Press
Our (and Your) RISD
June 30th, 2010 3:23pm by Liisa Silander
Yesterday the Sundance Channel’s Full Frontal Fashion blog picked up on WNWN, the Providence-based nonprofit fashion collective started a year and a half ago by London Shirreff ’08 TX and friends. Named for the economically timely and impossible-to-refute adage “Waste Not Want Not,” the collective works to support and promote local artists who re-use ordinary materials – from fabric scraps to bullet casings – to make extraordinary clothing, jewelry and accessories.
Roughly 40 artists sell their wares through WNWN, including Kate Walsh ’08 IL, who made this Bullet Necklace, and Joan Wyand ’05 CR, whose wonderful Pigeon-legged Pants bring scraps of found fabric alive.
Sundance Channel
| 06/29/10 |
Hand-machine-knit sweater with reclaimed yarn, from Pretty Snake by Joseph Aaron Segal
Waste Not Want Not is a design collective out of Providence, Rhode Island, that specializes in creative reuse. While the “handmade” aesthetic often comes to mind when we hear the word reuse, these artists and designers don’t just cut up a few old T-shirts but rather apply sophisticated techniques — including machine knitting, shibori dying, and silk screening — to a range of leftover, discarded, unwanted, and recyclable materials (from T-shirts to cashmere to bullets) to create completely inspired and one-of-a-kind clothing, accessories, and jewelry.
WNWN began in January 2009 when Laura Shirreff (a.k.a. London) along with her Providence-based artistic peers started envisioning a fashion collective that would use recycled materials. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in textiles, London (who is originally from — you guessed it — the U.K.) stayed on at the school to work in the textiles department. Experiencing the luxury of access to textile-making equipment that few can afford, she was driven to serve the community by bringing back old-school resourceful attitudes and fundamental textile skills. While sales are currently online, the collective appears regularly at Providence events, organizes community classes, and provides equipment to local artisans while awaiting a permanent home.
Here are some of the highlights from the current collection:
Black dress with white bird print, hand-sewn from vintage fabric, Little Acorn by Katy Foley
Shibori-dyed stockings, hand-tie-dyed by Amanda Phelan
Quilted hot pants, hand-sewn from scrap and thrifted fabric by Joan Wyand
Bullet necklace, handcrafted from discarded bullet shells, Oliveselkie by Kate Walsh
Silver qipao, silk screen on thrifted qipao, Kora-Krit by Korakrit Arunanondchai.
Providence Monthly
November 2009
Rosanna Ortiz Sinel
November 16, 2009
Maggie Feuchter
Frequently, I find my job requires loads of creativity – and paper – in order to find a solution for any given project. The funny part about this is that the end result of these projects are all websites, which conversely, are what allow for “green” alternatives for otherwise traditionally paper-based services, like newspapers, bank statement delivery, and bill paying. Even though I work with conscientious collaborators, it never ceases to amaze me that at the end of each project I’m left with stacks and stacks of scribbled-on worksheets, notes and meetings agendas, no matter how hard we try to utilize PDFs, online forums and extranets. Faced with such output, you would think that recycling would be the simple and most direct answer. But through the confusing magic of New York City building classifications, our office doesn’t qualify to have such an option. In the meantime, coworkers and I have taken to feeding used pages back through the printer, so at least then we are bringing a second life to what would otherwise be thrown out.
That’s why when I stumbled upon the Waste Not Want Not website, I found their mission and methods refreshingly resourceful. Their goal is succinctly stated like so:
“Waste Not Want Not is a non profit organization with the mission to make use of unwanted and discarded materials, reducing waste and promoting resourcefulness to benefit and enrich Providence’s creative community. In these hard times, there is no time like the present to change wasteful consumer attitudes in a radical and inspiring way. Our aim is to educate through redistributing, reclaiming and recycling found and donated used, scrap or excess materials and to provide the tools and equipment as well as skills to make this possible.”
In the spirit of dumpster diving, freeganing, and other reclamation methods and lifestyle choices, inspiration for Waste Not Want Not is literally found in what others consider rendered useless or having otherwise served its intended purpose. By creating a base point in which a material has already had a start and end date, a history seems inherently interwoven into its next iteration, whether it be a piece of fine art or an apparel item. This inclusion of a past life is seemingly fitting for the organization which draws on the historic textile industry in its home-base of Providence, RI.The organization gives not a just a second life to these otherwise rejected items, but also strives to create a venue in which to teach others textile skills through evening events, programs and classes, or through use of their studio equipment, and all-in-all, foster and support a creative community. This works symbiotically in that the organization relies on that community to make their business run, either by utilizing artistic juices to create these retail goods, or simply calling out for material donations, volunteer opportunities, and involvement as customers.
With thoughts and motivations like these, the reams of printed and marked up paper next to my desk are looking more and more like an opportunity to create rather than like a totally disposable pile. With the holidays coming, maybe those old worksheets, site maps, and Excel docs could be turned into a set of stationery or Christmas cards. And the thoughts begin to churn…
To find out more about Waste Not Want Not and to view some of their sample creations, visit their website.
photo: courtesy http://wnwnprovidence.org/
Street Sights
October 2009
Lisa Oyler
