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DiscarDisco 2024 - PatchWERK! Meet the Designers

DiscarDisco 2024: PatchWERK was a creative triumph! Now we need your help to make it a success.

A generous donor has agreed to match donations to DiscarDisco up to $15,000, but we only have until Friday, April 19th to make the match!

Meet the DiscarDisco 2024 Designers!

Here are the fabulous Finalists who brought their incredible reclaimed looks to DiscarDisco on Saturday, April 13th at the Chicago Athletic Association. Our contestants put a lot of hard work and love into their pieces, learn a little bit about them below!


Designer: Kristin Abhalter Smith (she/her) and Eliza Fernand (they/she) team

IG: @anotherworldsend, @queer.quilting.chi

Bio: Kristin has a lifelong practice making costumes, sets, inflatable sculptures and art exhibitions and is totally inspired by abundant scraps. Eliza grew up on thrift stores and wanted to be a fashion designer since they started sewing at age 12 with the same sewing machine they have now. Eliza also has two art degrees and they are a professor. 

Designer: Simone Brandford-Altsher (she/her)

IG:@very_greasy

Bio: Simone been sewing and crafting for a long time, and loves to work with discarded material.

Designer: Jordan Chavez (he/him)

IG:@InBetweenBranches

Bio: Jordan is a multimedia artist that focuses on creating avant-garde wearable art with a folk approach. He loves using accessible found materials to execute oversized silhouettes that impact how one interacts with their environment. His rural upbringing, studies in fine art, and queer lens all serve him in creating works that are familiar yet strange and new. 

Designer: Ellouise Davis (she/her)

IG: @ellouisevictoria 

Bio: Ellouise is a costume technician and  truly loves her job! She is a maker at heart but loves the chance to exercise her design skills! She works within interesting parameters so this challenge is incredibly fun. She’s also very passionate about reducing waste, and practices it every day.

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Designer : Elizabeth Dudley (she/her)

IG:@ladyduds_

Bio:Elizabeth Dudley- Elizabeth is an art history and design major at Northwestern. She’s been sewing since she was little, and did costume design in high school! She is mostly self taught.

Designer: Amy Jahnke (she/her)

IG:@aj_makes_stuff

Bio: Amy has sewed on and off for years, and during the pandemic came back to it in a big way. She haunts both Wasteshed locations, thrift stores, and the alley for pre-loved fabric and notions. She uses these materials whenever she can for both economic and ecological reasons.

Designer: J Kent (she/her & they/them)

Youtube:@CompostRoses

Bio: J Kent has a BFA from SAIC and an MFA from Northwestern University. Her practice engages bounty amidst professed scarcity. They have been teaching themselves sewing and construction and is excited to merge her constructions with a long-held interest in fashion. 

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Designer: Ben Kress (he/him)

IG:@benargenta

Bio: Ben is a costume designer and visual artist who is always trying to deepen the sustainability of his creative work. Ben notes that the more his work centers on conscious environmental practice- such as through thrifting costumes or reusing materials- the more personal and exciting it seems to become. 

Designer: Shereene Manimala/ Upside Down Smile (she/her)

TikTok:@shereenemanimala

Bio: Shereen is a Malayalee-American creative. Her creative practices are visual art, fashion design, repurposing old saris, music and marketing strategy. She has been working on her own streetwear pieces repurposing old saris that are typically worn once into items you can rock casually multiple times, taking sewing classes, and learning the mechanics of sewing.

Designer: Kandace McVickar (she/her)

IG:@kandymcv

Bio: By daytime, Kandace is a technical trade designer, by night time she creates one of a kind looks for her and her dear friends. She has a passion for creating digital art and upcycling denim, textile samples and other damaged items from her 9-5.

Designer: Mary Miller (she/they)

IG:@mary.l.miller.5622022 

Bio: Mary has worked at a dress manufacturer, a design studio, and embroidering caps and sweatshirts. She has also painted silk scarves for a designer, exhibited in a Campy Classics movie poster art show and enjoys the money she saves from remaking, thrifting and reusing. 




Designer: Amanda Nadig (she/her) and Darcie Tashey (she/her)

IG: @amandanadigart @noseriiiiide

Bio: Amanda is a CPS high school art teacher and quilter. She make quilts using the clothes in her closet that she no longer wears as well as visiting thrift stores to buy quilting supplies such as bedsheets, pillowcases and secondhand garments. Darcie Tashey is a graphic designer with an eye for fashion, and will be modeling the look.

Designer: Mary O'Brien (she/her)

IG:@maryomakes

Bio: Mary loves creating and is spending more dedicated time on her art while at a full-time job with a long commute. This is her second year participating in DiscarDisco and she’s hoping to be a bit more competitive with her entry this year.

Designer: Shari Pundrich (she/they)

IG: re.madeinchicago

Bio: Shari was formally trained in painting but has always used her wardrobe as a means of creative expression. They’ve been compelled to work with secondhand textiles in the last few years due to the rise of fast fashion and it's impact on the environment.

