April Roundup: Virtual Creative Retreat, Project Updates, and Refashioning Tips
In the intersection of physical handwork, digital vision, and product planning
It was a relatively wild winter in San Francisco Bay Area and California in general. The relentless downpours lifted us out of Extreme Drought status (for now). While we still have chilly, windy conditions, the arrival of spring is a much welcomed change. It’s a necessary support I need to tackle essential tasks on my to-do list, especially when the so-called list requires non-trivial context switching.
Topics for this month:
Last call: join Kimberly and I in “Layered Stories” guided creative retreat on April 15!
Fafafoom website update: About Us, Events, and ReCollection
Tips to start approaching a refashioning project
Glimpses of in-progress sewing projects
Join “Layered Stories” Creative Retreat on April 15
This is the last call to join a special guided creative retreat next week! On April 15 at 12pm PT, Kimberly and I will be hosting “Layered Stories: Interweavings of Tactile Art” retreat. You will control an avatar to explore a virtual art gallery filled with various 3D textiles, wearable art, and repurposed paper collages.
Kimberly and I will be your guide as we amble through different sections of the gallery, engaging with the objects, and presented with prompts to inspire our own creative explorations in whatever medium you wish.
No special headsets necessary, and no softwares to download. From the convenience of your laptop’s web browser (Chrome or Firefox recommended), you can join by clicking a private link that will only be distributed to retreat participants.
A few days prior, the link will point to an empty gallery for VR newbies to practice moving around in. On the day of the retreat, the link will point to the actual art gallery!
Kimberly and I did an Instagram live chat a few days ago, and we released a short trailer of the in-progress virtual gallery:
Early bird tickets (a $5 discount to full ticket price) are still available at this time of writing, so go ahead and secure your spot! We are looking forward to exploring creativity with you next Saturday.
New updates on Fafafoom website
Ah, the long awaited website content update. Website makers. don’t you love it when you update your website content and almost immediately get rewarded by random spam comments and emails? Yeah, me too.
Updating a website can feel like such thankless work. However, it is the ultimate source to share what I’m doing as a textile upcycling artist. I have been planning content update for a while now, and this time I was able to do a batch update on:
About Us - now equipped with Artist Timeline, separate sections about Mira Musank and Fafafoom Studio, and press contacts.
Events - 2023 is shaping up to be an eventful year, so bookmark this page to get updated about upcoming events!
ReCollection project - This refashioning collection with Jesus Romero is one of the visitors’ favorites during the Climate Gallery exhibition. This page is now updated with garments that have been completed, as well as possible outfit combinations!
Refashioning tip: how to start
In my experience refashioning clothes (i.e. altering designs / silhouettes of already pre-made clothes), one of the most common questions I get is about how to start. Not in terms of preparing the clothes, getting your scissors or contacting your tailors, but a more fundamental sense of how to even approach doing a refashioning project.
People usually know why they want to do refashioning projects. They have clothes they rarely wear. Instead of purchasing new clothes, they want to spruce up something they already have. That’s great, but then people get stuck to decide how to start once they have the motivation.
Here is how I approach a refashioning project. Perhaps you are going to enlist the help of a local maker or tailor, or doing the work yourself. It doesn’t matter.
