About Victoria
Welcome to my batik studio.
It's a magical story and "Batikwalla" hadn't been claimed yet so that's what I went with.
Way back in 1987 I found a dress in my grandmother's attic with the tag "Batikwalla" sewn into it. I was into vintage and unusual clothing, and the dress caught my attention. I kept the dress and miraculously somehow still have it to this day, 40 years later. I carried it around for YEARS across the country and through different life phases. I don't know how it lasted this long, in my possession though all the ups and downs in life.
One day out of the blue, a woman contacted me online, asking about the name "Batikwalla". She wanted to know if I knew who she was, or anything about the name I was using for my website. She explained she once owned a boutique (not to be conflated with batik) named BATIKWALLA, in Washington D.C., back in the 1960's. She since closed the boutique and ventured into real estate and yoga studios. One of her yoga instructors started collecting my batik yoga pants to wear in class and of course they caught her attention. Surprised to see the name "Batikwalla" on the receipts, she reached out to me. You can imagine the surprise we had when we made the connection, about the dress in my grandmother's attic in Virginia, and my inspiration to make batik clothing. Today she is happy to see the name carry on and is now a passionate customer!
The story doesn't even stop here, but let's let it be for now.
I'm sure you know what batik is.
But just in case... Batik is a fiber art technique that uses beeswax as a resist to paint designs on fabric. How did I learn to batik? I am entirely self taught, which started very early in life. As a kid I was intrigued by craft books and magazines that were so popular in the 70's and 80's. The pictures got me thinking of a dreamy "hippie" world out there. As a teenager already not impressed with conventional society, I hopped onto a train to Oregon fresh from the east coast. For better or worse, I found myself in a strange new place that was prime for creative exploration. The first thing on my list was to learn how to batik.
In the fine year of 1989, I checked out books from the local library (remember those?), and spent about $100 gathering supplies so I could learn batik. With my first brush stroke of molten wax I knew I was onto something. I painted every piece of fabric I could get my hands on. Anything that could hold liquid became a container for dye, including pots and pans, the only bathtub in the house, and every sink with a stopper, which was two, but they worked.
Word of mouth got out and I began to sell my new boho batik hippie style tshirts to people in the neighborhood. More sales came through funky craft fairs and colorful music festivals, including the Eugene Saturday Market and the Oregon Country Fair, and my most favorite, the parking lot scene of the Grateful Dead concerts. This is how it all began. Once I tapped into the creative process, there was no turning back, and I have pursued it intently ever since.
Please watch out for fake pages and sites pretending to be me.
