Part of the backstory we wrote for this shoot.
–Tanner Skrocki
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Photo by Studio E. Raven mask created in July 2015.
With the first mask already created I styled it with the cuffs and belt / waist-cincher from our 2015 look book. Next I created a feather bib/necklace, made a blue shirt, from some special fabric I had been saving, to bring a bit of colour to the silver and black. The look was finished off with the completion of a velvet cape I had been making for a while. The velvet and the silver part of the skirt is material my mom had in the 80s. I remember making similar outfits for my dolls.
To see more of Breanne's photography visit her website here.
To see more of Ashley's makeup visit here.
To see more of Poppy Del's work visit here.
Published in the Edmonton Journal Blog on April 4th 2016. Published in the Edmonton Journal print paper April 5th 2016. Written by Julia Lipscombe.
Image by Breanne Marie Photography. Model Poppy Del. Makeup Ashley Skrocki.
When Amy Skrocki and Tanner Wilson-Skrocki put on a fashion show for their leather and metal wearable art, it’s doesn’t just consist of a few models traipsing down a catwalk.
The latest show for their brand, Paragon of Design by Skrocki, during Western Canada Fashion Week in March, was a fantasy drama, complete with an imagined world, stunning visuals, a synopsis for the audience, a whole cast of characters and a smoke machine.
“We write stories together and character sketches, and we try to develop pieces that we feel embody those characters,” says Tanner. “We gave everyone on the runway a little bit of an idea and insight into their character.”
But even with all of the fanfare, the show’s standout element was the clothes: the nine individual looks lovingly — and rather painstakingly — brought to life.
Paragon of Design by Skrocki.
Paragon of Design’s immaculate and towering headpieces, elaborate painted masks, precisely laser-cut tops and cuffs in-laid with gems and crystals, and lavishly adorned corsets stand out for the quality of design, materials and craftsmanship.
“We actually calculated it out — the nine outfits took close to 1,300 hours to make,” says Amy.
The couple have been together for 16 years, and making the line for nine. Tanner used to have a day job as a film liaison at the City of Edmonton, but after he went on paternity leave for their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Seraphim, he never went back. Now, they both work full-time (sometimes around the clock) on their costumes, filling orders for their popular 3-D sculpted and leather-bound books, or making metal accessories.
Both quote history and travel as major inspirations. Tanner adds fantasy and sci-fi flicks like Lord of the Rings and Alien to his list; while Amy cites religious iconography, Gothic cathedrals and Byzantine artwork.
Amy does the bulk of the design work. Tanner apprenticed under her to learn the 35 of 40 steps necessary to make a necklace, a pair of cufflinks or earrings — items that make up a large chunk of their business.
The pair’s home garage workspace already looks like a behind-the-scenes studio of a movie set, but Amy’s dream for the future is a larger studio and more employees as they shift their business model.
A look from Paragon of Design by Skrocki’s Western Canada Fashion Week show.
The couple used to sell their designs at craft shows, sometimes at the exhausting pace of one show per week, but that didn’t leave much room to display their larger-scale, statement wearable-art items — nor was it really the market for that type of work.
So how to show off those fantastic belts, corsets and masks? They’d been aware of WCFW’s Costume Design Competition for a few years, but Amy always put off entering. That changed when she had her daughter, which reminded her that life is precious and anything can happen.
“After that, I thought: if something ever happened to me, I’d have all these designs, and nobody would ever have seen them. So I said, ‘I’m going to enter that competition.’ And I did.”
They won. That was in 2015, which makes this past fashion week a year since their first fashion show.
In the past couple of years, they’ve been approached by theatre productions and publications that want to borrow or buy their big-ticket items. Those worlds — as well as film and television — are where Paragon of Design would, ideally, like to head.
“We had never considered it before, which is crazy,” says Amy. “It’s like a whole new world opened up. It was like an epiphany: this is where we should have started.”
From Paragon of Design by Skrocki’s Western Canada Fashion Week show.
