His real name is Robert,
but he was such a big Michigan
Alum Allison Hylant on
her company Dale & Blue
CARLY SNIDER
Daily Arts Writer
COURTESY OF ALLISON HYLANT
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
fan everyone called him Blue.
(I guess I was destined to be
a Wolverine.) The company
name actually has nothing
to do with the color blue, the
signature color of the brand …
But the name has proved to be
extremely serendipitous.”
Behind the name is a strong
philosophy. Having worked in
a more traditional, high-end
environment as well as having
spent time interning with a
fair trade company, Hylant is
committed to bringing those
two worlds, though often at
odds, together. Simply put:
people over things.
“We love things; it’s why we
make them, and buy them,”
she wrote. “But that should
never come at the expense of
the people who make them
or the environment … At the
forefront of my practice is
the belief that where the raw
materials are sourced from is
just as important as the life the
products have once they leave
the studio.”
To do this, Hylant chooses
U.S.-based
manufacturers
whenever possible — both to
promote national employment
and to reduce Dale & Blue’s
carbon footprint. She wants her
customers to be proud to own
her products, because of their
beauty and their backstory.
Knowing that the standards
she sets for herself are high and
often cumbersome, Hylant sees
the benefit to society as more
important than her potential
personal gain.
This
kind
of
personal
dedication to her artistic and
economic output is inspiring
and entirely at home in Detroit’s
growing entrepreneurial spirit.
Hylant is part of Ponyride
studios, a nonprofit with a large
studio space on Vermont Street.
Ponyride, like Dale & Blue, is
invested in promoting positive
social output and growth.
“In Detroit you have this
great sense of all things being
possible, people here aren’t
afraid to try new things (or
re-invent old ones) and some
of them are really working!”
Hylant wrote. “It is an exciting
time in Detroit … Ponyride has
provided me with a network of
other like-minded businesses
and resources to help navigate
what can be a very stressful
process.”
Despite the trials of getting
a business off the ground —
especially one that holds so
tightly to its goals of changing
an often problematic industry
— Hylant is hopeful and excited
for the future of Dale & Blue.
She hopes to launch print-
screened fabrics by the yard,
and to collaborate with another
artist to create fine art prints
and original paintings. Behind
all the social goals, there is
still the art. The two elements
play off each other, challenging
Hylant to create in a way that is
sustainable and allowing eco-
friendly practices to be integral
to her work.
“I would love to see Dale &
Blue expand to be a cohesive
lifestyle brand,” she wrote.
“But really at the end of the day,
it is less about what we make
and more about how we make
these products and the impact
we have on the people who
make them … As a company
and a businesswoman I am still
finding my footing, it’s a long
process, but I am really excited
for all the things that could be
next.”
On
the
afternoon
of
Saturday, Apr. 21, a diverse
variety
of
student
models
will take to the sidewalks of
downtown Ann Arbor as part
of a Guerrilla Fashion Show
hosted by fashion publication
ROGUE and Ann Arbor-based
organization Radfun.
“(The goal of the show is)
to celebrate and center bodies
of color, big bodies, queer
bodies, trans bodies — bodies
that are not often given a place
within fashion — and advocate
for the issues that come with
those
communities,”
wrote
Kai Mason, LSA junior and
founder
of
ROGUE.
“My
favorite description of the
fashion show as yet has been
‘at once a protest, a party and a
celebration.’”
According to LSA senior and
Radfun co-organizer Darian
Razdar,
onlookers
should
expect to see plenty of flashy
costumes, along with models
in self-styled outfits. Some
garments will be designed
specifically for the show. They
should also expect the chants
and noise levels characteristic
of social demonstrations.
“I’m really excited because
this Guerrilla Fashion Show is
going to be a way of blending
art and activism, and allowing
people who aren’t centered
in our pop culture. We’re
centering them in this fashion
show,” Razdar said. “We’re
focused on giving marginalized
people space, and the idea of a
guerrilla fashion show is to
command space in a way that
isn’t sanctioned by institutions
or by politics.”
In
Mason’s
eyes,
the
Guerrilla Fashion Show will
bring a new dimension to both
fashion and activism in Ann
Arbor.
“It’s something I’ve never
seen done before at Michigan,”
she wrote, “and I’m so excited
to have a chance to question
the status quo, the unspoken
pressures of conformity and
complacency that are imposed
on us in both this institution
and beyond, through fashion.”
To get involved, contact
Mason
and
Razdar
at
kaimason@umich.edu
and
drazdar@umich.edu,
respectively. Students are also
encouraged to visit ROGUE
and Radfun’s upcoming mass
meeting, which will be hosted
on Wednesday, Apr. 18 in room
1405 of East Quad.
ROGUE & Radfun to host
Guerrilla Fashion Show
TESS GARCIA
Daily Style Editor
EVENT PREVIEW
Guerilla
Fashion Show
Apr. 21
Free
COURTESY OF ALLISON HYLANT
“In Detroit you
have this great
sense of all things
being possible,
people here aren’t
afraid to try new
things”