Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadya Lambreva.
Nadya, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived several lifetimes within one, so it is hard to summarize my story in just a few words. I can remember back to my very first few years of life when my dad taught me how to create art by simply doing sketches and asking me to color them in when he was finished. I guess that’s where it all began. I grew up in a very special family that showed me how to seek to find beauty in the world and over the years I’ve come to find three particular trades which enable me to do so. I’ve used art as a platform to connect with others and with myself since I was a very little girl. My childhood wasn’t easy, so painting really helped me escape from reality into a world of my own. Later on, in my professional career, I began working as a journalist, which opened my eyes to the beauty of writing and literature. And the final piece was getting into modeling, which ultimately helped me to develop a keener sense for beauty, style, and fashion. Of all three though – fashion definitely takes the cake.
Over the years I’d dreamt of being revolutionary in this business. One day, my friend from college and I decided to start painting on clothes with special fabric materials. When I took the brush and combined my artistic skills with the fabric and the different materials, I knew what I wanted to do – it was to connect both worlds, art, and fashion. It has been a long journey, and for many years leading up to now, I was faced with the common challenge of maintaining a day-to-day job while also taking the time to create a substantial amount of art. It wasn’t easy. I was also traveling the world on my own and lived in different places like Bangkok, Istanbul and Dubai. Had to support myself and survive alone in the big world. Many times I would have 12-15 hour work days, come back home exhausted, and have to really dig deep to still create. Sometimes that would lead to an all-night affair.
Since moving to The States about a year ago, I’ve been quite blessed with the opportunity to fully dedicate myself to my brand ‘’Hope Lamber’’ and become a full-time artist. This also wasn’t easy. As an immigrant, I went through a lot of hardships and sleepless nights. Art saved me… literally.
Now, I am able to consistently create pieces that are one of a kind, and each one of them tells a different story. Through my wearable art, I now combine three of my biggest passions – art, fashion, and writing. I create clothes which contain strong messages because what we wear is truly an expression of our inner world and each of us has a unique one.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
The designs I create are dedicated to people who appreciate fashion beyond the usual. I paint on clothes, and each of them is unique, which means that there are no identical pieces. My wearable art is hand-crafted with special fabric materials so that they can be washed and worn daily. Through my work, I want to allow whoever wears my art to be able to feel special, because at the end of the day each one of us is a phenomenon and there is only one YOU in this world.
Wearing my art is like making a statement, and I would like my clients to feel as if they are literally wearing their personality on their sleeve! When I create my art, I always leave a little piece of me in it, so it can have it’s own life and purpose. I’m also a professional make up artist and I sometimes laughingly call that ‘’art on faces.’’ I’m also a creator of paintings and fashion illustrations – I guess you could call me an artist of all trades. The message that I would like my creations to carry out is mostly about love, human connection and embracing our differences. I was an outcast in high school, and I would write poems as an avenue for escape. Once I entered the fashion world, I felt I had to change a lot of who I was, because that wasn’t really necessarily what was ’’cool’’ and models weren’t supposed to write poetry. Now that I’ve come back to the weirdo that I am, I would like to send a message to always stay true to your soul, because it’s our most valuable asset.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
It feels as if it’s ‘’in fashion’’ right now to be an artist, to read books, to be different – but true artists and their true talent will always stand out in the crowd. If you really have an artist’s soul, there is a place for you under the creative umbrella. I’m very grateful that nowadays it seems like creatives support each other more and look after one another. The community knows there is strength in numbers and when we are unified and work together, the future is brighter. I still think that overall it is not easy to be an artist, but people have started to appreciate art more and more. At the end of the day, if art and creativity didn’t exist, we won’t know much about our own history, geography, etc.. Art is important, and it is everywhere around us. We have to take care of it and the ones who preserve and create it. I’m encouraged by the growing rate of galleries and art events, and I hope that this trend continues. I hope that more people will trust smaller brands and will exchange big labels for unique designs. In my opinion, it is important to create more art communities and give voice and a platform to the real talent. Thank you for this opportunity.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I mostly use Instagram to promote my art, and I have two accounts where I share my work: @hopelamber and @hopelamber_art.
I will be a part of ”EAST Austin studio tour” this year, and I also have an Etsy store where I sell my custom pieces.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HopeLamber
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopelamber/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HopeLamberART/
Image Credit:
Photographers: Lilly Lilova, Raphael Umscheid, Louie Ayuma, Zunyan Yang, William Shoemaker
Other model: Mary Ann Santiano
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
