Who's Behind the Hanger
About me
Olá! My name is Joana, and I’m the founder, CEO, creative director, seamstress, shipper, and social media manager (and probably a few other things I’m forgetting) at Faceless Queen. I create, find, upcycle, and transform pre-loved clothing items, and make accessories from used materials that serve as decorations for your home as well as additions to your outfits.
Although I’m still learning, I don’t sew by machine. For me, hand-sewing is a way of turning inward; it’s about being at peace and in harmony with the piece I’m restoring or transforming—it’s a kind of meditation that has been part of my daily life for many years and has helped me a great deal during difficult times, whether due to depression or, more recently, fibromyalgia.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been surrounded by rags, and I was lucky enough, as a child, to have a magical trunk full of clothes and fabrics from days gone by and an attic full of wonderful things, often without knowing what they were, what they were for, or where they came from. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to bring a little of that magic into my wardrobe—and now, into yours as well.
About the Pieces
Due to my fibromyalgia, some pieces are sewn by a seamstress I trust. The
quality of the work—whether the pieces are sewn by hand or by machine—is different, but neither is better nor worse than the other, nor will one last longer than the other; that will always depend on how the pieces are washed
and cared for. What they undoubtedly have in common is the dedication and care with which they were made, restored, mended, or even just found and cleaned, and the pleasure of showing that these pieces of clothing or accessories still have plenty of life ahead of them and will surely make someone feel really good—if not downright happy—just as they do for me.
Almost all the items offered here are pre-loved, and all were purchased secondhand from online stores, brick-and-mortar shops, and flea markets. Just like most of the components used in Relicário’s pieces, the lace, buttons, and other embellishments are also secondhand or came from other clothes that were no longer wearable, with a few exceptions.
All pre-loved clothing items are sanitized, so you can wear them with complete confidence as soon as you receive them. Pre-loved clothing items that are new and still have their original tags are not sanitized, so I recommend washing them before wearing them.
The premise of F.Q.
My motto has long been “to do a lot with a little,” but the truth is that this “little” is immense!
In a world where we’re driven to have more, to spend more, to show off more, we’re gradually losing the ability to build, to invent or reinvent, to create. It’s true that everything has already been invented, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do new things. We’ve never had so many resources, nor have we ever had access to as much material as we do today, as well as the information we might need to do what we set out to do.
So, the premise of F.Q. is this: to make the most of what already exists, what has been discarded, to make the old new again and the used usable once more. To reappropriate, if necessary, an object from its original intent and give it a new purpose (thank you, Marcel Duchamp for showing us that). To build a new world without discarding the old.