/design/
Photographs: Bobby & Tide; Styling: Poppy Lane
As a twelve-year-old, Bianca Sophie Vallentine tie-dyed socks and knickers for her local hippie shop. Aside from saving for her hope chest, like all the other little girls at schools, the lucrative little business launched Bianca into the magical world of textile design and, thankfully for those of us who appreciate dreamy linen, resulted in The Vallentine Project.
Welcome to the Daydream, The Vallentine Project’s new line, is reminiscent of warm summer days, good books and sleepy daydreams.
“I hand paint all of my bed linen which I know is utter madness in terms of reproduction, but that’s kind of the point,” Bianca says.
“I deliberately make each of the pillowcases differently so that when they go on the bed there is something more to look at – perfect when you’re sick in bed or just having a lie in.”
All of Bianca’s quirky little pieces are locally sourced and made in Melbourne and characterised by flecks of gold embroidery and muted colours on stonewashed linen.
“You can get unconscious with a [clear] conscience,’ Bianca laughs.
Bianca has certainly moved up in the world of textile design since her tie-dye phase. Gaining a Certificate III of Apparel at TAFE, specialising in pressing operations, Bianca then went on to complete a degree in Fashion and Textile Design at Curtin University.
“Since then I’ve done a bunch of stuff under the Vallentine Project Banner including fashion exhibits and films. I don’t really do fashion stuff anymore as I found the process pretty exhausting. I’m more into making stuff that lasts and can be collected,” Bianca says.
“Each duvet is a labour of love and that each pillowcase excites me.”
Now based at Pop and Scott, a workshop collective that has gained a near-cult status in Melbourne, Bianca’s new line is on display in bedroom exhibitions, which are reminiscent of your Grandma’s greenhouse where you’d play hide-and-seek in over long summers.
Bianca says her fellow creative ‘maniacs’ at Pop and Scott are a big influence on her work.
“Poppy and Scotty have really gone out of their way to make the space a positive place to come into and are always the first to encourage a new idea and offer advice,” Bianca said.
Other inspirations include her childhood spent elbow-deep in mud on her family’s corn-turned-beef-turned-macadamia farm.
“I was born in a little seaside town called Eden in New South Wales. When I was three my parents and I moved across the country to Manjimup Western Australia in a big old Leyland bus to take over my Grandparents’ farm,” she says.
Bianca’s love of bringing the outdoors into the bedroom, reflected in the greenery constantly articulated in her designs, can undoubtedly be attributed to a childhood well-spent in the beautiful cacophony of the natural world.
“I do love plants. I've always wanted an indoor arboretum and have spent countless hours designing what mine could potentially look like,” Bianca said.
“Really, I'm just whiling away my days until I'm a fully-fledged retiree - I can’t wait for the bus junket to the dahlia farm!”
With an abstract aesthetic that Bianca says reflects her personality and peculiar behaviour, the lovely sheets and pillowcases of The Vallentine Project will bring a bit of fun to any room.
“My mum always said I wore my heart on my sleeve. Now I wear it on my bed.”
Check out The Vallentine Project’s new line Welcome to the Daydream at : https://www.thevallentineproject.com