Meet Niamh from Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp
Name, pronouns and star sign?
Niamh Galea, she/ her and I’m a virgo (I have a star sign keeper aka Angie Osman who worries about all my other placements and lets me know the things to watch out for periodically).
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
I lived in Bondi for the first 22 years of my life and I’m now in Clovelly. So, only a few beaches away!!
How has your upbringing shaped your creative practice?
Wow, I don’t know if I’ve been asked that before! Obviously Bondi has a notoriety for a certain type of sexy beach girl that I didn’t necessarily fit the body (but probably the mind). In a way, that feeling of not belonging where you belong has pushed me to explore marginalised bodies in my practice. In Bondi you can really get away with wearing very little most of the time and that probably influenced my style in terms of it being quite relaxed and body exposing. Also, just realising the idea of a beach body is bullshit.
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What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I’m turned on in all those ways by a constant desire to question everything! My parents have very different political views to each other, which I am so grateful for because I feel it really helped me avoid dogmatic thinking in all aspects of life. Less answers, more questions!!
What turns you off?
Black and white thinking, anyone telling anyone what is wrong or right, random societal and historical coincidences that become societal norms/standards. Oh and screen printed logo t-shirts lol.
Ellie Bailey dancing in pieces from the RTTS x Diaspora collaboration
What does community mean to you?
Community to me is about uplifting, empowering and educating. Recently I have become obsessed with the way small independent fashion brands are supporting and nurturing each other and as a result, the sense of competition has completely dissolved. I would love to see independent retailers channel that energy a little more. I can only imagine how powerful the global network of beautiful independent fashion stores would be!!
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What is your dream collaboration?
I'm lucky to have already achieved some dream collaborations; from working with my best friend Lizzie Kidd bicoastally on Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, to the t-shirt regeneration project I did with Iordanes Spyridon Gogos, “It needs to Exist but so Does This logo tee”.
More recently I collaborated with artist Molly Wurwand on a range of illustrations of my new bikinis and with my pal and artist Zora Moniz on a very special project that is yet to be released! My dream has always been to have the privilege of time and energy and resources to make things with my friends and I am so grateful to be in a place to do that!!
If your label/art was a…
… song?
Acid Raindrops by People Under The Stairs
… meal?
My mum’s famous roast potatoes.
… smell?
Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp smells like sweat and sea mist; someone holding roses nervously and butterfly pea flower tea.
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… human?
It would be me duh ;)
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… designer piece?
A $100 RTTS patchwork g-string.
Honor Munro and Sarah Jessica Carpark in collaboration pieces from Even Cowgirls Get The Blues shot by Maximiliano Dal Masetto
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Everything works out in the end, and if it hasn’t worked out it isn't the end. The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude, you never regret a swim and the harder you work the luckier you get, oh and of course: “It's only money!”
What’s the best advice you’ve ever given?
I’m known for saying “everyone is sexy, the secret is that you have to believe it.”
