A Closer Look at Bode's Greenhouse Lockdown

It is to the surprise of no one of the uncertainty of the world we inhabit. For our favorite designers and stores, it is a fight for survival against the circumstances we are all faced against. One of the designers weathering the storm is none other than New York’s Emily Bode. The coffee-stained walls and moss-colored paint in the neon-lit, millennial pink Times Square of the LES that make up Bode’s brick and mortar has felt the pain and writhing. Fortunately, Emily Bode was wise enough to foresee what was coming and able to implement the appropriate steps to prepare for an uncertain few months. “We shut down the store and got everyone situated to work from home, and then we flew to my fiancé’s family home in Vancouver Island for the foreseeable future. I’ve set up a studio here in his backyard greenhouse - although it’s not really like any ordinary greenhouse.”

Emily has found sanctuary in Vancouver with its charming mish-mash of objects, each speaking to the ethos of the brand and who Emily Bode is. Back in 2018, Bode shaped her Fall 2018 show around an ethnobotanist in Long Isl

and she “[…]became friends with as a teenager thanks to his side hustle as a quilt dealer, there was a set featuring a full-scale recreation of this very greenhouse.” Bode now finds herself working in the physical space that inspired a pivotal moment for the brand.

As we have written before, Bode crafts garments from a storied past. Fabrics with a story that have been given the opportunity to continue their journey. In these times we live in, we may be finding ourselves looking through our closets and our parents, grandparents’ wardrobes for inspiration and light. I even write this article wearing jewelry gifted to me from my late grandparent’s collections. It is here in these personality-rich textiles that Bode excels and is able to speak to the ethos of us all. “I think people are taking a moment of reflection on their personal histories, and seeing how they can partake in preserving them and making heirlooms, not just for themselves, but also to share with their families. It’s been amazing to see.”

Bode has re-launched her E-Store featuring her limited Summer collection inspired by her family ties to a 19th Century Wagon Building workshop in Cincinnati. She has beautifully intertwined digital recreation with the reality of the greenhouse she now works out of.