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Fashions by Jounte Armantrading. Photo provided.<\/p>\n
Jounte, a painter, got her start in the fashion industry in 2025 \u2013 simply because there wasn\u2019t enough room in her apartment to continue being a traditional artist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to school for architecture, and I had a 300-square-foot apartment that I shared with my partner, and I used to do these giant paintings,\u201d she said. \u201cI had no more space \u2013 they couldn\u2019t fit under my bed, and they were also really expensive, so I started turning to my clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her classmates took notice of her hand-painted frocks and started commissioning Jounte for pieces inspired by their favorite architectural designers. She initially bought new pieces of clothing to serve as her canvas, but after watching a documentary about the deleterious impacts of the fashion industry, Jounte pivoted her methods and began to source secondhand garments from thrift stores across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have enough clothing on this earth to dress the next six generations. I found that by using secondhand clothing, I was kind of helping with the problem of over-consumption in the fashion world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thrifting also gives her clothing more of a bespoke feel and infuses each piece with a unique story.<\/p>\n
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Photo provided.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love dating pieces and finding out historically like where they came from,\u201d explained Jounte.\u00a0 \u201cI buy everything, and then I come home, I wash everything, I dye them if I need to. I sew them, I fix them, because sometimes it\u2019s a slip \u2013 I paint a lot of slips \u2013 and they have holes and I need to repair them. And then I start the painting process, and I paint everything by hand. I don\u2019t really go in with a sketch, I just start painting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her unique approach to sustainability coupled with her unique \u201cfemme-fantasy\u201d aesthetic (think mermaids, unicorns, fairies) has propelled her brand\u2019s rapid growth. She now designs fulltime as The Sonder Atelier and has customers as far as the U.K. and Norway. Her work is featured at local markets and in boutique shops in across the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cFloridaRAMA is an event space and an amazing platform for partnerships with artists in the community,\u201d explained Jessica Baird, business development manager at FloridaRAMA. \u201cIt\u2019s two parts, immersive museum and eclectic event space, that really opens up a sort of portal for creativity with local artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since its founding five years ago, FloridaRAMA has hosted over 85 artists and makers, rotating exhibits every two months to keep the creative juices flowing.<\/p>\n
In addition to art exhibits and its permanent, interactive art museum experience, FloridaRAMA also hosts a wide-range of events, like artist talks, scavenger hunts, hands-on art workshops, and as of this month, fashion shows. The event space is open for nearly anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s about art and creativity, we\u2019re all for it,\u201d Baird elaborated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what gets us really excited \u2026 working with artists like Jaunte, who once you meet her and talk to her, you just understand that she\u2019s the most creative, beautiful soul, inside and out. She is just an amazing person, and when we find someone who we believe in, we want to put all of our efforts into supporting that talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
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