Erin Rae is the design mind behind the space-agey, Bay-area fashion line, Eraeon, who grew up just outside of Albany. She uses vintage fabric and upcycled denim to create mystic, celestial scenes inspired by Star Trek.

Erin shares with me in interview how her business is faring during the pandemic, how a loss in her family has motivated her to remain true to her business pursuits, and why her motif fits well into the Oakland/Bay region’s style culture:

Tell me about how you got into fashion!        

I taught myself, more or less, how to sew as a young teenager, on my great grandmother’s sewing machine. It was a Singer with a knee pedal that swung up from a small desk. It was used just for decoration, but my dad oiled it up and got it working, and my mom showed me the basics. As a kid I always played dress up and drew fashion sketches. I sewed clothes for myself and my brother for a while, and also went to college for fine art (drawing and painting). I never really thought of doing fashion design/textile arts as a career. It wasn’t until I took a costume design/construction class in my second semester of junior year that I realized that was what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how, or what, specifically.  

In your Facebook bio you mention your bridal wear expertise. What was it like transitioning from bridal sales into creating your own line?

After college, finding a fashion-related job that didn’t require a degree was going to be tough. I didn’t want to work at a chain retail store, and my mother suggested looking into bridal. I worked at a local women-owned bridal store for several years, learned so much, and even got to do some sewing. Bridal and formal wear allowed me to work with expensive couture garments and see the construction up close.

Bridal can be exhausting though, I’m not going to lie! I learned a great deal about sales and how to keep track of and project sales, and realized I enjoyed working with numbers (to my great surprise). My family has always been in business for themselves, so I also had a pretty good head for it. I took a two-year break from anything related to fashion, still so unsure of what I wanted to do. At this point, I hadn’t really made any serious art for close to seven years.  

In December of 2016, my brother passed away suddenly in the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire in Oakland. He was just 32. He was my absolute best friend. His name was always at the top of any gratitude list I made. We were living on opposite coasts at the time, and had just been figuring out how I was going to move there to live with him in the spring. I can’t begin to express how devastating a sudden, close loss of this type is. It changes everything, and the pain does not go away. There isn’t an order to the cycles of grief. It doesn’t ever become “okay”. The best you can do is learn how to live with it. He was a musician (synth-pop duo “Introflirt”), hard-working, committed and self-motivated.

I had had a lot of struggles in the recent years, with abusive boyfriends, and an alcohol habit that I tried to manage for years. I had just gotten sober and realized I wanted to change my life, and not making art was a big key to why I was unhappy. Immediately after his death, I knew that I would be quitting my job, moving cross-country and pursuing art full-time. His friends have welcomed me so fully here, and I have been able to support them in my brother’s absence.

Owning a small arts business is a tremendous amount of work, frustration and disappointment. It is also extremely rewarding and meaningful! This project has made me feel like I am carrying out my brother’s dream of making a living through art, in my own way. It has saved me and kept me going in so many ways, in many dark days. It is NOT an easy path. 

How does your design motif work into the Bay Area/West Coast style of your region?   

The bay area is a vibrant—though dwindling, as big money continues to move in—community. There is inspiration everywhere and people take risks with their fashion. There are a lot of artists here, and the community provides a lot of support and encouragement. I find that generally speaking, the bay area is a more progressive, open place, and that translates into people’s self-expression through style. People really appreciate art and want to find unique pieces. 

How do you like to best work? Do you work from home, in a studio?   

I tend to be very disciplined when it comes to my work. That being said, there are days there doesn’t seem to be any inspiration, and I finally am learning to just be okay with that, and focus my attention somewhere else. The bay area is a very expensive place to live, so I do all my work in the room I rent in a house. I’m lucky to have landed a more affordable place with a bedroom big enough to live and work in. 

In what ways do you promote your fashion? What processes and tools work best for you?

I hate marketing! I so, so wish I could just create and that be that. I’m very introverted, so self-promotion is something that does NOT come easily. I am grateful for social media, to have a platform that is free at a basic level, but it is also so big it can be hard to get noticed. I really enjoy doing local markets, and being able to be present as people try on, react, and hopefully, buy my work.  

With the planet in crisis, how have you been handling the current pandemic? How has it impacted your work and business?   

The most obvious thing is that all of the in-person markets I would sell at have been cancelled. They are typically my main source of sales. I’ve upped my online marketing, running promotions on IG, etc., in order to push more online sales. It is scary though! Since no one knows how long this will carry on for, there is a very real chance that there still won’t be markets in the summer which would be financially devastating for my business.  

How is quarantine treating you?     

My day-to-day hasn’t changed THAT much since I work from home. I do have a history of anxiety and depression, so I am really focusing on being gentle with myself. I’m a big to-do list maker, but I am trying to allow myself space to not accomplish everything.

I’m more distracted than usual, reading the news, checking in with people, so I find that my brain is fragmented. I have been using the time to start/get back into other forms of art—to get the creative juices flowing, as they say—without expectation of receiving money for it. I created my first painting in 10 years!

My mother and I are sending each other short stories we write based off of prompts once a week. I’m not a big fan of exercise, but it IS helpful, so I’ve been trying to keep up with that. I do quite enjoy 80’s/90’s aerobic videos! They’re fun and silly, but still make you sweat!

Who are some of your favorite designers and why? What accounts should we be following on Instagram?   

The community in the bay area is full of amazing designers, makers, and musicians. Some of my favorites are my friends! For music, New Spell creates amazing synth songs, haunting vocals and lyrics with so much substance. Another friend, Leah of Ragavon Designs and I work on some collaborate projects, and she also creates her own designs. Honestly, there are so many great makers/designers. Here are a few more:  @sew_moe @humanshapedanimal  @jscheiblauer @vandalmoon @designsbymh @twig_and_antler

What future plans do you have for your line that you can tell us about?   

There are some things I am hoping to expand into, but nothing I’m ready to divulge just yet! This project has already taken off in ways I never expected, so my main goal is to just remain open and try different ideas!   🌟

View the Eraeon collection on Instagram here, or visit her Etsy page.