originals2di4

I up-cycle clothing, fabric, jewelry and treasures found at thrift stores, garage sales and estate auctions. I recently saw a documentary and read several articles about the amount of clothing that is currently going into landfills and being dropped off at beaches and deserts. The amount is staggering and it broke my heart because I was a guilty party in being addicted to “fast fashion.” I decided to dust off the sewing skills my grandmother taught me as a young girl and my art degrees to embark on a journey saving the world “one outfit or treasure” at a time. Once I started, my passion project came to me “Self Talk Bracelets”. I realized that all too often we talk meanest to ourself. At times, I’ve felt like the scraps left from the pieces I was creating: useless, unneeded, left behind, etc. However, the scraps put together can become something beautiful. I created the bracelets as a reminder that it truly matters what we say to ourselves. We need to be kinder, not only to others, but to ourself as well because we are all worthy and beautiful. In diving into the world of up-cycling, I realized that like people; clothing, fabric, jewelry or treasures, are never too old, too forgotten,  discarded or trashed without purpose. They can all be recreated into a different, newer, rethought version of themselves.   Upcycling is a way of looking at the discarded pieces with creative loving eyes, and with passion and a mad spark of genius creating something new and valuable.