Trashion team spotlight Interview: dismantled designs

Shop name: dismantled
Shop address: http://dismantled.etsy.com/

In a nutshell : original and reconstructed clothing & accessories

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Mallory and I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, though

I'm originally from Gulfport, Mississippi.
In addition to creating recycled clothing & accessories, I also write
a blog called MissMalaprop.com, where I spotlight other independent
artists & designers, as well as eco-friendly products. I'm also a
proud member of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, and I work part-time for
both the Louisiana State Museum and for Trashy Diva, an amazing
locally-owned clothing store here in NOLA. I also write a monthly
column for our local alternative magazine, Antigravity, and am a
regular blogger at BloggingNewOrleans.com.

Trashion materials:

recycled scrap fabrics & remnants, old jeans &
tshirts, bottlecaps, anything I can salvage and turn into something
new instead of throwing it away

I transform them into:

denim skirts, revamped clothing, brooches &
barrettes, chokers & neckwarmers, holiday ornaments

How do you do it?

I get old unwanted clothes either from friends &
family or from thrift stores. I wash each piece and then chop it up
to turn it into something new. A lot of times this means cutting up
old jeans to make them into a denim skirt or creatively covering up
flaws with lace or appliqués and giving the the old clothes an updated
fit.

What inspired you to do this and why are you involved in trashion?

It started out because I hate getting rid of my own clothes that I love,
even when I have ripped up jeans with holes in the butt. So I'd throw
on patches to try to salvage the jeans and when the patches got holes
too, I'd turn it into a skirt, trying to get as much life out of the
garment as possible. My work kind of evolved from there. I just
really, really hate throwing anything away and making waste, so I try
to creatively reuse whenever possible.

Do you remember the first thing you made using the trashion concept?
What was it?

There was this crazy vintage hippy dress my mom found at
her flea market (she actually owns a large outdoor flea market on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast and she found it there). She brought it home
thinking I might like it. It was a little too extreme for me to wear
as-is, so I chopped off the skirt part and took the top of some old
jean shorts and sewed them together. I later reworked the top of the
dress into a blouse.

What are your current projects and what is on the horizon?

Lately I've been concentrating more on accessories than clothing, though I'd
like to get back to making more clothing soon. There are some styles
I haven't done in a few years that I used to make more frequently; I'd
like to try my hand at those again. I've also had ideas for other
things I want to make, other accessories and home stuff. It's all
just a matter of finding the time; there's always so much I want to do!

Why should people buy handmade, and buy from trashion?

Buying handmade, and buying handmade trashion especially, helps support
individual artists but it also helps the environment. I find that
indie artists in general tend to be more concerned with where their
materials come from and often recycle out of financial necessity as
much as ethical imperatives. I love the idea of knowing that one
individual made the item I'm purchasing with their own hands. I love
that idea that Etsy promotes: meet your maker. It's easy to forget
about the individuals involved when you're shopping at Target or
something.

dismantled designs: http://www.dismantled-designs.com/
My ETSY Shop: http://dismantled.etsy.com/
My Blog: http://www.missmalaprop.com/