Ragfinery's Rags to Riches Runway Showcase

Hey Forest Dwellers!

I'm excited to share a new event that I'll be participating in this fall: the Rags to Riches fashion show! This is a (formerly) annual fundraising event for Ragfinery, Bellingham's local textile recycling non-profit.

Ragfinery is an amazing resource for finding secondhand and vintage materials, notions, and clothing for upcycling. They operate via donations and resell these materials at very very low prices, much like a thrift store for all things sewing and crafting! I have been a huge fan and supporter since I moved to Bellingham, and they are my favorite source for finding vintage linens and fabrics to recycle into beautiful new items. (A huge amount of my materials for the Forest Princess Gown, for instance, came from Ragfinery!)

From their website:

Ragfinery’s “Rags to Riches” Runway Show is on Saturday, October 26th, at The Majestic in Bellingham. This creative reuse showcase will feature stunning designs made from repurposed textiles, celebrating both sustainability and artistic innovation of our local designers.

Proceeds from the event will support our programs, including the relaunch of our workshops, which are back for the first time since the 2020 lockdown! Our first workshop in early August sold out within an hour, demonstrating the community's strong demand for our programming. Funds will also support our textile waste diversion initiatives, job training and creation efforts, and provide low-barrier access to garments, textile art supplies, and artist support.

This is the first year that the event is back post-Covid, so it's also my first time participating! I have signed on as an artist to showcase my work on the runway. I will also most likely be modelling (tbd) so this should be a very hands-on event for me!

I've been sketching and collecting materials to bring my design to life, and I'm very excited to start putting things together. My look will be a casual, comfortable design suited to the wet and gloomy weather of a Pacific Northwest October. I'll keep the details under wraps for now, but look forward to a few more hints and progress posts as the big date approaches.

If you're local to our area, consider coming out to support Ragfinery and these incredible artists!

Your forest girl,

Heidi