In her compact studio, filled with natural light, Pamela Matheson gently tucks and pins the dark, textured fabric against the bright red dressmaker’s dummy, adjusting the preliminary model of a new Esmé creation.
“I wear the prototypes. The comments I hear let me know what needs to be tweaked,” says Matheson as she examines the new creation. “I’ll regularly adjust this or that. I sew until I’m happy with the sample. Only then do I send the pattern and fabric to the seamstresses.”
With all the Esmé collection, Matheson takes months to perfect designs. She continually refines the pattern, experimenting with a variety of fabrics until the product is ready for a trial run with the seamstresses. Their suggestions and comments lead to further adjustments before the garment is ready to sew for the customers.
“They are the sewing experts,” she explains. “I’ve been sewing since I was a child, starting with doll clothes, then later making my own clothes. I know how to make a garment, but my seamstresses work magic with their machines.”
The continuing and growing appeal of Esmé, a fashion design and clothing production company in Canning, NS, lies in the quality of the clothing and the limited number made from the same fabric. Even with her most popular item, the Esmé jacket, only three to five pieces of clothing are created out of the same fabric.
Pamela Matheson was not new to business when she began this new venture, creating her first sample jacket in 2013. She had always been self-employed, with years of business experience selling real estate, so starting another business was not a big challenge. With both real estate and clothing, it’s important to find the product with the right fit and feel for the client.
Matheson is enthusiastic about her products. She loves the feel of the fabrics, the way they flow and drape, the way the different fabrics can change the appearance of an outfit, and how an outfit can enhance the appearance of the person wearing it.
When a customer comes into the small store in Canning, Matheson strikes up a conversation. Within minutes, they’re chatting like old friends about fashion and fabric, but also about common interests and activities.
“If she’d had the time, I’m sure she would have found an outfit that suited her sense of colour and taste,” Matheson says when the customer leaves. “I’d have helped her look more beautiful. I love doing that.”
Matheson has many stories about customers finding the perfect outfit on the racks. She’s always selling her products but she excels at getting to know her customers personally, guiding them to a perfect outfit.
“When the women look at themselves in an Esmé outfit, they stand up straight, their shoulders go back, and they realize they look fabulous,” she says. “They walk out excited because they found something they look really good in.”
Making women look really good is Matheson’s mantra. She finds fabrics that appeal to many women’s creative appreciation of vibrant colour and whimsical design. Some of the fabrics are quirky, like the shaggy black strips interwoven with white threads used for a textured crop top. Some are more sombre, but with a contemporary and lively touch, like an intricate double-threaded, red-accented black fabric used in a classic Esmé jacket.
“That type of fabric is suitable for any occasion, from a wedding to a funeral,” says Matheson.
“Changing our appearance, wearing something pretty every day helps lift our spirits. We forget how clothing affects our mood. Dressing in pretty clothes and looking my best during the pandemic was good for me.”
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, when non-essential shops were closed to customers, Matheson was busy. She shut the studio building, continued with her real estate business, and in her quieter moments designed and refined outfits for the Esmé collection.
Her huge stash of fabric — unusual patterns, interesting textures, bright colours — came to the cutting table. Matheson had been hankering to experiment with these fabrics. The closure provided ample time to prepare samples, and send fabric and patterns to the seamstresses, keeping them busy.
When restrictions relaxed, and commerce started again, Matheson was ready with batches of products for her first trade show, the regional Saltscapes expo in Halifax in April 2022. Because her booth was stocked with new supplies, customers enthusiastically browsed and bought.
Pamela Matheson’s studio with her unique designs; the designer at work on details
“I think people were ready to put on something new and different again.” she says. “Because we modelled the outfits, customers could see how well they fit, how they drape and move with the body.”
Matheson prefers to work trade shows in the Maritimes. She exhibited her clothing at the One-Of-A-Kind show in Toronto but felt that there were so many exhibitors that the individual craftsperson did not stand out. The Maritime shows keep her busy and give her plenty of opportunities to talk with the customers.
“That’s what I like best at the shows — talking with the women, helping them find the perfect outfit. We seem to make time for that in the Maritimes.”
While she loves working at the trade shows, she is aware that younger women and her international customers order through her website. Over the next year she plans to develop a more vibrant presence online and in social media.
“I like where Esmé is now. There are only three or four of
any item. If you are wearing an Esmé you are wearing something distinctive that you won’t find just anywhere. That’s important to me.”
Smiling contentedly, Matheson carefully adjusted the wide hood of the jacket on the dressmaker’s mannequin, possibly a future Esmé outfit in the works.