Conversation with Carli Vergamini

Please enjoy my conversation with Carli Vergamini. 

Just a girl trying to change the world, that’s Carli. What started as a creative outlet eventually turned into a resourceful smorgasbord of repurposing vintage jackets & dilapidated kiddie pools. 

It all began when Carli wanted to make stuff with leather but didn’t know where to find any (spoiler: it was thrift stores). Add getting grossed out by her own consumption habits & here she is today making cool, wearable stuff out of trash.

 Because there's already enough cool stuff in the world without starting from scratch making something new.

https://www.cravebycrv.com/ 

Carli’s IG https://www.instagram.com/cravebycrv 

Carli’s shop CRAVE by Carli Rae Vergamini https://www.cravebycrv.com/shop

Carli’s clothing repair clinic https://www.cravebycrv.com/event-details/clothing-repair-clinic-2025-07-27-11-00

Carli’s blog https://www.patreon.com/cravebycrv 

Buy Now, The Shopping Conspiracy on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/81554996

Amy Meissner, extraordinary artist and repair master https://www.amymeissner.com/

Katrina Rodabaugh, author, artist, mender  https://www.katrinarodabaugh.com/ 

This podcast was created by Natalya Khorover. It was produced and recorded by Natalya, as well as researched and edited by her. SALVAGE is a product of ECOLOOP.ART.

If you enjoy this show, please rate and review us wherever you’re listening—and be sure to come back for another conversation with a repurposed media artist.

Music theme by RC Guida

Visit Natalya’s website at www.artbynatalya.com

Visit Natalya’s community at www.repurposercollective.com

Visit Natalya’s workshops at https://www.ecoloop.art/

Transcript

Welcome to Salvage, a podcast for conversations with artists about the repurposed materials they use in their art practice.

Please enjoy my conversation with Carli Vergamini. Just a girl trying to change the world. That's Carli. What started as a creative outlet eventually turned into a resourceful smorgasbord of repurposing vintage jacket and dilapidated kiddy pools. It all began with when Carli wanted to make stuff with leather, but didn't know where to find any spoiler. It was a thrift stores and getting grossed out by her own consumption habits.

And here she is today making cool wearable stuff out of trash. Because there's already enough cool stuff in the world without starting from scratch, making something new.

So thank you, Carli, so much for agreeing to chat with me. I don't remember how long I've been following you online, but I love that. Well, of course, that everything you do is all repurposed. And I, I love your colorful sense of style. Oh. Thank you. So I'd love to know, were you an artist as a kid?

Yes. I was definitely, like, crafty kid from as far back as I can remember. And I think I just, like I'm grateful that my parents instilled in me, like, do whatever the heck you want to do. Because I definitely, like, wanted to follow that, that my doing something creative with my life. So were your parents creatives as well?

My mom? Yes. My dad. No. But yeah, I feel like I am very much my mom. And, like so many ways and definitely inherited her like creativeness or creativity, resourcefulness. I have this picture that I drew, I think, in like, kindergarten. And I often share it on social media. It's like a I drew a picture of my mom in our basement, and I think it was probably for like Mother's Day.

We were supposed to say something that we liked about our mom and I. I wrote, I love my mom because she recycles. And I drew a picture of her, like putting bottles in the recycling bin. Which is so funny because, like, I don't remember, like, really consciously thinking about that as a kid, but clearly, like, I thought that it was something great that she was doing.

And it probably was at a time where, like, recycling wasn't, as like, common as it is now. Right. So funny looking back now that like, that was something that I looked up to my mom for in kindergarten. And now that is like kind of the antithesis of what I am trying to do with my career. So isn't that funny?

So did you go on to study any kind of art in higher education? Yeah. So in high school, I took, like, every sewing class that I possibly could. And my best friend and I had, like, created this sort of, like, makeshift clothing brand. This was like, in the heyday of Project Runway. So we were like, we want to be fashion designers.

Like, we took every single sewing class that we could. We did like a fashion show for our senior project. And then we both went on to study fashion design in college. I love it. And so yes, yeah, it did. So you have a degree in fashion design then? Yeah. Did you go to the, to a, like a an FIT or something like that?

