The Brothership Building Window curated by Berkshire Art Center (formerly IS183 Art School of the Berkshires) will feature Rags to Riches Textile Upcycling by Crispina ffrench for the month of May.

Artist Statement:

My passion is focused on upcycling textiles and rethinking every aspect of fashion through a lens dosed with creative ingenuity. I believe that the accessibility of textile upcycling deems it a gateway to a world in environmental balance. We need environmental balance…

Did you know that fashion is the second most environmentally harmful industry on planet Earth? Second only, to the petroleum industry - Oil and Gas.  (This is kinda ironic because 65% of new fabric manufactured today is polyester - which is a petroleum product.)

Scientists say that we have a decade to diminish carbon emissions to address climate change and prolong human comfort on planet Earth. Some people are waiting for corporations to make instrumental changes and lead the way. Others think governments will lead the way - setting and enforcing environmental standards for corporate giants as well as citizens.

We, the people, have power.  We don’t have to wait around for someone else to take action, (or watch infuriating inaction), we can make instrumental change with a simple action - paying attention to the clothing we wear, buy, discard, repair, reuse, and make. You can be an integral part of what is right in the world.

Artist Bio:

Witnessing the unfolding of a global shift in how we consume textiles rocks my world and affirms my lifelong commitment to environmental optimism. My underlying purpose is to change the way the world consumes textiles by spotlighting creative ingenuity, individual responsibility, and pronoia (the idea that the universe is showering us with blessings)

I began using wool sweaters from the thrift store to make stuffed toys called Ragamuffins as a college student in 1987.  They sold like hotcakes and two years after graduating from Mass Art, my company, Crispina Designs, Inc. grew to manufacture clothing and home goods and employ 40.  We sold to over 350 international retail outlets including Fiourucci, Designers Guild, ABC Carpet and Home and Bergdorff Goodman.

Back then, people were a little freaked out by the idea of using other people’s old clothing to make new things… A LOT of patience was mustered and gentle (and sometimes humorous) education ensued - acceptance was shaky at first, buoyed by the advent of curbside blue bins in the 1990s.

Slow and steady…

Then, in 1995 I was invited to present my ‘zero-waste’ business at the Social Venture Network’s annual conference where I met Ben and Jerry, Eileen Fisher, Wangari Maathai, and many others who have remained lifelong friends. Patagonia invited me to work with their design team to develop product from their manufacturing waste later that same year. The following year, 1996, the SBA crowned me a Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Large volume textile waste upcycling projects followed with Timberland, Crate and Barrel, Eileen Fisher, and American Apparel.

It was clear and super exciting that my business model was fresh and getting attention.  There was a small and growing awareness and acknowledgement that consumerism as a concept is flawed.  My mission to change the way we consume textiles seemed viable.

Over the next few years addressing global textile waste became daunting.  The overwhelming and exponential growth of textile waste presented as global crisis. Time for me to brainstorm ways to approach and institute global change in a more accessible, efficient and effective manner.

In 2009 my teaching book The Sweater Chop Shop, published by Storey, taught my super accessible process AND built recognition and credibility beyond my circle of retailers and their customers. Inspired by the resounding response to my book, and my passion for creating global impact, I shifted away from production and leaned into teaching my process. 

Online and in-person retreats became my focus, traveling internationally to teach and spread creative textile upcycling as a concept. Today my attention is on building Stitcherhood, an online community for textile upcycling entrepreneurs building financially viable businesses; Hosting Rags to Riches podcast and annual virtual summit building awareness and spotlighting creative endeavors addressing the issue. 

I steer clear of the doom and gloom environmental catastrophe mentality, believing that empowering creativity and joy is a much better way to move toward an achievable goal.  

If you wanna check me out online, you can find me at www.Crispina.eco, www.RagstoRiches.eco and on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn @Crispinaffrench