About Garbedge Designs
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I am a compassionate dogmom and maker of many, many things (everything from zines to my own cheese). I am interested in social justice, community, and the personal empowerment that can come from feeling represented by what you wear.
My name is Kelsey and I started designing under the name Garbedge in Brooklyn, NY in 2013. I am self-taught as a seamstress, and following four years at Sarah Lawrence College where I studied primarily writing and public policy, I decided to lean into the maker in me and start designing clothing. After over a decade living in NY I have returned to Southern Maine where I work to create sustainably made apparel for (mostly) women. The deeply intimate nature of well suited clothing is what keeps me in the field of design—I work with people of all persuasions aspiring to create comfortable, functional, and beautiful pieces that represent you to the world. I can often be found in the woods with my pups, or, in my free time, sewing.
Garbedge Origin Story
Turning trash into treasure.
The original goal was to use primarily repurposed materials, creating new pieces out of discarded work pants, old sheets, and other trashed ephemera.
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With the help of my trusty seam ripper, I would tear so-called trash apart at the seams and turn it into a new treasure. I opened an Etsy and things took off from there. While I still love to work with repurposed materials, I have shifted to sourcing new ethical and sustainable materials instead.
What is Slow Fashion?
Slow Fashion is where sustainability meets craft.
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In opposition to the Fast Fashion products that consumers generally have access to, the Slow Fashion movement prioritizes sustainability, quality, and ethical production practices over speed and volume. Slow Fashion takes a mindful approach not just to the creation of ethical clothing, but also encourages us to care for our garments and maintain them with mending, it teaches us to buy fewer items and use them with care for as long as they can last.
