Hi, my name is Jason O’Toole.

Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, i’ve been living on the Gold Coast since 2019.

Fronkensteen originated in late 2013, with the original idea centering around the reconfiguration of several different shirts that i’d purchased at various op-shops around Adelaide. As i didn’t own a sewing machine at the time (or have any real sewing experience), once i had dismantled the shirts, i had someone professionally sew them back together in a different order. A dozen or so of these shirts were made in total before the project was shelved.

In May 2023, i saw a tea towel jacket on display in a museum in Murwillumbah, New South Wales. This jacket comprised of several Australian tea towels depicting various images of Australian flora and fauna. I was immediately impressed by what i saw and decided to try my hand at it, but instead focus on specific Australian themes. Twelve months earlier i’d made a wearable magpie mascot for my son’s basketball team, so with these new skills, i was confident i could put together a jacket (eventually).

After collecting as many suitable tea towels i could get my hands on (mostly via ebay), and purchasing a pattern as a guide, i started work on my first jacket in early July. I didn’t own a sewing machine, but a work colleague was kind enough to lend me her Janome DC2030. By the July 14, i’d completed the jacket, although it wouldn’t be until my third jacket that i finally figured out how to properly sew the inner lining of the torso (the hood i figured out by the second jacket). Once i’d finished my seventh jacket, i purchased my own sewing machine (also a Janome DC2030).