No, I went to, like a small school in Wisconsin. So it's not, like, as cool as it sounds, but we did pretty cool. So, I studied abroad in London for a semester, so I took, like, some classes at the London College of Fashion, which does sound a bit more fancy. What's really cool. So. Yeah. Oh that's awesome.

And did you go on then to have a fashion designer career? So I graduate when I graduated from college. It was kind of this, like I was trying to find a, like, a real big girl job. And in the meantime, was just, like, working part time at, like, a retail store and started just like I needed to have, like, some sort of a creative outlet.

So I started making, like, accessories and actually I started making handbags. I knew that I wanted to make leather handbags because I'd taken, the handbag course when I studied abroad. But I didn't know where to find leather. So I went to my local thrift store, and I bought a leather jacket because I was, like, the only place that I can think of.

The source of leather. So I bought a leather jacket. I took that home and cut it up and started using that to make leather handbags. And then I just like kept thrifting. Like again I couldn't watch, like I don't know why I didn't just Google it or something. Figure out where to buy leather. So I kept just like, thrifting and thrifting till I had this entire rainbow of leather jackets and pants and just like really hideous things that, like, probably people shouldn't be wearing anyway.

And kept just turning those into accessories and bags. And then somewhere along the line I realized, like, my eyes opened to how much I was, like, consuming personally and how much I was throwing away. And just like, kind of this icky feeling of if this is what one human is producing waste wise like times, however, many people in the world are doing the same thing.

And then kind of flipped this, like turn that more into like the ethos of my business and what I was trying to do, rather than it being like a cheaper way to source the materials that I wanted. Realized like, hey, this is like turning something, turning essentially trash into something more useful and really, like leaned into that and kind of got obsessed with that avenue rather than just trying to source leather in an easier way.

Right now, that's awesome. So you kind of landed there naturally. Really? Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny looking back now again, like the like the looking up to my mom for recycling. Like there's been like little hints all along the way that have kind of naturally led me to where I am now. Just cool looking back to be able to see.

Yeah, that is cool. I love doing that. Sometimes it's like, oh, wait a minute. Oh, that makes sense. Now. Yeah, yeah. So were you, did you have your own boutique or are you selling to boutiques or how how were you putting your stuff out there, all those leather handbags and things? Yeah. So I started selling on.

Well, I first started selling some or consigning some items through, like the store that I was working at. They were like, nice enough to give me some shelf space within the store, which was really nice. And it was also when, like, Etsy was really kind of I feel like Etsy was kind of just getting maybe not just getting started, but like, it was, a lot of people were selling on Etsy.

So I started selling, through my Etsy shop, which went really well and then eventually transitioned over to like having my own website and selling. Now I just sell online through my own, website. And don't I don't really do any wholesale anymore with other with other stores. Well, and then Etsy is not what it used to be anyways.

Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. So, what kind of things do you recycle now? It seems like everything I mean, I'm wearing. I think these are your cool. Pull on. Pull noodle. A pull floaty. Pull floaty. That's what it is. These are cool, floaty earrings, which is, I got some a little too late in the summer as it got, and now I have no tan at all, so.

But it's cool with the pop of color. So like, but like, how did you think that you wanted to make earrings out of a pool? Floaty? Yeah. Now I kind of am to the point where, like, if I can find a material that someone is going to throw away, like nine times out of ten, I if someone offers it to me, I will say yes.

And try to like, figure out a use for it. So the pool floaty thing happened because my sister has got two little kids. Every summer they have like an inflatable pool, and inevitably almost every summer it gets a hole in it and pops and needs to be thrown away. And so she had this giant kiddy pool sitting like deflated kiddy pool sitting in her garage.

And I knew that she I knew that it was going to end up just being thrown away. And so I didn't know what the heck I was going to do with it. But I knew that I needed to take this kiddy pool and save it from being thrown away. So I took it home and I sat in my garage for probably at least a year.

Yeah. Just play. I didn't know yet what to do with it, and eventually one day it clicked in my head. So one of the things that I had been making out of the leather jackets was I started making these, like, leather tassel keychains to hang off of your purse, and I was like, I was cranking out these tassels.

