Home is? A place where I can just be.

How would your perfect day go? The perfect day… would be waking up with the sun 65 degrees for the low and 75 for the high mostly sunny. I would spend the first few hours of the day drinking coffee with eggs, working in the garden, and contemplating the future. Feeling invigorated from my accomplishments in the garden I would take a shower and make love to my partner. The energy created from the love would fill me up with creative ambition. Moving into the spacious studio filled with light I would start by sketching and move into playing with materials and colors. It’s in the creating that I find the most joy and peace in my life. Time flies by while I am in a fit of creation, after several hours I am satisfied with what I have fashioned and ready to move into the delight of the early evening. We would find a nice stop on the beach to play with the dog and swim. We start the fire just as the sun begins to leave the sky in the most breathtaking sunset you have ever witnessed. Snuggled up with fresh food, a blanket, and wine friends arrive to play music and the evening turns to night. We find a safe ride home and sleep like statues. (I wonder what my dream day would be if you asked me in a different season.)

How would you describe your personal style? This is the hardest question. My best answer is that my personal style is evolving and revolving. I am a preppy, hippie, high fashion, punk.

What is it that you do? In an effort to not be vague I will lay out what a week of my life looks like. I spend 40hrs a week managing an amazing thrift store. Most of my time in the shop is spent organizing, socializing with volunteers and accepting donations. The evenings after work I spend in my home fashion studio designing up-cycled clothing and accessories. When I am not at the sewing machine I am email with the factory in PA that is producing a line of wool and cotton backpacks made of r wool remains from the Woolrich and American made denim from Missori. Backpacks will be onset in August. I will be spending my Saturday’s at the Chilmark flea market selling my works and Sunday’s are just for me. 

Tell us about Humane Imperfection, what does this name mean to you? How did you come up with this brand? This past winter I spent a lot of time working with second hand materials in preparation for teaching an up-cycle design class for winter 2016. I was working with leather and it made me think about ethical sourcing and how to make such a loved and highly used material humane. It came to me while I was shopping for materials in a thrift shop and kept come up on out of date leather trench coats selling for $9 “reusing leather is the only way that one could describe a leather product as humane” With this idea kicking around in my mind I felt empowered to create without judgment. I posted one of my creations on my Instagram. I didn’t feel that my product was perfect but it was nice so I made the play on words and hash tagged “humane” “imperfection”. I started thinking about the possibilities of this phrase as a business name and what this phrase could mean about a brand. What I am trying to tell my clients through there perception of the name is that Our business will being doing it’s best to promote sustainable fashion, living wages, and ethical sourcing. My literal translation “we are doing our best to raise the bar and except the flaws that make life beautiful”

Where do you find inspiration for your designs? I still believe there is more to be done with fashion. I have heard people say that everything in fashion has been done. I am inspired by the new that springs from the old I believe it is entirely new to be creating clothing from discarded old things. We have been stuck in the culture of new and now is the time for re-new.

Do you like to recycle items when you are designing your products? I like to use things that are taking up space in your closet and making them into something you love and use. So, yes recycling is a large portion of what I do and I think it is very important.

Who has influenced you most? I feel like this is the acceptance speech question.

My mother

My sister’s

My boss’s

My mentors

My friends

3 Fashion icons are…

Vivienne Westwood

Gwen Stefani

Chloe Sovigny

When are you the happiest? On the beach or a hike with loved ones.

Anything you would like to say to the world? Stay classy Martha’s Vineyard … Recycle.