we sit down with southern charmers tyson & klara of maiden voyage clothing co. for today’s maker weekly.    the creators of t-shirts and leather goods inspired by tales of far-off travel on “floating zeppelins, prop-driven planes and towering ships” have their very own story to tell…

introductions please…

we’re tyson and klara of maiden voyage clothing co. – originally from nashville, tennessee but now residing in los angeles.  we grew up in the south with great home-cooked food surrounded by really cool old things!

what do you make or do?

hmm… what don’t we make?  we make a lot.  which isn’t to say it’s all for maiden voyage.  in fact, most of it isn’t for our company.  tyson has always been of the mindset (even as a child) “why don’t you just make it?” and that rubbed off on klara.  we’ve been creating a lot together for a long time.

as far as maiden voyage is concerned, we create tees and leather goods (and sometimes more).

where can we find your creations?

you can peruse and/or purchase our wares on our website or etsy.

how long have you been creating and is it your full-time job?

we’ve been creating things our whole lives, but maiden voyage has been around for almost two years now.  it’s not really a genuine full-time gig yet, but we’re hoping to make it that (for at least one of us) very soon.

when you’re not making things, what do you do?

think about what is next on the list to make. seriously.

is creativity a luxury or a necessity for you?

creativity is definitely a necessity for both of us and we’re always bouncing ideas off one another.  you know you’re on to something good when you can’t sleep and have to write the idea down before your mind will let you rest!

what obstacles have you had to overcome to lead a creative life?

finding the time for all that we want to do is sometimes difficult – we’re working on dedicating more time to our creative endeavors.

did someone in your family, a friend or teacher introduce you to your creative side or have they helped you along the way?

tyson’s family encouraged creativity at an early age; klara always wondered why she didn’t fit in until she met tyson.  now she’s convinced she’s normal.

where do you find inspiration?

we’re inspired all the time, by just about anything, anyone or anywhere.  our minds are usually racing with ideas and we do a lot of daydreaming.  in regards to maiden voyage, we try to remain brand aligned.

for our tee designs, we look for interesting things with an odd nature to them.  it could be a poem, myth, odd fact or just something out of the ordinary that strikes our fancy.

and for our leather goods, we try to create a new version of an heirloom your granddad may have imparted to you.

what’s on the horizon for you and what you do?

we just printed our first kids tees and now we’re working on a slew of new tee designs for adults, specific cuts for women and posters.

if money wasn’t an issue, how would your life change with regards to your art?

we could immediately release a lot of really, really cool tees and branch out beyond tees clothing-wise.  we’d probably travel all over just for inspiration!

what would be your perfect day off?

going to bed early, so we can start with an early morning southern breakfast followed by flea-marketing or being outdoors…then ending with an intimate, casual dinner with friends.

what inspiring advice would you give to other creatives?

whatever it is you want to do – educate yourself and don’t be scared to try it.  start with planning and baby steps, then before you know it, the challenge is not so scary.  if a project fails, learn from it and apply those lessons to the next one!  don’t give up!

 -varci h.