[MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, I'm Kim Dylla.
I am a heavy metal seamstress, and wardrobe tyrant,
of rock and metal.
I run Kylla Custom Rockwear, which
dresses metal and rock bands around the world,
right here from Charlottesville.
I've played in bands for 10 years
and always made my own stage clothes.
Through that I made a lot of friends
in the industry and other bands that were bigger.
I was getting three or four orders a week
for several hundred dollars, just not even trying.
For once I was making something that everyone wanted.
I learned how to make it myself from salvaged leather
and materials.
I would buy old thrift store jackets,
and cut out the leather, and put it
to control systems, and paint on it, and destroy it.
And a lot of people that designed things for stage,
they make it costume quality.
You have to make it out of really
strong, reinforced material.
We have dressed, pretty much, all the big metal
bands out there.
Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Cradle of Filth,
Dimmu Borgir, Slipknot.
No matter what size they are, and how famous they are,
they just have to pay the same amount of money
and get in line.
I have a business partner who works for me full time, now,
in Richmond.
Her name's [? Lori ?] [? Lay, ?] and she's amazing.
She does more of the sewing, and I
do more of the client interaction and design.
Ray Brown is my fashion idol.
He dressed Judas Priest, Motley Crue, and Guns N' Roses back
in their classic, heyday.
Definitely UVA fostered my creative spirit,
and confidence, with coming up with projects.
And definitely taught me to put in long hours
working on something.
I think it was the best thing I ever
did was just taking that leap of faith
to try to see if I could support myself with this.
It's great to see something that I invented,
and I started, and it's my vision on stage
in front of 100,000 people.
It's cool to get an email from Bob
from Texas that ordered his jacket for his local band
and how happy he is with it.
That makes it all worthwhile.
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