i know what it takes to move on, i know how it feels to lie, all i want to do is trade this life for something new

Let's start this interview with easy questions. What's your name, age and what do you do for a living?

"Those really are easy questions. Yeah, so hi, I'm Rosemarie Knightley. If I look familiar but the name doesn't ring a bell then you might know me as Rose Dawn. I purposely put out my work under my first and middle name because I realized early on to my horror that nobody could remember my last name correctly. Right this minute I am twenty-one years old. I celebrated my birthday on the 17th of August, so lock that date away if you want to be a sweetheart and get me a present. My reason for living is fashion designing. I worked in a design factory back at home and here I fix up, resize and make custom clothes."

That's wonderful. Now tell me whatever you feel comfortable with about how you grew up.

"Whatever I'm comfortable with? That's so sweet of you. Since you're not being pushy I don't mind laying it all out there. I'm a New Zealand girl at heart. I was born in Wellington and I lived there for about half of my life so far. My parents met really young and had their fist child when they were twenty. I was second born and a first daughter. I have an older brother and a younger sister. That had it's advantages and disadvantages, but I'm glad for it now. As you can probably guess being a daughter meant that I was watched over like a hawk. My parents and brother were intensely concerned about every little thing I did. You would've thought by the way they reacted when I skinned my knee that I'd lost a limb. I was very sheltered. I know their intentions weren't malicious, but when you keep your daughter away from anything and anyone that could compromise the values you're trying to instill in her that's going to cause a problem. My homeschooling was exactly that. They wanted to make sure that I was being raised in accordance with what they believed - which by that I mean good manners and to get married, have the perfect family, as they do.
Knightley is Jewish, in case you were wondering. But anyway, they thought it would be a great thing for me, and all it did was backfire. When my mom couldn't keep up with the material she needed to teach me anymore in seventh grade I was sent to public school as a "last resort" type of situation. It was rough. Really rough. Not only did I have problems connecting with my classmates but I also had a big red target on my back because I was the chunky kid. The teasing I had to endure ruined middle school for me. I wish I was joking. As horrible as those two years were I couldn't let it break my spirit. My dad who is the bleeding heart of our family - if you'd call it that - was the one who signed me up for boxing. My mom screamed about it for...a week? Maybe two. It was a long time. She was terrified I was going to get beaten to a pulp or that the lessons would make me more prone to violence. Not true, by the way. I've never been a punch first, ask questions later girl. I have to give my dad credit where it's due. If he hadn't brought up boxing I don't know that I would've been motivated enough to get into shape or get back my confidence. That sport meant a lot to me and it still does. Indirectly, it might be the ego boost I got out of it that pushed me to be more bold and live how I wanted to, not how my parents or society thought I should.

Wow. That's quite a story, but I'd love to hear more about your career.

"Right, right. You don't need to hear me ramble on about how amazing my family is for another hour. I ended up getting my foot in the door with Scoop - New Zealand's fashion design for women, because of the college I attended. I went to an arts school based in Wellington close to where I used to live, fashion being my main focus naturally. After the first year and a half of my associate's degree I signed up for an internship that was set up through my school. They ultimately matched me with the company where I interned for about six months. It was a lot of busy work at the start, some shadowing and what not, but eventually they let me be more hands on with the creative process. Out of, I think it was six interns? Six sounds right. I was the one they offered a job to. I started working there when I was nineteen, right after graduation. Scoop was my home away from home for two years and I was starting to get some real seniority to back me up. I had more say about design concepts and the models who wore the designs, but full creative control still didn't look like it would ever be on the horizon. There's always going to be somebody higher up in the industry that has the final say. Even though it was frustrating when my concepts got shot down I wouldn't let it affect me or my job because at least they were giving me some kind of say rather than nothing. They tried to work with me, and that compromise was what made me fall in love with Scoop. Sadly, I took them for granted when I accepted the voyage/job on Titanic.The pay was better and my body of work was going to reach a much wider audience. What designer in their right mind wouldn't want that? But the grief I've been given since settling into my new position makes me feel like I'm in middle school all over again.  It's turned my artistic heaven into hell. It's gotten so out of control I actually dread going to work on some days. My ego is shot, my stress is through the roof, and to top it all off I've taken up smoking again. I don't know what to do anymore..."

Wow...I'm sorry. Let's try to lighten this up! Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of your job?

"I feel like I'm cheating to list this as a hobby separate from my job, but I do photography. In the professional sense I've stuck with fashion for as long as I know, but independently I've been jumping head first into surrealism. The entire category is engaging and whimsical. It gives me the ability to push the limits of what's perceived to be normal and use skills I haven't otherwise whipped out a lot. It's for fun more than anything. I'm in love with it. Full blown head over heels in love with it. I'm still involved heavily with boxing. It's a great way to get my blood pumping and keep me on my toes. I know some people who look at me like I'm Charles Manson insane when I tell them that working out leaves me happier and feeling like I'm floating on a cloud, but I can't help it. My body can take that kind of pressure and come out on the other side feeling better than before. Let's keep this last part off the record... but just between you and me because I like you, I really like going to the shooting range. I'm not much of a hunter. I tried it once with a friend and it was one of the worst things I'd ever experienced. It was cold out, we had to be quiet so we didn't scare away the animals... and the wait. All of it sucked. What I find enjoyable about it is being able to go somewhere that nobody is going to bother me and I can shoot off some rounds in a safe environment and unleash some stress. I'm not anywhere close to an NRA basket case. If the government turned around tomorrow and told me I can't have a gun, I'd be fine with that. Take it for all I care. It's just something to do, but for a lot of reasons I skip over mentioning how much I love it to people. It gives off really bad vibe, then I get the 'I'm avoiding you forever because I'm afraid one day I'll piss you off and you'll murder me' reaction. I made that mistake once. Never again I tell you."

