Have you ever looked at bubble wrap and thought: ''This would make a beautiful skirt!''. No? Neither had I. Few months ago, I started putting together a photoshoot, to photograph in a derelict building in Reepham, that will soon be torn down. I had about a week to get all the elements together and was looking to create something a bit different and out of the ordinary.
So imagine my excitement when I heard about a young lady, by the name of Nikolina Boldero, living in the same little town as me. She had created some unusual but beautiful clothes, among others, a top and a skirt from bubble wrap. Besides that she had also sewn dried flowers and leaves into the clothes she designs. I was over the moon when I saw the clothes in person and never imagined they could look the way they did. Nikolina is planning to continue her fashion design studies and is applying for different universities. I am very excited to see where her talent and creativity will take her in the future.
The next task was finding a model, ideally an experienced dancer, who could help to bring the clothes to life by combining elements of dance and modelling. After some searching and asking around, Sophie was suggested to me as a perfect person for the job.
First taste of the stage, came into Sophie's life at an early age, when she saw her brother rehearsing for the Peter Pan pantomime at Norwich Theatre Royal. Little Sophie knew all the lyrics to her brother's performance songs and was joining in with his practise sessions at home and while visiting the rehearsals with her parents. Her daily dance and singing performances at home, left her parents in no doubt that Sophie belonged in the performance world too, taking her to her first dance lessons at 4 years old.
After graduating with a National Diploma in Musical Theatre from Bird College, Sophie has performed both in her home country UK as well as all over the world in various productions and has now returned to her hometown Norwich where she is putting her Tap and Modern dance teaching qualifications to a good use at 3 different dance and stage schools.
Next time you open a packet with bubble wrap, I hope it makes you think of new possibilities and a beautiful red haired dancer called Sophie. Follow Sophie on Instagram @sophiecarps
Behind the scenes photos by Lesley Van Dijk, follow her on Instagram @lesley_is_exploring