This was like my best seller. And one day it clicked in my head like a kiddy pool. If you think of the material of a kiddy pool, it's kind of similar to leather. It doesn't fray. And essentially it's you could make a tassel out of this and it would be totally usable as a tassel. So I cut up this cut at the kiddy pool, turned it into a tassel, threw on like some earring hooks, and then that became like a best seller for me.

Because I like it is cool, like, you're coming out of a kiddy pool and it's, like, so fun to be wearing them around you. You get a compliment on your earrings and you get to tell the person, like, these are actually made out of a kiddy pool, so that then the tassel earring thing kind of exploded and I started, everybody started giving me their popped kiddy pools, and I was turning them into tassel earrings.

And now, like, I have such a, like an artist brain where I'm just like, I love to create and I love to figure out what's new and now I'm like to the point of, okay, I'm tired of making tassel kitty pool earrings. Let's move on and figure out what else can you make with a kiddy pool. And that's now led me down to, like, an avenue of creating, like, artwork and art pieces and cutting out all these different, vibrant, fun, summery colors and turning them into like, something that you can hang on your wall.

I love that kind of like ever evolving of like, what can what material can I get my hands on and what is a new way to kind of use it and find a new use for it? Do you ever, like, have any leftovers out of like, say, a leather jacket or a kitty pool? Like, do you use every single part of it or are there sometimes leftovers?

And what do you do with them? If there are? Yes, there, they definitely are leftovers. So there's some pieces that just like are too hard to use, like a seam on a leather jacket is for a while, I would like pick apart every single seam and train to get as much material out of it as I could, and it just was not very time effective.

So there are some pieces that I do just need to throw away which like, still kind of hurts my heart, but I am throwing away far less than like what would have been thrown away if an tear was thrown out. But also, like, I have a habit of just kind of like saving everything. So I have like, bins of, like bins of medium sized scraps organized by color and bins of tiny scraps, like, all kind of mangled together.

And they kind of just, like, accumulate until I hopefully can find a use for every tiny little scrap. I love that that's. Yeah, I made it really close. I have those bins of scraps. They're not organized by color, but they get organized close to color. But yeah, it doesn't like, see, do you still make all this stuff by yourself or do you have a team helping you now?

I do make everything by myself. Yeah. Oh, my God, as I hoping to, like, eventually get to a place where there are, like, some tasks that could be delegated out, but, hopefully eventually we'll get there. Yeah. Like, I'm thinking that the tassels, whether earrings or keychains, like, once you figure it out, somebody else could be making them, right?

Yes. Yeah. There was a point in time where my mom, there were a couple times where my mom helped me, like, whip out some bigger wholesale orders and things. So, but now I've moved on from the tassels. So we're moving on to figure out the next thing that can be streamlined. Oh that's exciting. So it looks like you're sitting in a shop.

Judging by the wall behind you. Yes, yes, yes. So I want to go or shop. What is it? Yeah. Well, I work part time. I still do have a part time retail job, so I'm hanging up here this morning before I. Before I jump into that role. Oh, gotcha. Okay, so yes, you are in a shop.

Yes, yes. So is your studio in your home? Yes. So I have, like, an upstairs space over our garage where I have everything, sewing machines and all the aforementioned scraps of various materials. Do you have a specialized sewing machine for the leather? I do, I have, like an industrial. I have an industrial machine that can sew through, like, almost anything.

So use that oftentimes for like a thicker leather piece. And then I have a few other like home sewing machines that have kind of adapted to be able to sew through, some thicker materials. And what's your what's your favorite brand of sewing machine? Gotta ask. Let's see why. I think the first machine I ever bought, I want to say it was a singer, and now I have a couple of fast machines.

I think that's like the really the only sewing machine retailer, like, left in my town. So that was kind of. My options were slim. Gotcha. Is that your industrial machine is a far off, I industrial machine is a Seiko. I'm not sure if that's how you pronounce it. Yeah, I wasn't super familiar with that brand, but, yeah, neither am I.

My industrial machine is a Bernina. Oh, nice. Yeah, yeah, I, I don't I still have my home sewing machines. And they're also Bernina. I don't know, somehow I just like, 40 years ago landed on the Bernina brand and I have never switched. And those machines are I think I have one that's 30 years old and the other one is 40 years old.

It's still nice. Yeah, I feel like Bernina has got a big fan base. Yeah, yeah. So What would be like the most.

