5th Season

As a new adventure and challenge in my life, I have begun handcrafting custom-made bags. The materials I use to create my bags come from unwanted clothing and discarded fabric from fabric stores. My inspiration for establishing a "5th Season" for these materials came from the observation that every year during apartment move-out week, tenants discard thousands of clothes that are still in perfectly fine condition. Also, when I became aware that large fabric stores throw away yards upon yards of fabric each day, I could no longer justify purchasing new fabric to serve my sewing pursuits. Thus, I began a mission to divert these materials from the landfill and extend their life by creatively transforming them into useful products!

My very first creation was a yoga mat bag made from a pair of pants that no longer fit me. I have subsequently expanded my product line to include book totes, shoulder bags, lunch bags, messenger bags, diaper bags, and coin purses. I would also love to turn your clothes of sentimental value (i.e. pair of pants you've worn through grade school; your grandmother's dress) into bags you will use everyday. It will put it to good use and will bring back great memories every time you use it!

I wanted to start this not only because I enjoy designing and sewing, but because I want to educate and inspire people to be more creative with their material possessions. We are consuming at alarming rates and are surpassing the sustainable limits of extraction and disposal into our environment. So many items serve only one purpose and are then discarded. From my creations, I hope to inspire people to look at their belongings and realize that the materials can be reused in a whole new way than their original intended purpose. I want to provide inspiration to reduce consumption, to reduce waste in our already jam-packed landfills, to make people think twice before throwing anything else away, and to find the alternative uses that their belongings can serve.