Sell Out is a series by interdisciplinary artist Angela Fama (she/they), who co-creates conversations with individual artists across Vancouver. Questioning ideas of artistry, identity, “day jobs,” and how they intertwine, Fama settles in with each artist (at a local café of their choice) and asks the same series of questions. With one roll of medium format film, Fama captures portraits of the artist, after the verbal conversations have been had. 

Stevie Thomas (they/them) is a trans Coast Salish work in progress. They are a fashion designer when time and life permit, and dry-clean operator by day. Follow them on Instagram @stevielifeapparel.

Location: Nemesis Coffee Gastown

What do you make/create?

I’m making clothing, aiming to start with women’s clothing. I want to make things that are full of whimsy, and joy, and that have colour. I want to stay away from black and white. I want to bring smiles to people. I want it to be playful. I want to do dresses. I’m going to start with T-shirts specifically, because it’s easier for the market to enter. 

I want to use my language, Hul'q'umi'num, so I can help preserve it in some way and have it more mainstream. I don’t know it myself. I’m still learning, and it’s just so important. I want to expand beyond that. I want to make clothing that’s more representative of me, individually. I’m someone who is trans. I’m someone who is Indigenous. I’m someone who loves colour. Playful, and experimental. 

What do you do to support that?

I am a dry-clean operator. My job is to run the machines, essentially get the clothes ready to wear again (with ideally all stains lifted when possible, iron, launder, clean), and provide customer service. It’s very regimented, and trained into you. A lot of people could do it, but I think you have to like the job to do it, because it can be gross at times. People will come in with mildew or mold on their clothing. They might have had a rough night out – you know. But it’s fun. 

My boss is someone I’ve known since I was seven. I think it’s wonderful, because her daughters are all my friends, and I’ve grown up with them throughout my life. She’s someone I can talk to about fashion. She loves watching the shows that have the same themes, like Halston and Project Runway. We will talk about clothing design, and we’ll also bond over shows like True Crime. It’s a way for me to have these kinds of conversations in my life, where I can have that outlet for expression. 

Describe something about how your art practice and your “day job” interact.

With my day job one of the benefits is I get to see the different levels of clothing: entry, luxury, or bridge clothing (somewhat expensive but not designer level). I get to see how they’re constructed, the different processes, and what the cost is. I’ll question: Why would they do that? Kind of more-or-less deconstruct it, while also just appreciating the art form. Seeing how it hangs on a hanger. What makes it appealing? 

And again, that connection with my boss, it’s someone to bond with. We’ll bond over the customer’s clothing sometimes, over the wear and tear, or what makes something good quality over time. Like, what’s a good bead? What makes it better than others? What is cheap beading? What doesn’t hold up over time? It’s interesting, because you’ll see cheap processes on expensive garments. And you wonder, they must have done that for a reason. On wedding dresses, you’ll see these plastic beadings, and those will melt in the machine. And not only will they melt, they’ll stain the clothing. It’s nice to learn about quality control, and what the effects will be when you make the choice you want to make. 

What’s a challenge you’re facing, or have faced, in relation to this and/or what’s a benefit?

It is time spent away from my art form. While it can feel fulfilling, or you can feel good about your job, at the end of the day, that’s energy spent. If it’s busy or crazy at work, the last thing I want to do when I get home is create. I just want to recuperate. I want to shut down. I want to rest. Or I want to distract my mind. Sometimes it’s great for the art form, because I can channel the anger that I have – like if I’ve screwed a garment up, if a customer was rude, or I’m just having a bad day – but then sometimes I need to just shut down. 

I found that being unemployed was kind of the best, just because it more or less gave me the time to balance myself out. Where I’m at now, working part-time, I’m getting to make room for myself, and my artform, with my job. This is something I’ve never really done before. I’ve always worked full-time. I’ve had to compromise when I can work on my stuff. Reality! Housing prices and rental rates are crazy. Groceries are expensive. Gas is expensive.

The benefit is getting to learn other company’s processes – their seam work, how they join things. It makes me question how I would approach it, and where would we differ? How could I improve it? It gives me a way to still educate myself while I’m on the job, and it’s not even related to what I’m supposed to be doing. 

I would say that working at my day job has helped me see the quality of fabrics better, to discern what photographs better. Before I was ok at fabric choice, but if I want it to look luxurious, I think I have sharpened my eye, because I’ve seen so many fabrics. I’ve seen how they break down and wear in.

Have you made or created anything that was inspired by something from your day job? Please describe.

I’m an introverted person, but when it comes to my taste level for what I like to make and create, it’s very out there. I made a silver rhinestone mask. It’s an application of rhinestones on a white canvas, because I wanted something that sparkled. I made another one, a blue mask with white lace on the front, because I wanted to do an applique. I wanted it to be something that was a little more ready to wear, but was more luxurious than a run-of-the-mill pleated or plain cloth mask. It’s like the dress for VCC (featured in “Create the VCC Effect” 2022 advertising campaign). I wanted to do the flower application, because I like to force myself to create surface texture on garments. I love making the fabric my own, in my own way. It’s another form of expression, even in garment construction. 

I’m working on the prototype for my line, Stevie. I’m coming out with two different T-shirt lengths – with more of a flair fit – and six different prints, where each one features a different Hul'q'umi'num word. I want it to be able to fit women of all bodies, women who are trans, because that’s my community. I’m wary, and I haven’t explored enough for myself, because I don’t feel comfortable in retail. I don’t feel comfortable going to a shop to buy what I want to buy, and it hurts in a way, but it is what it is. I need to feel safe, and I need to feel comfortable. If I don’t feel those things I am just going to conform, and contort, and I’ve done that for so long. I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s a part of the whole artistic process for me. I want to be inclusive and welcoming. I want people to play when they wear my stuff, to be exploratory. 

 Angela Fama (she/they) is an artist, Death Conversation Game entrepreneur, photographer, musician, previous small-business server of many years (The Templeton, Slickity Jim’s etc.). They are mixed generation settler currently working on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations.

Follow them at IG @angelafama IG @deathconversationgame or on their website www.angelafama.com