A Summer In Quarantine

After finding out my internship at Urban Outfitters was cancelled, I had no idea what do to with myself. The world seemed to have turned upside-down over night. I had an entire, unstructured summer ahead of me full of doubt and uncertainty. 

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However, after a few days, I realized I was surrounded by a plethora of opportunities. My room was full to the brim with art supplies. This was the perfect chance to work on projects I had put to the back of my mind. 

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I've always had a passion for clothes: waking up and deciding what to wear never fails to be the most exciting part of my day. But I wanted to go beyond that and customize my clothes more to my liking. I wanted clothes that felt more a part of me.

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What started as a small project transformed my summer. I generated interest on my social media and had commissioned work lined up for months. I explored sustainable alternatives to traditional consumption and developed a passion for up-cyling. 

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I am extremely privileged to have been in a position where I was able to create work in a time of great turmoil. By no means should a quarantine come with the expectation of being your most productive self and I consider myself fortunate to have had the space to explore and develop these projects. 

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Custom Stitches

After posting about a hoodie I had added stitching to for fun, a few friends reached out to me and asked if they could have their own. â€‹Soon after that, more people were reaching out to me asking for custom hoodies until I was entirely booked for the summer.

 

Each hoodie is hand embroidered and personalized. This was an insightful venture where I learned first hand basic principles of freelance work. 

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ボロジャケット

boro jacket​

One of my goals this past summer was to be a more conscious consumer. I made a promise to myself to buy significantly less clothing. So, I started making my own.  

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This jacket is made from recycled jeans, all of which were either going to be donated or thrown away. 

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This patchwork style mimics the traditional Japanese boro, which means "ragged" or "tattered." Historically, boro was born out of a necessity to patch and rework textiles and fabrics in order to extend its use. 

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Although not entirely a necessity anymore, the philosophy of boro remains relevant today more than ever: something new can be made out of something that already exists, and there is undeniable beauty in the ragged and torn. 

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2006

I spent all of quarantine in the house I grew up in. On days when I itched for something to do, I would flip through old journals that I had written in, one of which I wrote when I was 7 years old. 

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Drawing and writing have both been fundamental to my growth and were the first creative outlets I found comfort in. As a way to pay homage to the initial stages of that growth, I preserved some of the drawings on a hoodie. 

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Pending Projects...

Projects I am currently sewing, destroying, mending, and altering :) 

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