-Words by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton

When Pipi Tustian says art is in her blood, she means it.

鈥淲hen I was young, I didn鈥檛 even know that it was being creative, I just thought everybody lived that way,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y parents weren鈥檛 traditional artists in the sense of being painters or writers or playwrights or anything like that; they were an immigrant family coming from the war-torn country of Latvia. They were just so happy to be here, however, we didn鈥檛 have much.鈥�

Ever-present in her childhood home was the whir of a sewing machine, where Pipi鈥檚 mom sat nearly every morning to create or mend clothes for the family. Each piece of fabric, Pipi says, came to embody a chapter of the family鈥檚 past. This growing collection of symbolic day-to-day items blended the family鈥檚 Eastern European heritage with a new identity at the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just about making the couch match the cushions, there鈥檚 a history and stories attached to all of those things,鈥� Pipi recalls. 鈥淭he house was always filled with all this magic.鈥�

Pipi fondly remembers regularly boarding a downtown-bound bus with her mother. The pair would search through Winnipeg鈥檚 garment district as though it were a mysterious land filled with curiosities and treasures, the stores bursting at the seams with chiffons, satins and linens.

鈥淪he would take me by the hand, and we would walk into a building that was chock-a-block full of corduroy and tapestries and bolts and bolts of fabric from floor to ceiling,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was like a playground of all my fantasies with the drapery and the touch and the feel and the colour and all of that texture. It was just always there in my life.鈥�

Pipi鈥檚 love of colour combined with a reverence for repairing and repurposing household objects are major influences in an artistic career that spans three decades. For years, Pipi鈥檚 unmistakably unique paintings and fabrics鈥攚hich include cushion covers, tablecloths, dining table runners, napkins, blankets, towels, throws along with much more鈥攈ave been fixtures at Cowichan Valley shops such as Ironworks Cr锚perie and Edward Jones in Mill Bay.

For the hands-on, do-it-yourself crowd, Pipi offers fabric workshops to small groups and has even launched her very own brand of high-quality fabric paints.

Personal commissions are also available for people wishing to commemorate a special event with custom-painted, personalized linens. As COVID-19 restrictions loosen, Pipi continues to grow a strong social media presence predominantly on Instagram and Facebook, where she can keep up to date with her current projects and frequent workshop opportunities.

鈥淐reating for me is a way of expressing emotion,鈥� she recently posted on her Facebook site. 鈥淔rom the darkness of grief comes the colours of joy. Life is a roller coaster, and art keeps me strapped in my seat.鈥�

She describes her artistic process as a kind of 鈥渟oul connection鈥� in which her mind is free to pursue a natural flow to create unique shapes and patterns in a generous heaping of colour. Once the idea has sparked the process, Pipi says, she often doesn鈥檛 even consciously think about the process itself.

鈥淭he starting point is a feeling, and then I see how the colours play against each other and what the patterns and shapes are trying to say,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can be inspired by nature or even watching a movie. A lot of times I won鈥檛 know what鈥檚 happening with the plot because I鈥檓 looking at how the colour of an actor鈥檚 skirt is against the couch that she is sitting on.鈥�

Her latest venture is Studio 1867, which she began a year ago with a team of co-creatives in the funky Whippletree Junction along the highway south of Duncan. In a move that harkens back to those same values instilled in her by her mother鈥檚 morning ritual at the sewing machine, Pipi hopes to give some colourful treatment to unloved and forgotten furnishings.

鈥淎t Studio 1867 we鈥檙e repurposing the older pieces of furniture that people have sort of loved but maybe discarded in favour of the new things that maybe don鈥檛 last as long, even though they are twice as expensive,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you have a piece of furniture that you鈥檙e wondering what to do with, and everybody does, this is a great option. Everybody has that old piece sitting in the corner that they can鈥檛 get rid of because it belonged to grandma or they have an emotional attachment to these things because they鈥檝e become part of the family.鈥�

Older furniture, Pipi adds, tends to be more characterful, more unique, and built to last. She says many modern furnishings are less sturdy than those made even a generation ago because changes in the global manufacturing process have prioritized lightweight materials and building techniques to minimize shipping costs.

What鈥檚 more, Pipi says, refurbishing and reusing furniture keeps bulky household items out of the landfill.

Clients upload pictures of their furniture project to the Studio 1867 website, where Pipi and her team reference makeover options from a catalogue of fabrics compiled from designers from around the world. Clients then book an in-person appointment for personalized advice, a chance to feel through fabric samples and search online catalogues for options to bring their project to life.

鈥淛ust like when I was a kid going into those fabric places, we have that huge number of fabrics, but just not in rolls, now we have them in books and samples and that sort of thing,鈥� Pipi says.

The process may have changed, yet Pipi has found a way to keep the magic alive.

For more information about Pipi, visit her on Instagram (@pipioriginalarteverydayliving) or Facebook. Details about Studio 1867 are available at studio1867.com

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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