Now, the pair does most of their sales online. They also fill lots of custom orders and sell their items wholesale. Their only “storefront” is the St. Albert Farmers’ Market — which they love.
“We really have an inventory of about 400 items, but anything can be customized,” says Amy. “So, if you see a dragon on a pair of cufflinks, we can do that dragon on anything — a purse, an iPad case or a pendant. Each store can have their own customized line of items exclusive to them.”
Paragon of Design has also been commissioned to make art for the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel, and to create custom leather books and iPad cases (complete with the Alberta crest) for the Government of Alberta to give away to foreign dignitaries and delegates visiting the province.
One of Paragon of Design’s corsets won an international wearable art competition, and their work is on display in places like the Saskatchewan Craft Council and the Alberta Craft Council. They’ve also been a presence at two Golden Globes gifting suites in Los Angeles — no small feat.
Extra exposure comes with some risk, but they don’t mind. “We’ve had our designs stolen and made in Bali or China, but you know what? Was it better to just keep it in the garage and never show anyone? I don’t think so,” says Amy.
A look from Paragon of Design by Skrocki’s Western Canada Fashion Week show.
Amy and Tanner are keen to keep building their profile, but not just for the benefit of their own brand.
“To have Edmonton named as one of these places that makes cool handmade things that are sent all over the world? I would love that,” says Amy. “That would be just awesome.”
Paragon of Design by Skrocki is available online atskrocki.ca. Amy Skrocki and Tanner Wilson-Skrocki will be at the St. Albert Farmers’ Market, in front of St. Albert Place at 5 St. Anne Street, every Saturday from June to October.
To view the article click here.
This photo essay appeared in the February 2016 copy of St. Alberta/Edmonton's T8N magazine written by Carmen Hrynchuk with all photography done by Brenda Lakeman.
| Ars longa, vita brevis (Art is long, life is short). It’s a sentiment that many have read and contemplated but that few have taken to heart. Artists Amy and -Tanner Skrocki are among those few. And heart is exactly what they pour into their partnership. Much like their work, their history is a story of transformation. |
When they met 16 years ago, Amy was a high-school student and Tanner was a writer working in a music store. Amy, appreciating Tanner’s CD recommendations (and his music magazine), sent him an email telling him so. Tanner, flattered and intrigued, sent his “fan” a few more samples of his writing but admits that he hadn’t a clue who he was emailing. Today, Tanner’s far more sure, and Amy’s not only the most talented person he knows but also his mentor in the studio and his partner in work and life. Together they are the multi-talented team behind Paragon of Design—a design house featuring wearable art inspired by artifacts, fantasy and passion.
On the day we visited, we had the pleasure of witnessing just how talented they are. Holding the titles of metal smith, leather smith, sculptor, bookbinder, etching specialist, writer, composer and historian—this dynamic duo gave us a glimpse into the fine art of hard work and the hard work of fine art. Take a look.
“When we travel, we go to all the museums and historic sites we can to get inspiration. And we’ll just take our journals and start writing and drawing and adding photographs or postcards we find along the way so that we can ‘document’ what we’ve seen and imagined while we were there. When we get back, we use it to come up with characters we think would have lived through that time period and then write little stories about each of them—who they are, what they’d do and wear. Amy does most of the dreaming and comes up with the ideas, and then we go away and bring them to life.”
–Tanner
To view this pendant click here.
“Tanner is the one who always keeps me going. I run all my ideas past him. Sometimes he’ll think I should change something, and I’ll be all, ‘No!’ (laughing), but mostly he says, ‘I think you should just do it.’ Everyday, he just keeps saying it. I wouldn’t be able to do the stuff we’re designing now without that support—without him. He also puts all our ideas into words, which is amazing and something I could never do. We really work together as a perfect team.”
–Amy
“I never get tired of watching Amy design. It’s not that she just sketches or designs—she draws with wire, and I can actually see the ideas coming from her. It’s rare and my privilege to work with her.”
