Without naming it as such, I have been a creative reuse artist since college, always using thrifted and reclaimed materials. I grew up in a creative reuse household, living with antiques and secondhand furniture and clothing both out of necessity and I believe my mother’s own ethic of value and creativity. I am proud to say that in the seven years my husband and I have lived in our home we have furnished it almost entirely from secondhand sources and have not purchased new any major pieces of furniture.
The one commodity that I have, until recently, been almost entirely dedicated to buying new was clothing. Perhaps in part because I grew up in so many hand-me-downs, I became as an adult almost unable to stand the idea of wearing someone else's garments. This does not however mean I paid a high price for what I purchased. I have always been a chronic sale rack shopper a frequenter of places like Marshalls and TJ Maxx and I am even afraid to say no stranger to grabbing a shirt or sweater at Target when running in for ‘necessities.’ As a result, I have amassed a fairly random collection of clothing that often suffers from poor quality and henceforth I am always looking for new pieces to replace the style that’s not quite right and the piece that got a hole in the sleeve way too soon.
It finally occurred to me that this kind of shopping was not satisfying and did not seem to jibe with the more sustainable ethic I have long been trying to cultivate in the rest of my life. So in March of last year, 2015, I decided I would not purchase any new clothing for the rest of the year, thrifting and remaking only. I made it to the beginning of August. Not bad for a first attempt, but as the rest of the year carried on and I began to fall back into my old shopping habits I realized that I really wanted to make a significant change in this area of my life.
So here I am again, as of January 1st 2016 pledging not to purchase any new clothing for an entire year. Anything purchased must be from a secondhand source.
I am enthusiastic about this project because I see it as a way of redesigning my relationship to clothing and consumer responsibility. And as a creative project. I grew up in front of a sewing machine but there is plenty of skill I have yet to learn, this challenge will definitely offer that opportunity. I am counting on Beth Huntington to help me, her great blog, The Renegade Seamstress and published book are fabulous resources on remaking thrifted and otherwise unwearable garments.
In addition to clothing I am also tagging on art and other creative materials, all must be purchased from secondhand sources. This is to further challenge myself as a sustainably conscious artist, and in all truthfulness to force myself to use up much of the ‘junk’ I have been collecting for years.
In this space I will share my progress and projects, but keep in mind this is an experiment so I am not entirely sure what that will look like yet. I don’t necessarily plan on posting regular tutorials on how to convert your husband’s old shirt into a smart pencil skirt, there are already some wonderful sources doing that. What I envision more are ‘food for thought’ style posts and projects, a bit more about the process and maybe the great links I find when I do finally get around to cutting up those old shirts.
So please wish me luck and if you are so inspired share your own ideas, you can join me here and on instagram #ayearofreuse
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