Insights

My upcycling practice continues to reward me in multiple, often unexpected ways. What started as an opportunity to solve a business problem (by converting a thrift store’s overstock jeans into new products and workshop offerings) continues to bring me surprises: emotionally, creatively and relationally.  Upcycling is fundamentally about taking something ‘'old’' and transforming it into something new and different. By salvaging, restoring, repairing, elevating and reclaiming something that risks being discarded, it becomes useful and ...

I started my first business, everyware designs, in 1993, making clothing and accessories in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Alongside making everything from wedding dresses to hemp jeans–hence the name everyware–I crafted washable menstrual pads and period underwear.  The reusable period product brainchild showed up thanks to a personal confluence of feminist politics, a deep love of nature, and a physical intolerance of traditional disposable pads and tampons. I called them “Lunapads” in homage to the profound connection ...