I ventured up into the hills of Echo Park this rainy L.A. morning to visit photographer and designer Hilary Walsh in her studio. We both worked on the same story for Foam Magazine last year, she was shooting Angela Lindvall for the cover and I was writing the story, but we didn't really meet until I bumped into her at Feal Mor last month where I basically attacked her like a teenaged fan girl asking if I could please come hang out with her one day. The embarrassing truth is that I legitimately am a rabid fan of Hilary's. Beyond being a huge fan of her photography (her book Lola is deliberately placed in the most visible spot on our coffee table), I'm also so thrilled that she is developing a clothing line focused on hand-dyed indigo. Her eponymous label will be out later this year in small batches, and from what I've seen so far, it's going to be incredible.
Although the indigo dying process is tedious and taxing, that's precicely what Hilary is drawn to about it. Because unlike modern photography, where you can cheat and take short cuts (with digital cameras or Instagram filters), the indigo dying process can not be hastened. It takes commitment and skill and is labor-intensive, similar to shooting on and processing film. While I hope her new line doesn't detract too much from her photo career, I'd be lying if I wasn't salivating at the idea of her taste-level and eye applied to fashion. And because Hilary's talents are in no short supply, I should also mention her forthcoming Rizzoli book about denim publishing next Spring (!). For now though, all I can offer you are some of my amateur photos of her refined yet rustic Echo Park studio.
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