Written by Andrea Olmsted Over the last few decades, as the growth of the $900 billion dollar global fashion industry has skyrocketed, we’ve seen the greatest degradation of our soil and sea. Such impacts include market-driven agricultural practices contributing to the loss of viable soil carbon, while fast fashion’s reliance on fossil-fuel derived fibers — […]
Read MoreCategory: Designers
Engaging Art & Nature with Spiritplay Toys
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish On the winding road that leads to the wild coastal shore of Sonoma County, CA, you will reach the quaint, sleepy town of Bodega. Nestled between the world-famous Northern Light Surf Shop and Colleen’s Coffee Shop lies the toy studio. A small cedar-shingled shack with a red-painted door and […]
Read MoreWeaving Expression with Gather the Universe
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish As Mary Diaz works at her loom, it’s not clear if she’s the one weaving or if it’s the large ornate spider on her arm that is weaving her. “Weaving is a great metaphor for my life, “Mary says. “To me, the spider humbly embodies the beauty in the […]
Read MoreStitching Texture and Connection with Carol Lee Shanks
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish Carol Lee Shanks has been creating unique sculptural clothing and wearable art since 1983. She curates thoughtful and intimate spaces for people to enter her world within her studio and showroom by appointment, or whenever she debuts a new collection. In a two-story building on a quiet road in […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community
Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read MoreWeaving as a Way of Life at Oakland Fiber
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish By the time Sheng Lor was old enough to go to school, she already knew how to embroider. Born into the Hmong culture of Laos, the Oakland Fiber founder grew up within a culture that sees sewing, indigo batik and dying, and the intricacy of embroidery as highly regarded […]
Read MoreBringing the Supply Chain to Life with California Cloth Foundry
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish From the land where the cotton is grown to the spinning mills where it becomes yarn, to the manufacturing facilities that form fabric and fashion; from the hands of the farmers to the mill workers, from dyers to designers, and makers to wearers, Lydia Wendt works from this eagle-eyed […]
Read More4 Simple Guidelines from the Fibershed Clothing Guide
Written by Jess Daniels based on the Fibershed Clothing Guide, available now as a free download Visuals created with Paige Green Photography except for the microplastic image courtesy of the Rozalia Project It’s an everyday act: rise in the morning and slip on something to wear. Regardless of personal style, age, or activities in our […]
Read MoreAll of Her Own Making: Designer and Fiber Artist Keyaira Terry
Written by Sasha Wirth and photographed by Paige Green Bark, seaweed, and dried artichokes might not seem like typical materials to pair with soft tufts of wool, but in the hands of designer Keyaira Marie Terry, they become transformed, coming together naturally in her modern fiber art and woven goods. “My pieces are tactile. They […]
Read MoreCare For Cloth, Care For Good with GDS Cloth Goods
Written by May Reid Marr & Photographed by Paige Green Headquartered at the Werkshack in uptown, Oakland, GDS Cloth Goods is the design and production studio by Geana Sieburger. A vibrant environment filled with makers of all types, it allows Geana to do her often solitary work in the company of a creative community and […]
Read More