Irish pop-art artist Audrey Hamilton - a designer who has gained an incredible 55.8k followers on Instagram - has just launched a pop-up store in Dublin's Powerscourt Townhouse Centre where fans can browse art while discovering the second fashion collection of Audrey Hamilton Apparel.
To celebrate the pop up we caught up with the Dublin woman to discuss he journey as an artist, her heartbreak as an actress, and her goal to create the perfect jumper.
Growing up in a creative household with a mother who loved to paint, it would be easy to assume that becoming an artist was always the plan for Audrey Hamilton. As it turns out, though, it was the thing that saved her from the disappointment of losing out on what was once her dream job.
"I was acting for years, that was my dream. I went to theatre school, I studied in RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London, I lived and breathed acting. Maybe eight years ago, myself and my boyfriend - who was in the producing world - decided to move to LA."
Investing all their time and money into getting the highly coveted and strangely named 'Alien of Extraordinary Ability' visas, the couple threw themselves into pursuing their dreams in Hollywood.
"We went for three years - it's a very long story, but this is how I started my business - and we were grafting because the competition is crazy, everyone over there is trying to be an actor. You sit in an audition room, the brief is for a girl with dark hair and blue eyes, and suddenly you're sitting beside a clone of yourself 50 times over and you have to do something different in the room."
Eventually though, the hard work and dedication paid off and Audrey landed a game changing part in a Netflix series.
"I had done the wardrobe days, I had my own trailer and I was texting my family WhatsApp, sending photos of my trailer - and then it all came crumbing down. Basically, I had hair and makeup done and I was reading my script and the Assistant Director came knocking with a load of paperwork and said 'Audrey, I'm so sorry, but production weren't notified that you were on a visa and not a citizen. I have to remove you from set."
"I packed my bags, did the walk of shame in full hair and make up, got into my car and cried my eyes out."
Feeling completely defeated by the ordeal, Audrey spoke to her husband about her future plans. Agreeing that she needed to step back from acting, he suggested she spend some time pursuing her passion for painting.
"The next day, I woke up and he had bought me three canvases, a set of paintbrushes and acrylic paint," she says.
Encouraged by her husband to have fun and keep her mind off her recent disappointment, Audrey ended up creating two of her most popular pop-art characters that day:
"Out popped Posh Pig and the his and her Giraffes. I call them my AHA OGs. I was obviously drawn to animals and he had given me a really colourful set of paints. I posted a pic to social media and the rest is history."
A self-confessed fish out of water, Hamilton says she hadn't a clue where to begin when fans started requesting prints of her work. Calling around print shops and fine art printers in Ireland she pulled together enough information to begin creating her own limited edition pieces.
Within just weeks of her Netflix heartbreak, Hamilton was back home in Ireland with her soon to be husband, selling high quality prints of her own creation. Three years in, the pandemic hit and Audrey decided to pivot once again, bringing her designs to the fashion world.
"I didn't want to touch on fast fashion," she insists. "I didn't want to have any plastic of polyester involved, and we wanted to work within the EU."
Finding a factory and printing process that was up to her standards, Audrey began creating a line of jumpers and t-shirts that she was proud to put her stamp on.
"I designed these clothes for me first because I couldn't find a t-shirt of sweater that went below the lady bits that you don't want on show. There are so many nice sweaters out there that just land above the crotch and I want to wear my leggings or my bike shorts out without camel toe on show," she laughs.
"I live in leggings, tracksuit bottoms, shorts. I love comfort but also looking nice. I love a heel with a tracksuit bottom or an oversized sweater."
"The response has been incredible," she adds. "It's over sized but I designed them so they drop a little bit and have that sexy fit. I'm so proud of them."
"I don't think us Irish people say that enough, but I'm so proud.
