Let Me (Re)Introduce Myself
Marking the 3rd Anniversary of Fafafoom Studio Newsletter
With this newsletter issue, Fafafoom Studio Newsletter celebrates three years of Substack publication! Cheers to many more years of writing and delivering content that readers love, uniquely positioned in my capacity as a textile upcycling artist, community builder, and lifelong curious learner. Enjoy the first issue of the 4th year!
Looking at my archive of issues on Substack dashboard, I realize how much time and effort I have poured into producing Fafafoom Studio Newsletter for the past 3 years. Honestly, I experienced so much joy organizing my thoughts, producing long-form written content, and sharing them with you all.
Of course there are challenges, some of which interfere with the consistency with when each issue is published, especially this year. However, I still managed to do two issues per month despite all of the ups and downs of 2025. I’m truly grateful for this accomplishment and I look forward to sharing more of my experiences. I hope this newsletter can continue to inspire you and encourage you to look at the world of sustainability in a more wholesome manner.
For now, I’d like to reintroduce myself to help reorient newer readers and followers (and perhaps some of the veterans as well) about who I am and what they can expect from this newsletter. My progress as an artist has evolved quite a bit since November 2022, when I first started this newsletter. So here it is:
Hi there, reader, I am Mira Musank,
a textile upcycling artist and a sustainable fashion community builder.
Let’s dive into what I mean with textile upcycling, artist, sustainable fashion, and community builder. For each part, I will highlight some of my previously published articles for more reading if you’re inclined!
Textile Upcycling
The term upcycling is more-or-less understood as “the act of transforming by-products, waste materials, or unwanted products into something of greater quality or environmental value.” (Wikipedia)
As a textile upcycler, I transform discarded textiles or clothes into one-of-a-kind garments and other objects. My work typically falls into three categories:
Repair: garment mending works. I do this the most often.
Refashion: garment redesign, also used to be more known as DIY Fashion. I deconstruct and reconstruct garments and redesign them into something new.
Reimagine: mix and match secondhand / discarded materials to create something new
Repair is the practice I do most regularly in my daily life, and most of them don’t get to be published. They typically take 1 - 3 hours to complete, and special mending projects take longer.
When I share about my repair works, I do my best to make it intentional, like the two posts below:
My most “famous” repair work is arguably this silk boro shirt, first repaired in 2019, published in Clearline magazine in 2024, and still being repaired annually until now.
Refashion is one practice I used to do much more earlier in my transition to be an artist. The initial motivation to upcycle comes from my curiosity about garment construction and the desire to work with scraps and remnants (instead of buying fabrics from the bolt).
That’s why you’d find many more refashion posts on fafafoom.com. My first ever media feature (in Simply Sewing Magazine, UK) came as a result of this pink cage dress refashion project. This dress still made appearances in fashion shows around the Bay Area, as seen in these two posts below:
These days, I typically only have enough time to do minor refashion work, such as adding pockets to an existing garment. Since it doesn’t require complete deconstruction and reconstruction of one garment or more, you may view these works as alterations.
However, sometimes the pull to refashion is too strong to ignore. When that happens, I do my best to document my process along the way. Demystifying the upcycling process is only as good as the makers make it to be.
Reimagine is my favorite part of being a textile upcycler. I get to see the materials as-is, and it’s up to my imagination and skills to transform them into something new, sometimes even unexpected.
It’s rare for me to have the kind of time required to do Reimagine work these days. One of my favorites - working with African Bissi fabric scraps to recreate a McQueen archival jacket - was done years ago, yet only got published last year:
This year, I got to do one Reimagine project, and that involves reimagining a seaweed-based biomaterial film as a material to create a cropped raglan jacket:
Artist
It took me a while to call myself an “artist.” I made peace with it by acknowledging how I repeatedly practice my crafts through my upcycling work, document my processes, and strive my best to improve my skills.
Moreover, I started to develop my own signature style in textile art using all the tools in my arsenal. That’s how Gathered Cloths was born in 2021. Initially categorized as a Reimagine project, it has continued to evolve and touch many people worldwide, both in-person and online.
Most recently, it has started to be part of fashion shows, performances, and even an ELLE Canada magazine feature.
The Gathered Cloths project is also a project I continue to develop in my pursuit to secure a spot in Artist in Residency programs. My first one in 2023 culminated in a community showcase, and the next one is going to be held in 2026.
Read the announcement of my selection as PHI Immersive: XR for Impact 2026 Artist in Residence!
As an artist, I don’t feel compelled to create seasonal collections. I sketch freely and time my creating time pragmatically, based on my overall availability. That’s why it’s fun to create a more contemplative write-up like this, which is more like a “connecting the dots” type of reading:
Sustainable Fashion
As we are about to enter 2026, sustainability in fashion feels both nowhere and everywhere. Nowhere because the term itself has become so convoluted and abused. It’s everywhere because no matter how much people try to ignore or downplay it, more people than ever are taking meaningful actions to make more conscious decisions for the betterment of the environment and people.
I find it critical to continue learning more about the ecosystem of sustainability in fashion: getting insights from industry changemakers, going on tours / participating in design challenges, as well as getting intimate with textile heritages.
It’s getting harder and harder to get involved in tours and design challenges, but considering how much fun I got and how much value readers get from reading the recaps, I’m always looking forward to join the next one.
For textile heritage posts in 2025, I got to be intimate with Japanese kimonos. Last year, I did a 3-part series with Indonesia’s Javanese Batik motifs. I’m currently planning to do another Indonesian textile heritage for 2026!
Community Builder
We have arrived at the last part of my introduction. Being a community builder is where I apply my multi-faceted learning to build community through grass-root initiatives, event collaborations, public speaking, and teaching!
This includes redirecting materials from landfills for community reuse. As more people are aware of my work as a textile upcycling artist, I typically get 100+ pounds of discarded materials per year. From this, I can perhaps repurpose 20 pounds or so. I recirculate the rest to the local communities through Buy Nothing or Freecycle groups, many of them through key contacts that I believe can repurpose them consciously.
The bigger collective vision involves founding Rethink the Runway initiative. Our vision is to establish San Francisco Bay Area as one of the sustainable fashion capitals - we have the creative community, the startups and legacy brands, as well as legislation, including the first-in-nation Responsible Textile Stewardship (SB-707). This region I live in has so much potential, and once again it’s up to us, the community changemakers to manifest the changes we envision.
Last but not least, I have also started teaching sewing classes at SCRAP San Francisco! The non-profit’s mission is to redirect waste from landfills and give artists accessible means to get supplies. My first class was sold-out, and we are now in talks for 2026 classes. SCRAP’s director literally asked me to hold a workshop after seeing this article:
So there you have it! A short reintroduction, followed by a loooooong dissection, complete with references of prior Substack articles I published. As we enter 2026, I wish you all a smooth transition, complete with a self reflection and an actionable and attainable objective for the future. Cheers!
Thanks for reading; until next time,
Mira Musank