The weirdest thing that you have repurposed? I feel like kiddy pool is maybe my go to answer. But there has to be. Maybe something else, too. I've been doing a lot of, acquiring a lot of, like, banners lately. Like, like a promotion banner or like, my kid graduated from high school, and I. I made this banner with, like, a bunch of little pictures, or, like, a couple of people have given me, like, a banner from their wedding or just like, like you have a banner made for a party, and it's like, I'm never going to use this again.

Alternate. Alternatively, they're like this thick sort of woven plastic. Is that what they are? Yeah, I think it's like a vinyl of some sort. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But kind of like, think like a billboard. Okay. The material, I actually have one, so I can't remember the brand now, but I bought a bag that was, I guess, a billboard, but I can't guess the brand, and I don't see the label in here for some reason, I feel like I get, I have seen a few, like, on social media of, and I can't think of the name either.

There is one big company that has a lot of probably ones that I don't see the label, you know, front and center. But yeah, I but they were that's their whole concept was that they were making it out of billboards and all sorts of bags. And I even have a, like a little, you know, a carry makeup case from.

Yeah, yeah. I actually was surprised. I've had this bag. Probably close to two years now. And I've had to patch it a bunch of times that billboard material, it's not as sturdy as I thought it would be. Yeah, I do use it every day. Yeah, it seems like, you know, maybe in the corners and places where it's kind of bending, it seems to wear out a little faster.

Do you think Billboard is typically like plastered flat up against true. Yeah. The when it gets. Yeah. So did you, had to like, figure out some really different ways of making things when you were cutting up kiddy pools and things like, I would think that the kiddy pool, if you stitched through it, it could rip right through the stitch.

Yes. And again, like another way that it's similar to leather. So you think give your sewing through like a fabric. It's usually like it's either a tightly woven or a tightly knit material. So if you're poking holes in it like it still can withstand, it can withstand the stitching. But when you're sewing through leather or through plastic, if you're doing like too small of, or too narrow of a stitch, you can kind of like, perforate the material.

So with both of those materials, you need like a wider stitch length so that it still, like, stays intact when it's in use. Do you have to use some glues as well? I do, I have like a vinyl glue that I use with, when I'm working with kitty pools. Oh, I didn't know there was a specif specific vinyl glue.

What kind of. Yes, that actually, I, I found a, like, an old bottle of it when I was thrifting once. It was like, still in this, like, retro packaging. And that was like when I first found it. And then I used that bottle up and had to do some, sleuthing to find a new vinyl glue.

But it is sold at just like craft stores and things. Oh, wow. Yeah. Go figure.

Well, do you have any favorite techniques for using vinyl or leather or whatever I have? It's been either like a lot of trial and error or, I have like a lot of tools and things that have just been handed down to me or like people, people know, like you're the kitty pool girl girl or you're the leather girl.

Like, I have all of these old leather tools that were my grandpa's and he passed away, and I don't know what to do with them. So I've acquired just like, collections of other other people's collections. So I have this really cool. I think it's just called a seam roller, but it's like a, a wooden wheel on, like a little handle.

And you can use it to, like, press a leather seam open, and instead of normally you would use, like your iron to press open like a fabric seam, but it's like this little rolly tool that you can roll over the leather seam to kind of help it lay open and flat. That one's that one's come in handy quite a few times.

Wow, that's pretty cool. I have a friend who she makes fabric arts quilts with a lot, a lot of seams, and she actually she actually pounds them with a mallet to get them as far as possible. Yes, yes, that is a common leather technique too, but that's interesting here to do that with layers of fabric too. Yeah, yeah.

Like when I first found out she was doing that, I was kind of like really? I mean, not enough. No, she's like it's the flatness that she need. It was only she was only able to get it with a belt. Maybe she was also getting her frustrations out right. Yeah. Yeah. That's like too good to kill birds with one stone.

Yeah. I'd be afraid my table would collapse.

So then. So you're sort of in this interesting space of fashion and art and retail, then you're kind of like, in between these worlds. Yeah. Attention to fashion trends or art trends. And how do you incorporate them? Oh, that's a good question. I feel they can maybe used to be, more so in the past I remember being like very diligent about, like, looking at the photos from fashion shows and like, pinning them on a Pinterest board.