Designer: Hillary Rings (she/her)

IG: @hillary.rings

Bio: Hillary is a fashion designer, she graduated from the Apparel Design & Development program from Seattle Central in 2022 and moved to Chicago in 2023. She loves designing but hates waste so she sources second hand materials as often as possible. 

Designer: Theo Shuler (she/her)

Tiktok: @girl.theo

Bio: Theo is am mostly self-taught (and mom-taught) artist. She makes clothes for herself and uses pretty much exclusively use secondhand materials in all her work! This is Theo’s third year participating in DiscarDisco.

Designer: Jocelyn Song (she/her)

IG:@jocelyn.h.song

Bio: Jocelyn is a sewist and upcycling enthusiast. She make patterns, garments, and has recently been learning how to silkscreen and dye fabric. 

Designer: Jessica Van Winkle (she/her)

IG:@jessicavwinkle

Bio: Jessica is a costume designer focused on theatre, drag and performance wear! She works to find extravagance, joy, and humor in everything she create and is extremely passionate about size inclusivity in fashion. She designs for everybody

Designer: Jessica Woodburn (she/her)

IG: @holzbrennenstudio

Bio: Jessica has been a maker since 2018 but started using up-cycled items in 2020.  She started sewing in 2022 and was invited to create a piece for the Trashion  Revolution last year (5th place winner) and just created another trashion piece for the Shadow Ball.  Both pieces were made using single-use plastic.  She also hosts workshops on up-cycled fabric earrings and shrinky dink jewelry from #6 plastic.

Designer: Andrea Zelen (she/her)

IG: @drea_zel

Bio: Andrea started sewing in 7th grade, and has actively been making her own clothing, running fashion shows for her high school, creating full looks and more until she graduated in 2015. Since then she’s focused more on mending, upcycling existing clothing and creative reuse than from-scratch creations. 

These people have all put in an amazing amount of work on getting this show together! DiscarDisco is The WasteShed’s major annual fundraiser, we depend on donations to this event to fund our programs.

Please give generously!

Getting too excited to wait for the final DiscarDisco 2024? Check out 2023 show!

Videography by Francis Son, edited by Drew Durepos and Adam Geremia.

 
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DiscarDisco 2024 - PatchWERK -Meet our Judges Panel!!

DiscarDisco, The WasteShed’s annual Trash Fashion Show & Garbage Couture Extravaganza, is just weeks away! Our illustrious judges will receive contestant’s video submissions of their work in the next few days, and will begin the difficult work of selecting the top 20 contestants based on creativity, design and construction.

These fierce and fabulous 20 will be competing April 13th on the runway at the Chicago Athletic Association for 3 illustrious prizes, and helping raise money for The WasteShed’s creative and sustainable mission! This year’s theme is PatchWERK; help them sew up a victory by donating here:

Contestants have used all their talent and ingenuity to transform our upcycled fabric, notions and bits into wearable works of art. This will be a difficult choice, but we’ve selected a well seasoned panel of judges for their work in fashion, design and sustainability.

Meet our Judges!

 
Sky, wearing bright geometric makeup and dazzlingly patterned clothes, sits in front of a gridded futuristic pastel background, Photo by Ryan Burk @ryburk

Sky Cubacub (They/Them/Xey/Xem/Xyr)

Founder/Designer, Rebirth Garments

@rebirthgarments

 

J Frausto
(they/them he/him)

Thrifter, Designer, Stylist
@the.thrifted.gay

 

Sky Cubacub is a non-binary disabled Filipinx neuroqueer from Chicago, IL. They are the creator of Rebirth Garments, a line of wearables for trans, queer and disabled people of all sizes and ages, which started in 2014. Sky is the editor of the Radical Visibility Zine, and a founding member of Radical Visibility Collective, which creates fashion performances with audio descriptive songs. Xey started a free online queercrip DIY fashion program and incubator with the Chicago Public Library called Radical Fit, which has a yearly celebration at Ping Tom Park called Queer Radical Fair. They are in the process of creating an online kids show about joyful disability access called “Sky and The Rebirth Warriors”.

 

J Frausto is a Mexican/Puerto Rican Chicago native who identifies as queer. They found their style through their gender expression that led to being an androgynous thrift stylist. After styling people who identified as queer they realized there is a need to bridge the gap to make clothes gender affirming. 

 

Lauren Lein (she/her)

Apparel Industry Board President
EndangerUS LLC.

@laurenleinfashiondesign

 

Lauren Lein is a 25 year Chicago Fashion veteran, four-term president of the Apparel Industry Board, Inc. and a proud member of The Service Club of Chicago. Lauren’s adult children, Andreah and Drew, serve as an inspiration for many of her favorite design pieces. 

EndangerUS - Lauren’s LLC- designs and/or produces their clothing with seamers and contractors across the city and beyond, practicing safe methods, sustainability, fair wages, and excellent working conditions. LLLTD uses primarily eco-friendly and natural fabrics — and practices re-purposing with all garments, masks, and samples produced.

