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Annie Abbott owns a lot of shoes. It’s the kind of collection you just don’t bother counting because it would take a really long time. In fact, an obsession with shoes is what led Annie to start her company, Habbot, six years ago.
Throughout her years in business, Annie has achieved many things. She runs successful brick and mortar stores, has a bustling online shop, hosts regular in-store talks and events, and has garnered a cult following of loyal ladies including Academy Award winner Hilary Swank (true story!). Despite all of this, Annie has been pining to make one particular project a reality for a while – collaborating with a local artist!
Enter Perth-based artist Emma Lipscombe. Upon discovering Emma’s work, Annie knew instantly she would be the perfect collaboration partner for Habbot. ‘I love the unexpected way she uses colour,’ says Annie. ‘Emma really knows how to pull a contrasting colour palette together, and I could see it translating to our footwear really well.’ The two began the six-month creative process from opposite sides of the country, Annie in Melbourne and Emma in Perth.
Emma began painting, and once the final pattern was decided, the shoe-making process began. ‘My main challenge was to combine the pattern and colour mix in a way that retained its impact on the smaller scale of a shoe,’ she explains. Emma’s final pattern was inspired by her time living in London, and visits to the Victoria & Albert Museum. The pattern was then digitally printed onto leather locally, before being sent to Italy to manufacture Annie’s designs.
The resulting capsule range incorporates footwear in four styles and a leather clutch. To celebrate the collection, Habbot is also hosting a small exhibition of Emma’s paintings in their new Collingwood studio, opening next week.
This range is available in Habbot stores and online as of today! Emma’s exhibition is open from Wednesday 2nd to Saturday 5th March, between 10am until 2pm daily, at 2 Robert St, Collingwood.
