Art – Fashion – Sustainability

Rumpelsilkskin designs are made from repurposed, found, or vintage items. Very little (usually less than 15%) of the product is new materials, usually only thread or the attachment to the hair.
All labor is done by me in Humboldt County, California. No outsourcing or underpaid labor is used (except my own :) )
No feathers, furs or skins used in my work are purchased new so no new demand is made for these potentially cruelly sourced materials.
A conscious effort is made by me to conserve water and energy and to throw away as little as I can.
There are no toxins used to treat my work and so none gets into the environment.
I enjoy every minute spent creating these hats, bags and other accessories.

Silk and Alpaca Hat

Silk and Alpaca Hat

Photo Shoot Magic

Recently I was part of a collaborative effort to photograph 4 artists’ wares. This was done with a backdrop of ancient Victorians and their glorious character really comes through. The designs (clothing, jewelry, hats, and bags) were are all upcycled. Thanks go out to photographer Estelle Hughes and Mari of Almond Blossom Arts and Crafts (the clothing is hers) for organizing the shoot. The jewelry was by Athena of Ruin and Redemption, and the bags made from books were by Tina Caver of Quilterina Tina.

New Item – The Tie Bag

In spite of being really busy with home improvements, puppy training and her recuperation from spaying, opening up a pop-up shop for SCRAP Humboldt and raising a 10 year old daughter, I started making some tie purses. I’ve made other styles before but this one grew out of a mistake. It was going to be a hat but had gotten too small in the sewing process. It still had value in my mind. I played around with it and developed this neat little bag. Successories in San Francisco has them, so does Molte Cose.

Refreshed and Ready to Sew

If you haven’t noticed, it’s been quite a while since my last post. In that time I’ve had a wonderful vacation, worked on a new business, and come up with some new designs for Rumpelsilkskin. The new business is a collaboration with two other women and it’s a creative reuse center. It is still “in utero” but should be fully formed and get launched soon. The vacation was in Hawaii on the Big Island. Just perfect. Forgot all about what I should be doing to promote my hats and stuff like that.

Just before I left I came up with two new designs. A simplified “full hat” that takes less time and materials so my price points are much lower. And I developed a textile necklace to make use of the full necktie since sometimes they are too wonderful to cut up. Here are some example of the new designs.

Spice Up Your Evening

The hats look great sitting around my studio but they look tremendous on a head out on the town.