And like, just looking at fashion magazines now, I think it's, maybe a lack of time and just like, I don't know, I think I've just kind of found new ways to just, like, look for inspiration kind of in everyday life rather than trying to look to the runway to see what is trending and what's popular.

The where do you find your inspiration then? That's a good question. I don't I honestly just kind of like wherever, wherever it seems to pop up. I mean, social media is so prevalent now. It's like we're I feel like we're being fed so many images and ideas that way. So that definitely is, part of it. But also like, we live kind of like out in the woods.

So just like we're outside quite a bit, and I feel like there's so much inspiration, just like it sounds so cliche, but, like, just within nature and just like, absolutely in everyday life, all around us. I also have a three year old and so it's really cool to see her like leaning into her creative side and like honestly like sometimes.

Yeah, she is just like scribbling on a paper. But sometimes the scribbles on a paper are like very inspiring or like the color palettes that she'll put together or like she's really good at picking out her outfit in the morning and it's like, wow, I would not have put those two things together, but it looks really good. So it's been really fun to see.

Like, it's fun to like, gain inspiration that way from someone with just like, such fresh eyes. Like learning everything around her. Yeah. I remember when my daughters were very young and I, I, I try to very, very hard. I try to not control how they dressed. I mean, obviously I was shopping for them. I didn't take them along with me shopping too often because that was just too chaotic.

Yeah. But and I try to like. Yeah, you go get dressed. You just have to wear long sleeves today or something like that. Like I would make something, you know, some kind of a rule. And the only time I really try to control them is when we have, like, a special occasion to get dressed for. But one of my daughters now will see pictures of herself.

And she was like, mom, I can't believe you let me go out that way. Like, I thought it was awesome you were expressing who you were. That's all that matter. So I think that's great to like, I don't. Yes, I definitely try to give her creative freedom where possible. Yeah. No, I think I think we should do that as much as possible because.

Yeah, you know, so many things in life will stifle them later on. Right? Yes, yes. So where do you think or what do you think about the whole, fast fashion thing that's happening these days? I was just starting to watch and finish watching it yet. The, the Netflix special and now I can't think of it.

It's cold, but it's something about the consumption habits. I have seen that one. Okay. I'm the name of that is slipping my mind to something about, Well, we can figure that out later, but yes, we can figure that out later. But I was kind of I was like, literally started watching it yesterday and then got interrupted.

So I need to get back to it. It was very good. Yes, I liked that one a lot. It's I feel like it's very I love seeing more of like the conversation around it now and that that's more of that. There are more conversations happening in that. Like, I think that's the first step. That was certainly the first step for me, is just becoming aware of aware of the problem and aware of like what I personally was consuming when I personally was like my actions towards, fast fashion and consumption and what I was throwing away.

So I think just even having those conversations is eye opening for, for everybody to just like, be aware of what's happening before we can do anything to change it. Yeah. It's funny, you know, I had my start in fashion design as well, but that was a really, really long time ago. And I remember seeing the excess of it then.

You know, this was before social media. And I was working for brands that made cheap clothing. It was it wasn't called fast fashion then it was called mass market. Okay. But even then you saw it, you know, I got to travel to China to, to oversee production of things, and you could see the waste just then and then, you know, trying to make the clothes even then, cheaper, like pennies counted to make.

Yeah, yeah, to make it as cheap as possible. And I kind of fell into that side of the fashion industry. I, you know, I remember designing evening gowns, but no, that wasn't there was no money in that. So I went into, you know, it just kind of happened, I think my teacher. Yeah, my teacher, just invited me to freelance during my, my, I think my senior year or maybe even my junior year.

And that just kind of snowballed from there. The freelance work into a full time job. And I found myself in mass market because that's I followed the money. Yeah. Yeah. You it's like a living. But even then I remember seeing the excesses and I had. I have a friend we talked about possibly doing some kind of a sustainable brand, but you know, we had no money, we had no backing or anything.

And then I left the whole world behind and moved on to something else. But to see it now, it's like, why didn't anyone see what was happening back then and put a stop to it? It's like it's only like grown by, you know, I don't know, 100 1,000%. Right? Right. But I think you kind of nailed the hammer on nail.

