Inside The Designer's Mind 1:3

12:00 AM


Grind and Glaze 

When I stumbled upon the design process Instagram page of the creator of Grind and Glaze; immediately I knew I wanted her work as one of Beaux Monde Parti's designer features. Tessa's work spoke to me. Grind and Glaze is a uniquely autobiographical series of 8 fall to winter looks paying homage to Tessa's childhood upbringing. When dissecting the thought process behind her collection by defining her personal style as raw, organic, with unrefined aesthetics and details. In essence, Tessa exudes the girl boss image and with real talent to match. I would not be surprised if she were running Vogue by age 30. 



Grind and Glaze, as described by Tessa, derived from her parents occupations. Growing up on a mill farm, Tessa's father, is a miller that grinds grain. Tessa's mother, Julie, inspired the glaze characteristic, as an accomplished ceramics artist. The grinding description translates to the raw and rough parts of textured fabrics or even a raw hem. While glaze represents the refined, and decorative elements in this collection.


Tessa and her mother co-designed the finer details in this collection including the black porcelain buttons, buckles and jewelry. Julie fired each of the pieces at her in-home studio which sits adjacent to Bears Mill. You can find more information about Julie's ceramics work on her Facebook page, Mill Race Potters


Tessa's collection resurrected an idea from my childhood that I think we all can relate to on some level. Basically, to always remember where we came from and to use those early experiences to shape our future selves. Grind and Glaze reminds me of the fashion blogger that first exposed me to this new world of digitally creative outlet, blogging. If you do not already know her, I am talking about Jacey Duprie, the founder of Damsel In Dior. Duprie was raised on a cotton farm in Texas which had been in Duprie's family for over 150 years. Cotton will often make appearances in Duprie's home decor posts and was even the main inspiration behind her design collaboration with Splendid clothing. I think its really special to be able to take your memories and childhood experiences and create something that is wholistically your own. Allowing your past to fully shape your future, we should all be more proud of where we came from and these women are really owning it!


Creation starts in the same place no matter what it is that you're actually creating. Rudimentary as it may seem, pencil and paper is the beginning of your story.




All of you regular readers know that this parti-girl, is all about showing the unexpected. Areas of the body that expose some bone structure can make for a statuesque visual. Tessa's vision is at the forefront of fashion right now and we are all jumping on board! No harm in showing a bit of your shoulder, or back. This amazing handcrafted bodysuit (shown below) is all about showing the unexpected and Im drooling over it!


Editorials






Contributors to this feature not only included the hard work and dedication of the designer herself but also her mother, Julie Clark, photographers Mark Garrett and Amber Garrett and models Emme Metry, Madeline Palmer, Terese Ostendorf, Alex Herrmann, and Jennifer Murray. Thank you everyone who worked to bring this amazing collection to life!


Love what you see and need a piece? Tessa is available for commissioned work. Please contact this amazing designer at clarktes@gmail.com and take a look at her website tessaclark.com for more information! Also on Instagram at grindandglaze / _tessaclark 

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