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Austin's Fashionistas: Jenny Milne of Machine Ballerina
There's no question that Jenny Milne is a serious designer. Jenny, the woman behind Machine Ballerina, moved her work out of her bedroom last year to a studio in her house. Dozens of block patterns hang from the walls and two sewing machines share space on a large wooden table in this modest living area. But it doesn’t even contain Jenny’s source of inspiration: fabric.
“This is my commitment to my craft,” she says, pointing to the bolts of cotton piled high, filling an entire closet in her bedroom.
Jenny uses these “grandmother” fabrics (think Little House on the Prairie calicos and muted solids) to create whimsical and romantic designs. Her tops have ruffles, boat-neck collars and Edwardian leg-of-mutton sleeves; skirts are high-waisted with Japanese-inspired sashes. And when she styles her garments together with teased hair and harsh makeup – like she did for the Stitch fashion show last year – the entire look exudes old-fashioned femininity with a hard, modern edge.
“I love the idea of the duality in the name (Machine Ballerina), and the idea that something can be strong and industrious, and soft and elegant at the same time,” she says.
Jenny, a Washington D.C. native, graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s in apparel design and moved to Austin four years ago.
“I was a little burned out from school, so I just sorta worked a job and met people and lived and hung out.” But then she got fired.
“I’d never been fired before, ever, but I was just sort of like, I have this skill, I went to school, I have this degree. So, I just started sewing and being in bazaars and craft fairs. And then it blossomed into being in stores and shows and all that. It’s grown a lot. I mean, thank God I got fired.”
Now Jenny dedicates three to four days a week working on Machine Ballerina - producing garments, marketing herself, and maintaining her new Web site. Over the past year her production increased and her designs evolved, becoming more tailored, as she learned to fine-tune her process.
“Before I was at home just cutting squares on the floor and seeing what I could do with them,” she says. “It went from play to being a lot more planned.”
Future plans including selling Machine Ballerina online and at boutiques outside of Austin in the near future. For now, the line is only sold at Parts and Labor, where it was touted in Nylon’s November 2006 issue. That kind of publicity, of course, is a big deal - but Jenny credits the gradual success as a designer to the constant effort she puts into her line.
“I might go into a lapse and sit on the couch for about a week, but I’m just compelled to do this… It’s just on my mind every waking moment – even when I’m lying awake in bed at night. It’s within me in so many ways. And sometimes it’s frustrating because I want a break and be a human being for a while and not a designer, but sometimes I feel like I’m more of a designer. I can’t help it.”
Photos by Justin Cox.