–Tanner
“The career is a lot about saying yes and then figuring it out later. A fashion show is something I’d been wanting to do for years but was too afraid because there’s no book on how to do this. Eventually I was just like, ‘life is too short. I’m just going to do it.’ Then all of a sudden, we’re there at the fashion show costume competition, and our first piece wins, and we’re given our own show and it hits you—‘Oh my God, I have to make 12 pieces, and how am I going to do this?’ And I don’t know how it happened, but it did (laughing).” –Amy
Model Carra Pischke
“I think art should make you feel something, and that’s the biggest compliment we get from our customers. We hear it all the time at the St. Albert Farmers’ Market. Someone will buy a ring or a journal and come back years later and say ‘This is still my favourite piece of jewellery because I bought it at a key point in my life, and it just spoke to me.’ That means so much to us.”
–Tanner
“The future? We’d love to have a great big studio some day with all sorts of artists working there with us. A place where we could further cultivate the community and even apprentices people who want to learn the things that we’ve struggled to learn.”
–Amy
To check out any other photos follow the link here
To check out Brenda Lakeman's other work click here.
We are signed up for Western Canada Fashion Week on March 28. Doors open at 7 pm, with the show to follow at 8 pm at the TransAlta Arts Barn in Edmonton.
For this show, we are writing a short story inspired by several Celtic myths we love. Shortly before the show, we will share a summary of the story, and later this year the full story to go along with all the runway photos. We decided to do this instead of a traditional collection since many of our pieces are so different from each other. Each signature piece we make is usually based on a character we created or on a story that includes that character.
Recently, we were published in the January edition of Gilded Magazine out of California. This photoshoot was also based on a short story we wrote.
We were lucky enough to meet a kindred spirit who really understands the stories and inspiration behind our pieces. The photographer, Breanne Marie Photography, captured the storyline beautifully through her photos. She has been amazing to collaborate with and you can check out more of her beautiful work here.
We will do a full blog post with the story and all the photos from the shoot soon! But for now below is one that we love of model Jen Ferguson.
We are also very fortunate to have my sister, Ashley, as part of our team. We will be creating a line of complementary (to our items) stencils for airbrushing makeup by this summer!!
You can check out Ash's other work on her website http://skrockimakeupartistry.weebly.com
*Ash with model Carra Pischke Photograph by Brenda Lakeman
We were also featured in a local print and digital magazine, T8N, with a photo essay. It includes never before seen shots of our studio, inspirations, quick drawings, and watercolour tests of various pieces we make. We asked one of our favourite models, Carra Pischke, to join us for the shoot.
The interview was done by the editor, Carmen, and the photo essay portion was done by Brenda Lakeman out of St. Albert. For anyone interested in seeing a bit of our studio and learning more about the makers behind these items, the March edition of T8N Magazine is available on their website. For those who live in Edmonton or St. Albert, the magazine is available at dozens of locations free of charge for pickup. A full list of locations can be found on their website.
Here is a link to the feature, with the full print version at the bottom.T8N March Issue
Lastly we recently changed the pricing on our website to US dollars to be included on social media like “Pinterest.” This now makes all our items pinable! For our Canadian customers this just means you will see the Canadian amount on your bill. If you want to purchase in Canadian dollars you can also do that through our Etsy shop!
Details to follow soon about other photoshoots and publications!!
This shoot was based on a short story we wrote. It is only very roughly edited to show the context and the ideas behind the shoot. I included scene notes to further describe the items we used, as well as the thought process behind the shoot. The photographer was the fantastic Breanne Marie Photography.
She was fully on board with the creative ideas we brought forward and added some of her own, helping to create a truly unique set of photos.
The models were, Carra Pischke, Jen Ferguson and Randy Cusack. With Makeup by Ashley Skrocki Makeup Artistry and hair by Dani White.
