Scraps of fabric lay on the ground like confetti from a party at Workhall’s downtown location. The scraps are, in fact, left-over remnants of a gathering or, in this case, a workshop. The women’s clothing store, run by husband and wife team Nicole Campre and Marc Parrent, offers workshops where clients can help make an individual piece crafted specifically for them. Nicole says she hopes the workshops are viewed as more of a party than anything else.
Each participant is paired with a designer who helps clients craft the piece – anything from a dress to a piece of jewellery – and learn the process. For Nicole, being able to share the creative process is one of her favourite parts of the job, and she’s excited about the possibility of fashion growing in Edmonton.
Nicole is a clothing designer who went to MC College in Edmonton and designed for brands such as Oak + Fort and Loft 82. “And then, I went out on my own and found it really challenging as a Canadian designer to sell my product,” she says. But nowadays, things are different – Workhall has grown and Nicole’s work has been featured in many magazines, including British Vogue,Flare and Vogue Italia, to name just a few. In 2016, Nicole was named a Designer to Watch by Western Living.
