Producing clothing and other sewn goods locally and sustainaly is no easy task, particularly in our global age. Yet there are still dreamers and doers out there actually making things on their own turf—and their own terms. This episode, Christine catches up with Libby O'Bryan, an artist and founder of the Western Carolina Sewing Company (a.k.a. Sew Co.), a full-service cut-and-sew manufacturer of high quality clothing and other products. Sew Co. operates out of the Oriole Mill, in Hendersonville, NC. Check out episode #15 to learn more about this amazing Jacquard mill.

#16: Going Local with the Western Carolina Sewing Company

Each episode Christine Cyr Clisset, of the sewing blog daughterfish.com, interviews creators and makers in the home sewing, fashion, and textile communities, ranging from independent pattern and textile designers, to couture experts and museum curators.

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

A current exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum explores how Georgia O'Keeffe used her wardrobe and photographs taken of her to help craft her public image. Christine talks with guest curator Wanda M. Corn about how she came upon a trove of the artist's clothes (many of which O'Keeffe sewed by hand), and how O'Keeffe applied her modern aesthetic to nearly every facet of her life. The show runs through July 23, 2017 in Brooklyn. It will travel to two more museums: the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston Salem, North Carolina Aug. 18-Nov. 17, 2017; and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem Massachusetts Dec. 16-April 1, 2018. Outro: "Beast on the Soil," Desert Orchard by Blue Dot Sessions.    

#42 Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern, with Wanda M. Corn

Rosie Martin, the force behind DIYcouture, discusses her new book  No Patterns Needed, a collection of patternless sewing designs based on squares, circles, and rectangles. Rosie shares how she started designing patternless fashions, her favorite indie patterns to sew from, and where she likes to go for inspiration in London, her hometown. Outro: “Summer Fun” by Scott Holmes

#41 Geometric Patterns with Rosie Martin of DIYcouture

Jessica Rosenkrantz, co-founder of Nervous System, a generative design studio, discusses her work creating 3D-printed clothing. Nervous System has collaborated with New Balance to make 3D-printed midsoles for sneakers, and they've also designed several 3D-printed dresses, the most recent of which was commissioned by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for their #techstyle exhibit. Jessica and Christine talk about how 3D printing clothing works, and about Nervous System's innovative technique for printing a dress in one full piece. Outro: "Lift off" by Jahzzar. 

#40 3D-Printed Clothing with Nervous System

Sewing blogger and upholsterer Sonja Gingerich (of Ginger Makes) recently started an online fabric shop, Hell Gate Fabrics, specializing in fabrics that are healthier for the environment. Christine caught up with Sonja to chat about career transitions and the murky world of textile sourcing. Outro: "Redhead" by Jahzzar.

#39 Better Fabrics with Sonja Gingerich

Filmmaker Vicki Vasilopoulos discusses her documentary, Men of the Cloth, which follows three Italian master tailors in the U.S. and Italy. Christine and Vicki also chat about her newest project, The Little Dress: A Journey of Hope, that will tell the story of a 100-year-old woman who sews a dress a day for girls in Malawi. Outro:”Where the River Run” by Ketsa.

#16: Going Local with the Western Carolina Sewing Company

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