Amazing. I would've never guessed. It sounds like you're very health concious. Is that important to you?

"It's more like a side effect of how I've always pictured living my life and based on how I was raised. You can't have a full time Monday through Friday job in a competitive industry and be hazy all the time. There's no wiggle room for designers with addictions. Sooner or later you're going to get cut out of the picture and clawing your way up the second time is a bigger fight than doing it right the first time. So short answer is that I don't do drugs or drink. Well occasionally a glass of wine or champagne but nothing as drastic as getting drunk. Anything that can alter my mind is out of the question. I like to stay sharp, not only because of my career but also due to the fact that I'm always trying to expand my knowledge. Art school wasn't the end of it for me. I've taken a class at a time at the community college for around four or five months on various studies. The way I see it is that you should always be aiming to improve yourself, otherwise you stalemate. The one stupid habit I did pick up when I was nineteen was smoking. There was a lot of stress I was experiencing at work out of fear that I might lose my job, and somehow cigarettes became my substitute for working out. I'm embarrassed to admit I fell into that hole, but I did get better. I put my foot down last year and told myself I was going to quit finally and up my days at the gym to compensate. It was hell, even with the stupid nicotine patches and gum, but I overcame my nasty habit for a while. Now I wish I still felt empowered enough to say no when my problems start looming too closely for comfort."

How do your friends and family describe you? I'd like more insight to who you are.

"Insight? I can give you that since you asked so nicely. My friends like to highlight how wildly motivated I am in most pockets of my life. When I'm on the clock I feel like I work harder than most of the people in my department at the company, and the dedication I have towards my hobbies runs deep. If I was told tomorrow I couldn't do any of it there would be no reason for me to continue living. I'm that passionate about it. For a lot of personal reasons that I've touched on I'm firm about standing my ground. I don't like to be talked down to, I don't like to be told that I'm wrong and you're right just because. Give me a reason. Persuade me to sway in your direction. You're not going to get away with standing with your arms crossed and expecting me to follow your lead. I'm extremely open to the idea of challenging what society sees as conventional norms. Don't misquote me here either. There are a lot of taboos that I feel strongly should stay that way, but some don't bother me at all like the polyamorous relationships. Nobody is being hurt in that situation. It's all about love between multiple people and nobody is of lesser value than the next. In case you couldn't guess I've never backed the idea of gender roles. Maybe I can give a tip of my hat to the fact that I'm attracted to all people and those kinds of stereotypes don't apply when you're in a relationship with somebody of the same sex, but I find it abhorrent either way. I'm not afraid to be the one to take initiative. If there's something sparking then it shouldn't be an issue if I want to ask a person out or pay on the first date just because I'm a woman. It shouldn't matter. My mom and dad like to brag about how intelligent I am. Their words, not mine. Though I suppose shelling out money to continue educating myself is a strong indicator that I'm just like they say. What I'd call it is curiosity. I like to be versed in multiple subjects because for me that is something interesting I can do. I suck up information like a sponge and refuse to let it go. The number one trait I personally would prefer to be highlighted is I'm easygoing. The flow of life is going to take you in all directions and the best thing you can do is tackle those hurdles as you're closing in on them, not before you can even see them on the horizon. I don't let my fears of the future slow me down today. That's not living to me. There needs to be a way to shake up the humdrum pace of life. Maybe I don't do it like most twenty-one year olds by getting pitch black drunk at a night club, but I have satisfying alternatives to an otherwise destructive way of living."

This interview wouldn't be complete if I didn't ask you about your love life. How is it?

"In a word: fulfilling. Being attracted to all kinds of people and not being held back by social convention has opened a lot of doors for me. I'd credit it to about half, if not more, of my relationships. Even more amazing to me than the people I've been with is the kind of connection I've found in so many of them. I don't like the term hopeless romantic, but it's the one that gets pinned to me a lot. How I see it is that I have a really open interpretation to what love and relationships are like. I'm not bound by the idea that every person I'm interested in requires this many dates before something monogamous can come out of it. There are people who I've felt like they are the missing piece of me and all that comes of it is a couple months of spending every waking moment together. There's no labels, it's allowed to grow by itself and be whatever it wants to be. Then when it's over, it's over, and we keep those dreamlike memories tucked away. There are times when I get some negative attention for how often people perceive that I'm with someone. It's not like I have a partner or a lover or a passing interest always at my side, but somehow that's the conclusion they come to. It's not very bothersome. It's more fascinating to me. I'd go out on a limb and say they see it that way because I'm unapologetically touchy with everyone. I love the feeling of being emotionally close to someone, but second to that would have to be physical closeness. It's completely in my nature to want to hold hands, hug, kiss and cuddle up. Even in a non-romantic sense I'm a very hands on person, which could explain why I gravitate toward people who aren't phased by that kind of intimacy. Whether it's platonic or not it makes me feel good, so I go with it."

Do you have any last words before we draw this to a close?

"Nope! I won't keep you here any longer. Thanks for the interview and it was a pleasure to meet you."