Fossick Studio

I love to use reclaimed materials of all kinds. Fabrics, salvaged clothing, and industrial items talk to me - they tell me what to do with them, and which colors, patterns, shapes, and materials I should combine together. I find recycling centers super exciting, and the endless possibilities of all of the items in them just waiting to be found and used.

I started wearing vintage clothing in the 1980s when I discovered an awesome paisley shirt in a thrift store. My love for textiles, color, and pattern started right there! In the 1990s while working for Greenpeace I upcycled vintage garments and sold them at markets. From there I went on to study fashion design, then costume design at college where I learned how to sew, dye, hand bead, upcycle, screen print, and embellish textiles to create one-off garments.

In Australia I worked in the feature film, TV, and theater industry for more than 15 years, and I developed my passion for transforming textiles there, as well as a love for creative teamwork, and community arts engagement. While studying my BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), I transitioned from low impact dyes to natural dyes, and I also started to think about the small amount of sustainable materials used in the art and craft world.

For three years I taught various textile workshops to members of the Chicago community, as well as sustainable fashion summer courses to 10 - 13 year old students at SAIC. During these classes, we spent a lot of time discussing design industry sustainability issues, how to make ethical choices when purchasing items, zero waste design, safe working environments, upcycling craft choices, and creative entrepreneurship.

With Fossick, I want to share my love of colors, patterns and reclaimed textiles by offering fun, vibrant, and sustainable materials for your creative endeavors. I specialize in color and pattern combinations, which is why I started the "color collage" packs. These are so much fun to put together, as I adore combining patterns and textures.

My other passion is developing new materials from textile and plant waste, and figuring out how to make bio-plastics and bio-leathers to create bio-compostable materials, sequins, beads, and yarns.