THE PROCESS: Crispina’s first product, Ragamuffins™ were made from hand-made felt. Her growing concern for the environment and distaste for the felting process led her, on her artist father’s suggestion, to try using sweaters from local thrift stores to achieve a similar material. Crispina washed and dried and washed and dried the sweaters refining the process as she went, eventually developing a process that not only shrinks the knits to create a felt like texture, but one that also softens the wools leaving them soft and warming against the skin. As time passed collections using other used clothing were introduced. Currently, used cotton tee shirts, corduroys, denim jeans, and men’s dress shirts are all incorporated into our products. Once processed the clothing is fastidiously sorted by color and end product use. The sorted goods are then carefully cut with custom- made dies (like giant very heavy duty cookie-cutters) on a large hydraulic clicker press. Cut goods are shelved by color adding an array of brilliant richness to the studio. Staff makers, with direction from our Production Manager, Joan, choose their material and construct each item using their design sense and creativity within the boundaries set by Crispina, our designer. We are always developing new items and processes. Currently, a scrap project with American Apparel based in Los Angeles– using their cutting room waste is in development. It is exciting and educational to have this new partnership developing. We will be posting more about this as it continues to come together. In the meantime, you can see the beginnings of our work with American Apparel by checking out our Orbit collection.