What better way to dress up your little ones than in beautiful one of a kind clothing, handmade with love? That's what today's featured indie designer, Rosalyn Hamilton, offers up with her line of absolutely adorable handcrafted children's clothing, Rozzi's Sweet Peas.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work. My name is Rosalyn Hamilton. I love to sew. I can remember pushing the pedals on my Granny's old Singer sewing machine. I remember her teaching me how to sew. I remember the beautiful quilts she and my Great Granny made. I remember them cutting up flour sacks and piecing together scraps to make them. My fondest memories are of them sitting around the big dining room table to hand sew squares and talk about the family and events.

I make unusual one of a kind and limited edition clothing for children from babies to tweens. My clothing is stylishly modest and cute. I love romantic and add it with a hint of whimsy. Florals, geometrics, old styles like peasant dresses in mod fabrics with an apron, or an appliqued monkey vest in fleece with lounging pants, these are the elements in my work. I like to mix and match for something uniquely mine.

How did you get started as a designer? I started making clothes for my boys years ago and made it utilitarian. It had to function and last a long time. Then I had six granddaughters and my sewing took off in an other direction. Now I was able to go back to my childhood and put the wonderful colors and fabrics I remembered as a child in my clothing. The whole girlie thing became a great trip for my creative mind. How to be girlie, cute and modest became a goal as I created for my granddaughters. Their teachers and other moms would ask me to create for them and thus, my business was born, Rozzi's Sweet Peas. (The nickname I gave all my grand babies was Sweet Pea.)

What inspires your work? Nature is my main inspiration. I love the colors of nature and how they go together, like a ladybug is red with black dots and it's cute and whimsical. Change that to black with red dots and it's now dangerous and a little fearful. I love the play of sun on green leaves and the subtle differences of color on a full bloomed rose. I love the shapes of nature like petal shapes and like to see them in clothing. Dancers and their costumes are another inspiration. I love the functionality of the clothing and the beautiful colors together. That's where the romantic side comes into my creations.

Who are your favorite designers? I love Amy Butler and her fabrics. She is so talented. She has combined the most amazing prints and colors that are so her, so fresh and so now. She knows how to put the colors together and you just love it. I really do love the wonderfully talented artists and designers on Etsy in Team Etsy Baby and Etsy Kids. They are to be commended for the truly unique and beautiful fashions they create for children.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? I love fresh and natural. I wear Burts Bee's Lip gloss all the time. I live in the high dessert of Sandy, Utah and need lots of moisturizers. My favorite is Shea Butter in anything. I also shop Etsy for great natural products and ljctree has become one of my favorites. Love her natural soaps.

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? My advice to new designers would be this: be true to yourself. Don't feel that you have to do it some way because it is popular or because everyone is buying this or that. Do what you like and you'll find there are others who will like it too. If you don't know what your style is, then take a look at what you like. Modern, traditional, romantic, eclectic, although these are home designer terms, these are applicable to clothing as well. This will help you get an idea.

Where can people find your work? You can find my work on Etsy at my shop www.rozzissweetpeas.etsy.com. I am also on iCraft.ca under my business name Rozzi's Sweet Peas. I do a biannual craft boutique here in Utah through a very talented group of women called Tom & Lucy's Art Shoppe. They can be found here at www.tomandlucysartshoppe.blogspot.com.


We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.