Purrfect Pineapples
An Interview with founder Erika Shuhendler
When did you start Purrfect Pineapples?
I started planning my first Purrfect Pineapples line in January of 2006, and then I officially started selling my garments in the Spring of 2006.
What prompted you to start the line?
I love lingerie, but I have never been able to find exactly what I want. I would always shop for bras and panties, but get frustrated because they didn't look or fit as perfect as I wanted. So, I went to college and learned to do it myself! Designing and creating lingerie is a lot of fun for me.
Do you have any particular muses or inspirational people that you have molded your clothing after?
Not so much. I usually see fabric or lace that I am excited to work with and work on outfits from there.
What music do you like? Are their certain bands or artists that influence your creativity?
I wouldn’t say my musical taste influences my lingerie at all. But music does help me sew for extended periods of time! Bands I love would include Boy Sets Fire, Between the Buried and Me, Zao, The Acacia Strain, Arise and Ruin, Undying, Cockpunch!, Curl Up and Die, Cartel, We The Kings, and Coalesce.
What are your most popular items that you sell?
Girls (and their boyfriends) go nuts for my garter belts.
What is your favourite bar in Toronto:
Sneeky Dee's, because they have vegan cupcakes!
What would a perfect Saturday look like to you, if you could spend it however you want from morning until 2AM?
Honestly, a perfect day in Toronto for me would be going to Centre Island, or Ward's Island, having an awesome picnic with friends, renting those four-seat bikes and causing a ruckus.
Do you have any tattoos? What are they and why?
My first two tattoos were matching realistic pineapples, because I have a weird obsession with collecting pineapple items. I really like pineapples!!!
After that I got a pink and white kitty cat with chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms surrounding him. I have Hungarian embroidery-styled flowers on my feet with my grandparents’ names and birthdates above and below them. They were amazing people and I wanted to commemorate that. My latest tattoos are a giant pink cupcake and ice cream cone on the backs of my thighs.
I don’t believe in having a deep story behind your tattoos. As long as they are extremely well done and you know you will be happy with them forever, why not go for it?
How do you consider body art and your clothing to go together? Do you design for the ‘girl’ who has lots of tattoos? Is this is a consideration?
They don’t necessarily “go together”. I just really enjoy using tattooed models to represent my line. I find heavily tattooed women to be attractive and I think it makes the photos more appealing to the eye. That may not be the case for everyone, but I feel that the models I use have a realistic/healthy body image. They are normal, attractive, tattooed women. I’m over the whole blonde hair, size 0, 6ft model image. It’s just not for me and I don’t want to be represented with that image.
Who is the girl who wears your lingerie? (If you could describe a certain type)
I can’t really describe a certain girl who would buy my lingerie. The truth is, I get a very wide range of girls/women buying from me. I’ve had mothers, models, teenagers, girls with or without tattoos buy from me. I think everyone should wear cute lingerie! More people need to appreciate fancy panties.
What are you most excited about, in conjunction with being a part of the 10th Annual Northern Ink Xposure festival?
I’m most excited about the God's Girls fashion show! I made 14 brand new outfits specifically for them, so it will be a lot of fun working with such a great group of ladies. It will be great to meet a whole new crowd of people, too!
