Portsmouth woman creates unique clothing brand with handpainted designs that take 40 hours to create
AFTER suffering with mental health issues, Jessica Mailey found herself in a dark place so she left her job to concentrate on her health.
But after a friend brought her a box of fabric paints, a business was born and now Jess is attracting nationwide attention with her new clothing brand – Sad Witch Customs.
The 28-year-old, from Portsmouth said: ‘I had an old Levi’s denim jacket, so I just started painting on it.
‘It ended up being in honour of one of my favourite artists, the late Lil Peep.
‘It blew up on my socials and eventually a girl wanted to buy it.’
Jessica created an Instagram account and Facebook page, naming her business, ‘Sad Witch Customs’ after friends and family commented on her tendency to know things before they happen.
With all designs by Jess hand-painted, jackets and jeans can take more than 40 hours to complete, once she even spent six weeks on one jacket to ensure it was perfect.
Most of Jessica’s work is made to order, and she spends time sourcing vintage jackets and jeans to make her customers’ ideas come to life.
Her style is influenced by tattoos the artists featured have, along with graffiti and music Jess listened to whilst growing up.
She said: ‘My dad made sure I was listening to bands like Oasis and The Stone Roses from a young age. I love the graffiti scene too.’
Jessica created one jacket with a design paying tribute to late artist, Juice Wrld, which caught the attention of his fiancé, Ally Lotti.
‘I cried when she messaged me. This lady has 1.7 million followers, and she wants me to make her a jacket!
‘She’s going to do a photo shoot in it and then hang it in her home. It warmed my heart that I could create this for her and help keep Juice and his legacy alive.’
Jessica hopes that Sad Witch Customs will one day be working with musicians and other artists she looks up to, with plans to get stalls at festivals.
But her main goal for the business is simply to be able to live comfortably by creating her art.
For more go to facebook.com/sadwitchcustoms