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On a cloudless night, the stars shone upon a forest through which no light could reach. Pathways once lush and inviting were consumed by branches, long and short, entwined like lovers against the twilight. Deep within the corridors of winding trees, dark secrets aching to be told were disclosed in clandestine meetings by the shadows that kept them. The tones, crisp against empty air, hung in anticipation of the drumbeat, calling to those who had yet to appear. The circle’s completion drew nearer and nearer as they amassed. Of blood and stone, that which must be given was presented in the face of the full moon. Those who assembled beneath its watchful eye gathered not for light, and though the stars shone, their light was lost amid the branches. Tonight, the moon would turn its back on this forest.
Not far from the gathering, a dusty path wound outward, stretching its worn fingers through the countryside and touching the hamlets where those unaware of these nefarious goings on blissfully unwound from the labours of the day. The merriest of all were undoubtedly the traveling companies who set up their temporary quarters along the weaving roadside. Their day had passed in hours of toil, hauling belongings, wares, and caravans onward to a destination only determined upon arrival. When they stopped to await the coming dawn, fires were built against the embers of a slow sinking sun. With cauldrons bubbling and fresh game roasting, it was song and bottle that beckoned most. But not all would find solace in such illusions, and one such young man sought his retreat in the moon’s mesmerizing face. With little hesitation, he set forth from the comforting nest of his encampment and the warm haze of friendship, security, and ale onto the dusty path.
Along the path he strolled. The air was crisp against his face, and the silence was unbroken save for the steady rhythm of his own footsteps. Lost in thought, he wandered on, unaware of the distance he had traveled, until a darkened wood consumed his view. The sound of a maiden’s laughter drew him from his reverie, and step by step he traveled ever deeper into the trees. A glimpse of her cloak, the flash of her hair like smoke against the dark, drew him closer still. Her slender hand reached from the shadows, one finger outstretched, and as though it were the night itself beckoning, enticed him onward. Each step revealed another fragment of her. A black filigree mask obscured her face, and an intricately detailed ivory cloak wrapped around her, weaving her into the shadows that held her.
The gold ring upon her finger captivated him, and as though caught in a trance, he was powerless. So bewitching was her gaze that he remained oblivious to the ring’s razor edge against his skin, or the body pinned tightly beneath the shroud just steps away. In her other hand, she carried a mask with a dark visage and great horns. Those who had gathered in secret remained hidden in the shadows, watching carefully as events unfolded. With a single drop of the young man’s blood upon the tip of her finger, the transformation began. A horned creature, enslaved to whatever commanded these dark woods, now stood where once an innocent man had been, its soulless gaze resting upon the risen goddess.
Beneath the shroud, the mouth lay agape, frozen in time like a marble sarcophagus in a forgotten mausoleum. Yet when that single drop of innocence was passed from her fingertip, a gasp was heard, like rustling leaves caught in the forest’s throat. Slowly, the body beneath the shroud stirred, as if reanimated from a state fit for the grave. She moved again. There in the forest, behind the back of the moon, where the starlight could not reach, stood a goddess of ancient will. At one side, her noble sacrifice was no more than a husk, and at the other, a body returned from death.
From every shadow appeared another set of horns, another set of black eyes watching, their numbers innumerable as they filled the night. Like a butterfly emerging from the hollows of the mortuary, the shroud slipped from her as she rose. In the eyes of the goddess, the gold of her adornments shimmered. At her feet lay a great horned mask, its empty gaze fixed upon the stars.
The End
by Tanner and Amy
The scene notes show roughly what items the models would be wearing, what the models might be doing.
Scene one: shows model in cape with filigree mask and Swarovski crystal cuff. Raising one finger to beckon the traveller. Black mask. Large armour ring. The woman is wearing a large skirt. Cape is golden or ivory with black trim.
Scene two: shows man and woman- no mask on the female model. She is tracing her finger with the ring down the front of he chest. Leaving a small drop of blood. He is holding the demon mask. He is wearing a cape with a large axe pendant.
