Jamie Hayes, Paula J. Wilson and Nora Renick-Rinehart
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/09/23
I am a writer and executive administrator for Trusted Clothes, which is an ethical and sustainable fashion organization. The following is a series devoted in honor of the work done in collaboration with the Schroeckers and the Trusted Clothes team. Part 5 below, and 1 here, 2 here, 3 here and 4 here.
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All of these things were serendipitous. All of the signs. Each pointed in one direction for the collection. Since Chicago’s fashion industry is decimated at this point, there aren’t a ton of mills here or fabric sales representatives. Horween is the last tannery left in Chicago.
The hides were designed by Paula J. Wilson, executed by Nora Renick-Rinehart, and then stitched by Klezar. What is the importance of this network of various individuals with different skill-sets to the overall production line for the final products?
We have this cult of artist or the designer. This idea that the person does everything themselves. Even if you’re amazingly talented and good at designing, printing, executing, and stitching, you’re one person. You can’t do everything. Art and design are always done in collaboration, whether people are transparent about that or not.
I am not a screen-printing expert. I am a good stitcher for a designer, but I am nothing like Klezar. I do as much as I can myself, especially at first to educate myself about a process, so that I can better communicate with the team. For example, I did do a few screen-prints on leather. However, there’s no way I could execute anything close to as wonderful as Paula and Nora. It takes years and years of practice to achieve their level of expertise.
A true collaboration becomes better than the sum of its parts. Everyone is pushing each other. Everyone is open to new ideas. Hopefully, what comes out takes you to a place you wouldn’t normally go with your own art work; I like to think that’s what happened with this art collection.
If people want to look more into things, they can look at the showroom/production space, the Department of Curiosities. What other work are you involved in at this point in time?
A couple of things. I am active in the Chicago Fair Trade. I am involved in advocacy work in Chicago. Also, I do technical design for other ethical design companies.
I am involved in Department of Curiosities. It’s the space that I share with another designer, Gerry Quinton. Recently, we designed and launched a line of slow fashion, and ethically made lingerie under the name Department of Curiosities.
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