In My ROOM WITH VICTORIA
Victoria, raised amidst the lively chaos of rural Arthur, Ontario, with four older brothers and a menagerie of pets, found solace in creativity amidst the constant cacophony of her childhood home. Her high school days were marked by an emerging passion for fashion, art, and makeup, leading to her being voted "most likely to become a famous fashion designer" despite her guidance counselor’s pragmatic but uninspired advice. This early recognition in her yearbook was a glimpse into a future shaped by her distinctive creative vision.
After dropping out of college a chance encounter led her to Tofino, on Vancouver Island off the western coast of Canada, where she embraced a lifestyle far removed from the nine-to-five grind that opened her eyes to alternative ways of living. There, during the low season, Victoria’s entrepreneurial spirit flourished as she delved into leatherworking, crafting everything from tea cosies to chef's knife rolls. This period was formative, laying the groundwork for her first brick and mortar studio and storefront called Merge.
The birth of Laundry Day was a convergence of necessity and ingenuity. Illness led Victoria to cannabis, where she confronted the stigma and lack of appealing accessories in the market. Over eight years, the brand has become a testament to her belief in the beauty of functional art and her commitment to reshaping perceptions around weed culture.
Now, she has transformed Laundry Day into a sophisticated home brand, focusing on ambiance and design. Her creations, once youthful and fun, now reflect a matured aesthetic, influenced by her deep passion for design, and architecture and her experiences living in LA and Barcelona. This evolution underscores her belief in the importance of attachment to our objects, evident in her upcoming creations that invite customer interaction in their assembly.
Through our conversation, we reflect on her journey as she stands at the precipice of a new chapter of her life as she prepares for a new adventure with a move to Copenhagen.
ReFramed: There’s quite a bit about you online but one thing that I couldn’t really find was a deeper backstory to your life before you started Laundry Day. So why don’t we start from the origins that lead up to you getting there?
Victoria: I grew up in a rural area of Ontario, in a chaotic home with four older brothers, multiple dogs, and cats. There was constant barking, yelling, and TVs blaring. In high school, I discovered a creative outlet in fashion, as well as in hair and makeup. I initially wanted to be a special effects makeup artist but my high school guidance counselor told me not to pursue that as a career because I would never make any money from it. I've always thought about how insane that is.
RF: Totally see that there is a huge industry behind that.
V: I always knew I wanted to do something that was creative. I loved art and for my final project, I created a sculptural piece that I had dressed using hand-sewn fabrics I put together. I was even voted in my high school yearbook as “most likely to become a famous fashion designer”.
RF: No way, I love that! Looking back, what do you think shaped your creativity at that time?
V: I think growing up in the YouTube era when it was really starting to kick off had a huge impact on me. That's when it became a thing for makeup and beauty bloggers. I was living in such a small town where I always felt really different from the people around me and when I would discover new things online that really sparked an interest in me, whether that was music or a really stylish creative person on MySpace, it made me realize that there’s a whole other world other than what I'm experiencing in my day to day.
RF: So what happened after high school?
V: I enrolled in college to pursue a degree in fashion but eventually dropped out. But by chance, my life changed when a girl moved into my student housing from the West Coast of Canada a small town called Tofino. I had never heard about it before but she started to tell me how beautiful the beaches were, that there was a ban on franchises so it was just all small local businesses, and how it’s an incredible place to go for the summer to experience Canada’s surf culture.
RF: Sounds pretty fun…
V: After searching for photos of Tofino, I applied for a housekeeping job at a local hotel. I got a call back right away and impulsively decided to move there, with just a few hundred dollars in my account. I hadn’t realized it at the time but I was moving during the end of the high season in September so after an incredible first couple of weeks it went from sun to rain all the time, it was pretty rough. I ended up staying for six years.
RF: Wow, six years, that’s insane. What was it like living there?
V: It opened my eyes to a totally different way of life, of people who move around a lot and work in seasonal towns and save up a bunch of money then go on vacation for six months. I saw that you didn't have to have a nine-to-five job all year round and could dedicate time to creative endeavors on the side. To keep myself busy during the low season I started leatherworking because I was bored and needed to fill my time somehow. I began by making tea cosies, then branched into creating journals, men's wallets, axe covers, and knife rolls for chefs. I was selling them on Facebook, Etsy and then things just sort of rolled forward.