The hammer hit the nail on the head. But it's where everybody's chasing where the money is. And it's like that ultimately is unfortunately, I think where where everybody is moving towards is where where the big businesses are moving towards is. Yeah, now, now I feel like there's enough need and want for more sustainable brands. And now that it is more of a conversation, like people are wanting that and moving towards that direction, but until we got to that point, until enough people realize like, hey, this is a problem.

Like everybody was kind of just like chasing where the money is. Yeah, yeah. So where did you go to school? I went to school at Pratt in New York. Base in Brooklyn. Yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah, it what's cool? What's cool? I, you know, worked in the garment district. It was fun. Every now and then I'm there these days and I go, oh, look, it's still this.

Yeah. So I saw on your was it on your blog or your Instagram or maybe it was both. I don't remember, but you do you run a repair cafe? Yes, I started I think it's been at least a year. It's been at least a year now. I've been doing, clothing repair clinic. So I bring my sewing machine and a table and, like, a little sewing kit.

And I pop up once a month at, our local refill store, and you can come in and bring me, like, pants that have a rib hole or, shirt is missing a button, like, easy repairs kind of do on the spot. And it's just been like, it's been so fun to, like, see it catch on and grow.

And it's also just so rewarding to, like, hear the stories behind, like, these things that people will bring in their favorite pair of pants and they're like so devastated that they can't wear their favorite pair of pants. And then it's like, you give it five minutes, five, ten minutes of love, and they're patched up and ready to go again.

And it's just so rewarding to like, see these pieces like, live on rather than doing what we're told to do, which is just like, if it gets worn out, throw it away and buy something else and yes, it's just been a very it's been a very rewarding, experience. Oh, that's so cool. Do you ever teach people how to repair or do they watch you and then learn?

Oh. That is like my goal of this year is I really there's been like, a tug on my heart to start teaching classes. I feel like sewing has kind of been, like, become like a lost art. And I want I love being able to do the repairs for other people. But I also want to, like, teach people how to be able to do it on their own because it is such like an accessible thing to be able to do.

Like you need a needle on a thread most of the time. Yeah, and you can just like do it on your own and learning how to do that on your own, I feel like can be empowering to then just be able to fix it on your own, I think so. Do you know, Amy Meissner? Give me some context, which is a quilt or an art school, actually.

So, when I met her, we met as art quilters. We were both making, you know, art from fabric. And she still does some of that, but she is running these workshops up in Alaska, and she is frequently doing some kind of a mending workshop where she not like, teaches. People bring in their garment and she walks them through how to fix it themselves.

It's really quite cool. Yeah. And some of those like she she'll post them on Instagram or something. And some of those mending are pretty intense. Like there's some serious mending that needs to do, not just a little button or a seam or something. Yeah, yeah. So that's very cool. Yeah, that's a good way to to do it rather than just fixing it on your own to teach someone else how to do it.

Yeah. And then there's another artist, Katrina. I can't remember her name, but she's just she's doing an an online, mending workshop, like showing, showing how to mend. I guess it's like a Sachiko type mending. And then also, knits mending so that I think there's a resurgence of all of that. Yeah, yeah. So that's awesome. Actually, if you do it in person, I think.

I think that would be awesome. Yes. I think people are also like craving that now too, with number one, I think well, I, I keep when I look back, it seems like the pandemic was like so recent and that were. But I think that was kind of the turning point of like when we were all shut down and not able to, like, get together in groups.

We're still like craving that community and togetherness of doing it, doing something like fun and creative with a group of people. Definitely. And, you know, it's so ubiquitous to, to do that. I mean, I, I, I was on zoom before the pandemic, but it was just kind of like once in a, in a blue moon kind of thing.

But now I feel like I'm on zoom every day, and the ability to do a workshop and actually talk to people is really a wonderful thing across, you know, time zones. Yes. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Oh, gosh.

All right. So do you consider yourself an artist or a fashion designer? Oh, this. I feel like I'm still working through this in my head because it feels like it's a hard, like, mind jump to make, So I feel like I'm. I feel like I do lean more towards artist, but at the same time, I'm also trying to lean into this like teacher space.

