The Road to Blue Greenie
Upcyling is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I started Blue Greenie because I want as many people as possible to discover the joys of playing with their clothes. I also want to connect the people who create and buy one-of-a kind clothing without charging either of them commission.
For more than 20 years I made my living exclusively from selling merchandise that I found in thrift shops on dozens of marketplaces. My father had made a living flipping thrift and garage sale finds before the internet made it easy so some of my earliest memories are being in thrift stores.
I loved treasure hunting and it was rewarding researching the background of the many odd and wonderful things people threw out and finding the right marketplace for the right customer.
With the rise of fast fashion and online shopping the world of thrifting is not what it used to be. In the last few years more than 75% of the thrift stores in Manhattan closed.
In 2022 a friend gave me a used sewing machine and I started turning cashmere sweaters into cashmere pillows and Cashmere Pop was born.
Soon afterwards I noticed a small hole in a Helmut Lang dress I wanted to sell. I covered it with a cashmere heart which suddenly looked like a mouth, so I added a cashmere eye and cashmere fringe hair. I knew immediately that I was going to be making clothes instead of pillows.
I tried to find the right place to sell my upcycled clothes online but there was no open marketplace exclusively for upcycled or one-of-a-kind fashion. I found Art to Ware - a wearable art gallery in NYC run by Lesley Ware and started selling there.
In the Summer of 2023 I created Blue Greenie as a tool for other upcyclers to list their products and reach customers through both the marketplace or directly through their social media. I can't wait to see all the wonderful styles people dream up....