RF: That entrepreneurial spirit is really inspiring and must have been really formative in the lead-up to you co-launching your studio and storefront Merge and then eventually developing Laundry Day.
V: Exactly. Everything I've done for Laundry Day I did from start to finish. Like I designed all the packaging, I designed all the products, I sourced the materials, I did everything and I taught myself how to do all of that. For a long time, I struggled to understand what that meant for me as I didn't clearly identify as an artist or a designer for many years.
RF: I understand that Laundry Day started after you fell ill and turned to smoking weed to manage your pain. In the process, you realised the stigma around smoking and the lack of appealing accessories in the market. You've been running Laundry Day for eight years now, which is a huge milestone and an important timeline for the change in perception of weed culture. What moment is the brand living through now?
V: So when I first started the brand I was 23 and my early packaging designs were very fun and youthful but were created to take away the shame and intimidation of buying accessories at a smoke shop. That’s why I created packaging that was shelf-ready so people could pick it up and turn it over and there'd be all the information you need on the box. It also took me a lot of work to actually be seen in people's eyes as a common everyday object that you can have in your home and enhance your atmosphere. I’ve always been intentional about creating sculptural objects that can not only be functional as a pipe or an ashtray but also work as incense holders.
V: But during COVID I started to feel that the brand wasn’t evolving and reflecting my tastes and values, and from a design perspective I feel a lot more grown up and sophisticated. The packaging has been redesigned and we’re launching new products that feel really thoughtful and go beyond smoking accessories. Now I think that the focus is a lot more design oriented and everything encompasses the experience of smoking rather than it just being solely the product, which has been influenced by my time in LA and Barcelona in the last 3 years.
RF: I can see you’re being more intentional about creating a universe that has different brand touchpoints like your soundscapes section on your site as well as your recent collaboration with Teenage Engineering. What can we look forward to from Laundry Day this year?
V: I’m launching a storage box that is created without the use of any hardware and comes flat-packed so our customers can assemble the pieces themselves. I think it's important for us to have some sort of attachment to our objects and participate in creating them. Beyond that, I want to transition to become a home brand because I have such a passion for design and interiors that it will allow me to continue focusing on ambiance as well as working with exciting artists and designers.
RF: Since we’re sitting in your beautiful apartment in Barcelona, let's talk about the role of your home in your life.
V: Growing up in a chaotic home my bedroom was my sanctuary. Even at a young age, I would never turn on the big light, it’s the worst thing you can ever do to a person! So as an adult and living on my own, I like having a very quiet, calm and serene home. It’s important to me for it to feel cozy, warm and always incense burning and music going. I’m really sensitive to space, even when I travel I always pack my incense and candles with me.
RF: How did you approach the interiors of this home?
V: I love mixing different materials to get a contrast of softness and hardness. I work from home most days so I need a space that feels productive and inspiring during the day but can also be a place to easily unwind at the end of the night. Finding balance is really important to me.
RF: What are some of your favourite pieces in this room?
V: It wasn’t intentional at all but I have quite a handful of pieces that I’ve picked up that are from Copenhagen, which is where I’m moving at the end of January. I have enlisted Tekla for the textiles, the bedding, and the towels. Frama, where my lighting and shelving is from, is absolutely incredible. Of course, my bed frame is from ReFramed, which is really beautiful and they’re creating simple designs with sustainable materials.
RF: What are some of the most sentimental objects that you have here?
V: I treasure these small objects and books I have gathered over the years made by my friends on the shelf, like the ceramic E.T with an incense holder in his butt by my friend Malarka. The aluminium "Pétalo Bowl" by Alvaro Ucha Rodriguez who also designed Laundry Day’s stainless steel ashtray. I also love my darumas. I first came across them in Japan a few years ago but when I was living with my friends Ceilidh and Shun in Malibu for a few months in 2021 they had them around their house. And I just remember thinking how much I loved it because you could be sitting here on the sofa and looking at a corner and there's like a random little guy over there reminding you of your hopes, dreams and goals.