And that's been a whole like, mind jump. I have a business coach that I work with, and that was like the last thing that we just talked out of. Like, it feels like this roadblock to be able to give yourself this title of this like of artist or teacher, like there's this imposter syndrome that creeps in, and just like some false beliefs like that, we're told as a society around that.

And I'm like, if you're an artist, it means you're not going to make any money. And if you're a teacher, you're not going to make any money. That is such a low. You know what? I know, but it's like hard to mentally break through that sometimes. So I, I'm leaning more towards artist is where is the territory?

I'm, I'm, encroaching right now. I love that. Well, and I think that as an artist, you can be a fashion designer, you can be a painter, or you can be a the all of those great artists. It's all encompassing, right? Oh that's great. So then what do you think is the role of an artist in this world full of overconsumption and climate change?

Ooh, that's a good question. Yeah, I guess I, I kind of see my role as trying to inspire other people. Like, I have this, like, I don't know if you would call it a mantra or like, goal of, like, I want to change the world, which sounds like so hefty. But I think in order to do that, like, I feel like my role is to inspire other people, and hopefully take them on like a similar path that I've been on of, like just becoming aware of what's happening around us.

And just like, inspiring people to make a small change. And if we're all collectively making a small change that it can make a bigger impact. Yeah, absolutely. That's that's kind of, I, I completely agree with you there. Like every little bit counts. Yes. Yeah. I, I, I often say like, it feels like what I'm doing feels like spitting into the ocean.

Like, most of the time it feels like this is doing nothing. Like you can't when you can't see those, like, immediate returns. But even a spit wad can create a ripple.

I like that. Can I see that on a T-shirt, please? Yeah.

That's great.

Oh, well, thank you so much. This has been a lovely conversation. What? I guess? Yes. What do you have, ahead for yourself in, 20, 25? So this episode will be halfway through, probably. So what's on the horizon? I, really hoping to dive into teaching some classes this year. I feel like last year I was really focused on just, like, doing the projects that I was excited about and like, just making the things that I wanted to make.

And this year has already kind of started to shift into just like some cool, like, custom projects, bubbling to the horizon. So I feel like I'm kind of leaning into that this year of like, still take on the creativity, but also take on whatever the world is kind of throwing my way rather than be have this tunnel vision of what do I want to make?

Oh, that's cool. So do you take on commissions then? Is that that sounds like that's what it sounds like. Sometimes, yes, I am. I do get a little picky because I do still love like, my with some creative freedom. But I am I'm kind of leaning that way this year, so. Yes, I guess is the answer.

Okay, that's a good experiment. Come on. It'll be fun. Yeah, yeah. You're allowed to express yourself within it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Awesome. That's. I'm interested to hear what are your, like, goals for the year or what are you excited to lean into. So my my goals I am looking to do more community projects. Ooh. I am waiting for some.

Currently this is as we're talking in January. I'm waiting for some answers and hopefully by the time this episode is released, I will know what the answer is. But I am hoping to do some community projects as an involving an entire community, as an art center or a neighborhood and creating something and an artwork that would be displayed in a public place.

Ooh, that's that's really exciting to me, you know, in that not just I mean, I thoroughly enjoy being just me in my studio doing exactly what I want to do. But I really enjoy when I can involve other people in a project as well. Yes. I want a good way to just, like, start a conversation with other people too.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And you know, when you're all sitting around the table stitching some weird material conversations really do are really, really interesting. Yeah. That's awesome. Very cool. So we'll see what happens. So I'm excited to see that unfold for you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Well thank you so much Carli. And yes, thank you so much for doing this.

Yeah, I look forward to, keeping up with you on Instagram or whatever social media channel. Whatever. Yeah. Or not. That's exactly right.

That was a really fun conversation. Thank you for listening. I really enjoyed talking about fashion again. It's been a long time since I've been in the fashion world, so that was a really fun little conversation. I hope you enjoyed it. Please rate, review and share this podcast with everyone that you think might find it interesting. I really appreciate all the shares and all the comments.

See you next time!

This podcast was created, produced and edited by me, Natalya Khorover. Theme music by RC Guida. To find out more about me, go to art by natalya.com to find out about my community. Go to Repurposer collective.com and to learn with me check out all my offerings at EcoLoop, Dot Art. Thank you for listening.