(Various edits below) Breanne thoughts of smoke bombs, which worked amazingly with the sort of fairy tale shoot. I love the black and white version as well. This reminded me of a old fairy tale that would have been filmed in the 70s. The smoke from the bombs changed so rapidly, with the far right picture making it seem like the smoke is coming from the models hand.
Scene three: shows the woman now in large mask/with large skull necklace with drop of blood on her finger holding it over to silhouette on the table. No cape in this image. Cathedral cuffs.
A incredible image by Breanne Marie Photography with fantastic editing.
Behind the scene shot with Tanner. This even makes it look more like some vintage film. On the right side you see the hair artist Dani White.
You can see the model Randy transformed. I love the shots Breanne Marie Photography did of Randy.
Totally surreal shot!!!!
Picture 5: solo pic of woman. shows the woman from under the blanket wearing the larger Phaedra set (large statement axe set, cuffs, belt, earrings). Shorter stone bodice/corset. There is the mask by her feet.
the blue smoke only adds to magic of the overall shoot.
Alternative edit by Breanne Marie Photography.
To see other photos done by Breanne Marie Photography please check out her website here.
We will be setting up for our final large craft sale of the year this week! The show, Make It!, runs from Thursday through Sunday and takes place at Northlands in Edmonton! The parking rate has been reduced just for the show and there will be 200 artists onsite. To see a selection of our items that may be at the show check out either our Etsy shop, Facebook group or shop!! We haven’t even had time to list tons of new items on our online store !
We also have two catalogs completed for you to view on our website under the catalog and look book section. They are in PDF format and can be viewed on mobile or desktop devices. Almost everything in either catalog can be custom made in time for Christmas, if it is ordered before December 1 for out of town orders and up to December 13 for local Edmonton or surrounding area!
We recently won the SWAG wearable art competition in the corset category a couple of weekends ago and we are beyond happy! Part of the prize will include our piece on display at the Affinity Gallery from 11 March – April 2016 in Saskatoon!
We have been working with several local photographers on creative photo shoots lately and developing pieces for upcoming shoots in the near future. One of the pieces is this leather bodice inlaid with labradorite, rutilated quartz and moonstone!
We have been working on several cloaks recently for a recent photo shoot and upcoming shoots and we have had several requests to buy the leather trim we make. This will be an upcoming item for 2016 and will be sold by the yard for all you seamstresses and costume makers out there!
We would like to sincerely thank all those who came to our booth during last weeks Calgary Art Market and the recent Banff Mountain Film Festival! It was great seeing so many familiar faces and meeting so many new fans and customers as well.
Thank you to everyone who came out to our shows in September. It means so much to us to receive local support. It is always great to catch up with you and to make new friends.
Are you ready for the Christmas season?
Christmas is just a few months away. With this in mind, we are now taking custom orders for the holiday season. If you want a custom journal, guitar strap, jewelry, cufflinks, wallet, or more, now is the time to place your order to ensure it is completed and arrives on time. A custom order can be as simple as adding someone’s initials or a logo to an item.
Our fashion show last month was amazing! For anyone that wants to see many of the items created
our look book is on our website!
The look book is available for download in PDF format under the menu heading "look book" on our website. We are working on several blog posts about the fashion show, developing the items and behind the scenes photos. Below is one of the models in our dragon corset, medieval style horns and copper horned dragon mask.
Model: Listah
Make up: Ashley Skrocki
Photographer: Simply Captured
Upcoming shows!!!!
The Banff show is a new show for us and runs in conjunction with the opening weekend of the Banff Film and Book Festival (October 31-November 1)
Art Market- Calgary Telus Convention Center (November 19-22)
Make It Edmonton- Northlands (November 26-29)
We have been asked numerous times on how to care for the leather items you may have purchased previously! Below are some easy tips on caring for your leather.
Tips on taking care of your hand crafted leather items
Have you seen anything on our Facebook group or blog that is not listed on our store? Contact us and we will see if we have it in stock!!
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#113, 13651, St Albert Trail, Unit 4, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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