Tag: Coats

Upcycled Coats and Hats Hit the Catwalk at the 19th ArtWear Biennial

The 19th ArtWear Biennial at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, a national juried exhibit and fashion show, features four of Screen Door Studios upcycled coats and ten hats. It is an honor to be chosen for this event and have my creations alongside the work of other gifted wearable art artists. 

Screen Door Studios upcycled coats and hats were part of a theatrical fashion show and are currently on sale at the Lincoln Center. The 19th ArtWear Biennial is dedicated to highlighting the work of wearable art artists. The goal of the show is to present innovative and wearable art of the highest quality. It also provides a forum for artists to share their enthusiasm for an exploration of techniques and materials. 

The 19th ArtWear Biennial sale continues at the Lincoln Center October 24, 25, and  26th from 12-6 PM and proceeds will be donated to the Lincoln Center Visual Arts Program.  

In addition, I have been invited to be a part of Technique Tables were I will share how I make my bottle cap bead jewelry and embellish my hats on Saturday October 26th from 12-3 PM at the Lincoln Center.  I invite all of you to stop by and visit and take in the fabulous clothes of this exhibit.

Fashion Choices Heat Up The Planet

What you wear and what you buy and how you buy your clothes impacts the planet. It’s shocking to learn the apparel and footwear industries are responsible for 8 percent of the global climate impact.  Total greenhouse gas emissions related to textile production are equal to 1.2 billion tons annually or more than all international flights and maritime shipping trips combined each year. Fast fashion is leading the charge on this impact and that means your clothing choices can have a negative or positive impact on global warming.

Upcycling and repurposing used clothing is one creative way to reduce your carbon footprint and something I have been doing for 10 years. Out of wool sweaters, ties, shirts, socks, wool blankets, coats, jackets, buttons, bottle caps, zippers, resistors, floppy disc centers, old aluminum coins, fabric scraps, aluminum cans and other curiosities, I have designed a line of upcycled clothing and created a line of bottle cap bead jewelry. Most of the materials I use in my art practice are recycled and repurposed. 

For my line of clothing, I cannibalize wool sweaters to make my hats. Every part of the sweater is used for making hats and the leftover pieces are fashioned into flowers, polka dots and birds for decoration. The ribbing of the sweaters become tree trunks and leaves. I even save the labels of all the sweaters I cut up and use them for embellishment. In the end, the entire sweater has been used for in some way in my fashion line. 

My line of shirts and coats are repurposed and embellished with embroidery, buttons, rosettes made out of men’s ties or socks, lace dollies or whatever suits my fancy. I am always on the lookout for new ways to use cast off items in my line of clothing and jewelry.  Each item in my line of clothing and jewelry is a unique, one-of-a-kind creation and eco-friendly.