 

Melissa Carter
(she/her)

Owner Kameo Vintage
I Am The Carter Projekt

@kameovintage

 

Melissa Carter is the CEO and Creative Director of Kameo Vintage, which has a showroom, boutique, and archive in Winnetka, IL. Kameo Vintage is a black-owned, preloved styling brand specializing in Casual Couture looks.They curate and reimagine clothing + accessories sourced from around the world, prioritizing quality, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

Melissa is inspired by her life in New York and her international travels, and has hosted Kameo-style lounges in Chicago, New York, and Paris. In 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement, she decided to inspire more than preloved style, creating a capsule collection of bygone pieces stamped with her colorful Afro-woman logo.

 

Blair Goldman (she/her)

Fashion Designer & Sewing Teacher

@blairs.wear

 

Blair Goldman is a lifelong trashionista and fashion designer. She is a former DiscarDisco champion and has served on the DiscarDisco planning committee. Blair has over 15 years of sewing experience and has dressed the likes of celebrities Lizzo, Dodie, and Dorian Electra. Currently, Blair teaches sewing and fashion classes at Hovet Fashion Studio and Elena Victoria Fine Arts. She believes buttered noodles with a little bit of cheese is the basis of her success.

 

Iyomi Ho Ken
(she/her)

Fashion Designer
CFDA Scholar

@iyomihoken

 

Iyomi Ho Ken is a fashion based artist, originally from Orlando, Florida, with a focus on sculptural bridal and special occasion wear. 

Iyomi graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022, where she was awarded scholarships from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

 She currently works as a designer for “House of Aama” & continues her own practice, working on a 16 look collection to debut later this year. Her work stems from experiences of the self, and familial attachments to her Chinese-Jamaican heritage.


Meet our judges live at our show! Full event details are at thewasteshed.com/discardisco

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It's The WasteShed's Blue Whale-iversary

It’s our Blue-Whale-iversary

150 tons of materials saved
A blue whale made up of school and art supplies (illustrations by Anna Jo Beck)

After 9+ years, The WasteShed has hit a landmark; we've diverted 150 tons of materials (300,000 lbs) away from the wastestream and back into the community for creative & educational porpoises. After going through rhinoceroses and lesser cetaceans, we have officially run out of currently-extant animals big enough to measure our accomplishments by. We estimate the value of these materials to Chicago's makers and teachers at a staggering $3.2 million.

At the same time, we just passed our 100,000th customer visit. According to a recent customer survey, these can be broken out roughly as follows:
-15,000 teachers,
-50,000 artists,
-25,000 students,
-10,000 therapists/social workers
-100,000 of the raddest & most creative, lovely people you'll ever meet.

In celebration of this hefty victory, we are looking for 150 supporters (1 per ton!) who are willing to donate $10-$25 per month (the price of a sandwich, a streaming service, or 4-10 guppies) in 2024 to sustain our mission of reducing barriers to access for art and education for all Chicagoans.

These recurring donations will help us cover 100% of the cost of staff health insurance for our full time employees, as well as paid sick time. (Have you physically picked up and moved a whale? If so, you may understand the need for rest and healthcare).

If you'd like to donate a larger amount, or just once, that's also a huge help! Just select the One-Time donation option and enter any amount you like.

We’d like to take this moment to offer our gratitude to our community for supporting us through the trials & tribulations of the last few years; many creative reuse centers like The WasteShed never make it this far! Like blue whales, our existence is a challenge to the limits of human imagination. We’re here for the wonder and the exploration, thank you for taking this journey with us.

Love, The WasteShed Team

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There's a hole in our budget! Help us fix it

After a rough year, The WasteShed is a little bit the worse for wear

Dear community,


As you may know, this has been a really rocky year for The WasteShed. We've been experiencing a period of intense growth and change, and while the demand for the resources and programs we provide has continued to grow, the funding we need to continue our work has been much harder to find. Our fiscal year ends on June 30th, and we are currently almost $30,000 short of what we need to meet our budget this year.


Here's where you can help us out! We have a Challenge Match for donations to The WasteShed through our Donorbox this month, we are asking our community pitch in to help us keep doing what we do, including (but not limited to):


- divert 2.5 tons (think one block from the pyramids of Giza) of creative materials (about $45,000 worth) away from the landfill and back into the community every month
- provide over $81,000 of deeply discounted and free materials to teachers every year
- operate two vibrant, welcoming, and diverse community hubs with busy volunteer programs and accessible creative events every week
- celebrate the artistry, activism, and collaborative joy of our city, every day

Our goal is to raise $14,000 by June 30th, help us get there and our match will do the rest!

As when mending a hole, there are many ways to do it, and every stitch helps. Small monthly donations are wonderful! Or if you can connect us to donors, corporate support, or new board members, we can continue building The WasteShed into its second decade.

Donate at the Donorbox above to have your donation matched, if you’d prefer to send a check, we can count that towards the match as well (payable to The WasteShed, mail to 1754 N Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 60647).

Thank you for believing in us and helping us create the future that Chicago deserves.

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