Each criteria will help you filter out the pool of clothing candidates naturally, leaving you with only a few viable candidates to pursue refashioning with:
Garment condition
Refashioning commonly involves deconstructing stitched seams and panels, rearranging and restitching them. If the initial state of the garment is already weak (i.e. fragile-looking seams, stretched out sections, holes / tears, etc.), you won’t be doing a quick project. And if that’s not something you can afford, then choose garments in better condition that can withstand the amount of reasonable deconstructing and reconstructing.Garment quality
Assessing quality is becoming a rare skill nowadays, mostly because quality of fabrics in general continue to decline. More recently made garments can tear easily compared to similar one made in the 00s or earlier. If you envision a smaller-scale refashioning project that’s more like an alteration / tailoring work, then this may not matter so much. However, the quality of the garment will dictate how long you can continue wearing it post-refashioning. Make sure all that work is worth it.Fiber content
This can be an important one that ties with no. 2 criteria, or something to skip entirely. I used to not care too much, but I have become more conscious about synthetic fibers in more recent years. Unless it’s a special occasion garment (i.e. ballgowns, petticoats, extravagant party outfits) that calls for synthetic materials more often than not, I usually stick with natural fibers when considering projects. There was a skirt with a lovely floral print, but it was a cheap polyester fabric that I just don’t think worth doing a refashioning project on.Style of garment
Is it still reflecting your current style? Is it timeless? If it’s a style that you have departed from, is there a chance you may want to come back to it again? While our styles evolve with time, there are some staples that I only do simple embellishments and appliqué applications on. Doing any major design rework would almost guarantee a maker’s remorse sometime in the future. That said, if that’s not so much of a concern with you, go for it!Monetary value in resale market
OK, say you have a good conditioned, good quality garment with some brand name that may fetch you some money in the resale market. Which one pulls stronger - possibility to get some money from selling it in the resale market, or satisfy the itch of refashioning and accept the result, whatever it may be?Your time
The most important criteria of it all, especially if you choose to do the project yourself instead of enlisting another person’s service. Going through the criteria so far can help minimize the future “I had big plans to do something, alas they stayed neglected in my wardrobe for the past [insert time period here].”
However, it was only the starting point. Once you have candidates, you start envisioning the end results. From there, you go backward to see what you need to do to make it happen. Will doing all those things worth your time? Can you compromise and edit a few things? Do you think the garment will stay with you for a long time afterwards?
The TIME criteria gets me every time. To this day, with the experience I have accumulated, I still struggle with it sometimes. We can only estimate how much time is needed to make things happen. The actual time spent can be a totally different story.
We find unexpected things along the way. When that happens, what happens next varies greatly depending on our personalities and situations. Sometimes we plow through, pause and resume, or give up. And that’s why there’s the hidden 7th criteria.
Be kind to yourself.
We try our best, but frequently life happens and we get swept away in it. When that happens, it’s alright. Your wellbeing is more important than your refashioning project. Hold on to them, pass them on to another, sell them, or donate them to rescue organizations, it’s alright. You have done well.
In-progress sewing projects
To conclude this newsletter, I will give a few glimpses of in-progress sewing projects in the studio. Who says I’m constantly in front of my computer making virtual galleries? I need to balance it out by making things with my hands.
While there’s no blog post update yet, these projects will eventually land in Fafafoom’s Gallery and Blog section in the future.
One project is actually finished. It’s a black kimono-inspired jacket, made with remnants of Ghanaian “brissi” fabric and polyester organza. The pattern is downloaded from SHOW Studio, from Lee Alexander McQueen’s A/W 2003 Scanners collection. It was an intimidating pattern when I saw it at first, and that’s why it took me several years to finally do it.
The embossed motifs of the brissi fabric take center stage here, and the polyester organza provides some lightness. I made this piece after learning about a family tragedy, so I fantasized about this being something I’d wear during the funeral.
The second one is a refashioning project! A petticoat, made with a bunch of materials: an old tulle skirt, a bunch of embroidered tulle remnants in narrow triangular shape, Jessica McClintock cotton lining remnants, and crinoline sheets from a 70s prom dress.
Remember the criteria I laid out above? This one was HEAVY on #6 and #7. It takes way longer than I initially intended, but I have great plans for this petticoat in the future. It will be worth it.
It will take perhaps another 5 - 10 hours to finish this petticoat, on top of the 50+ hours I have dedicated to this refashioning project. That said, I am really happy to see this undergarment taking shape! The seams are all finished professionally, and it will look so good when it’s all said and done.
For now, have a great Easter weekend for those celebrating, and I hope to see some of you during any virtual tours in the future!
Thanks for reading; until next time,
Mira Musank