As a collective, we believe that creation takes community. In acknowledgement of that, here are the artists, artisans, models, manufacturers, and suppliers who currently bring ALL WE REMEMBER to life.
CUT AND SEW
DIGIT Patterns Services is a Chicago-based professional digital pattern making, grading, pre-production, and micro-production company that specializes in helping emerging designers and growing apparel businesses bring their designs to life. DIGIT’s approach allows for more efficiency and less waste at all stages of production, ensuring peace of mind from beginning to end. Their production process expertise allows DIGIT to offer concise, step-by-step consulting through the development process. From precise pattern digitization and in-house fit testing, to skilled cutting and production sewing, DIGIT ensures their customers gain valuable insight to the stages that move their ideas off paper. Their hands-on consulting, paired with a dedication to local manufacturing and production, means designers become a part of a sustainable fashion community.
Sew Valley
Sew Valley is a sustainably focused garment factory, sample room, and incubator space for apparel brands and individuals interested in the sewn trades. We provide the guidance, collaboration, connections, space, services, and equipment brands/individuals need to bring their design to market. We are a registered 501(c)(3) non profit organization in Cincinnati, Ohio.
DYEING
Green Matters Natural Dye Company
Green Matters Natural Dye Company’s mission is to bring pollution-free color to the textile industry by using all-natural dye ingredients. Based in Lancaster County, PA, an area known for its produce and the beauty of the natural environment, their dye studio features four large industrial dyeing machines, which allows them to work with natural dyes at scale. Green Matters educates customers and businesses about the many benefits of natural dyes, while working with clients to develop unique naturally dyed color palettes for their products. In addition, they advocate for: plant based dyes, natural fabrics and sustainable production; low air-miles and local manufacturing; small businesses, artisans, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Green Matters Natural Dye Company contributes to the health of our waterways and planet, making for a better tomorrow.
MATERIALS
Founded in 1999 as a distributor of trims and packaging for the North American market, EU Design has evolved into a multinational small business and Certified B Corporation focused on manufacturing buttons, packaging, fashion trims, and custom jewelry for the apparel industry. Research and Development is key to their growth and a way to differentiate its novelties from those of their competitors. Bottonficio Fenili (its factory in Mozzo, Italy), as well as its R&D shop in Hong Kong, are fully focused on meeting the trends and demands of designers and developers. EU Design’s culture embodies five explicit values that are fundamental to its identity and cannot be compromised: Safety consciousness in its factories, Accountability, Inspiration, Loyalty, and Proactivity. Constant introspection and openness to technology helps EU Design drive tangible change in the fashion industry. Sharing the results throughout the organization, as well as attention and sensibility towards social responsibility and giving back to society are the ultimate purpose of EU Design’s efforts.
Fiberactive Organics, LLC is a manufacturer and distributor of organic cotton sewing thread founded by Kansas City, Missouri artist Julie Moore. Now headquartered in Apex, North Carolina, Fiberactive Organics is a zero-waste, fair trade company that prides itself on the highest environmental standards both in its products and facilities. Ms. Moore, now acting as CEO, consults with customers around the world to enable them to produce the highest quality products with the lowest environmental footprint possible. Fiberactive is a global company where business is personal.
Based in the Japanese seaside city of Kamakura, Fujiyama Ribbon believes “ribbons are tools of expression that take on meaning from their users and settings.” With quality as one of the company’s main tenets, Fujiyama Ribbon manufactures all of their products in Japan and performs rigorous quality control to ensure their high standards are not compromised in any way.
Organics and More Organics and More is a textile wholesaler specializing in GOTS certified organic cotton wovens and knits for the global sleep industry. Located in Greenville, South Carolina, the company provides high quality fabrics produced in Pakistan that meet the social and environmental criteria of the Global Organic Textile Standard.
Signet Mills Based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Signet Mills is a family owned and operated textile manufacturer with a company-wide commitment to excellence. Since 1938, four generations of family ownership have honed and passed down the knowledge of how to create the best possible fabrics and customer experience. Signet Mills is passionate about pursuing continuous improvement, being productive, acting with integrity, and engaging in stewardship. These values have laid the foundation for their corporate culture and will serve as guiding principles in all their future endeavors.
SOS from Texas
SOS from Texas produces entirely made-in-USA organic cotton fabrics and garments crafted by American workers being paid fair and lawful wages. Their farms have been certified organic by the Texas Department of Agriculture since 1992. SOS from Texas plants its cotton in mid-May and harvests it after frost in November. The harvested cotton is ginned at its certified organic gin and then shipped to a certified mill in North Carolina for spinning into yarn. The yarn is also knitted, finished, and sewn in the Carolinas. SOS from Texas is proud of its commitment to organic farming and American craftsmanship, which produces high quality items and materials meant to last for years.
Tsukineko Since its founding in 1952, Tsukineko has strived to be a leader in the manufacture of high quality inks and ink pads. In 1982, they introduced the first water-based pigment ink pad, which was met with widespread enthusiasm by the crafting industry. This ink pad led to the development of the, at the time, revolutionary multicolor stamp, which then led to the development of a myriad of other inks. Over the past forty years, Tsukineko has continued to develop innovative products that allow stampers to create various effects–from two toned to watermark to resist-all with a single inkpad.
MODELS
Dairyn Estrada
Dairyn Estrada is a model in the Chicago area. She enjoys collaborating with people who want to explore movement and have years of experience in commercial, editorial, and high fashion. She hopes to motivate more people of color to model and to increase PoC representation in fashion during her journey through the industry.
Dayjahvell Dayjahvell is a Chicago-based artist and the owner of Chair of Chair, a business and Instagram page dedicated to a carefully curated selection of mid-century modern furniture. He also deejays under the name “Cloudy,” through which his love for design and structure blends with his passion for live performance and music.
Zoë Greenham Zoë Greenham is a Chicago-based artist whose work investigates the relationship between movement and materials. Originally born in Sydney, Australia, she spent her childhood relocating with her family every few years to financial centers across Asia and Europe. The desire to explore and create worlds dominated by movement is what drives her work. The imagery in her drawings, paintings, and sculptures is inspired by distribution center interior spaces, shipping port machinery, high-speed rail lines, and other structures associated with global trade and infrastructure projects. She received her BA from Wesleyan University and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Connecticut, Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Germany. She teaches at Harold Washington, Truman College, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
iicky
Born in Trinidad, raised in the Virgin Islands. Son of a carpenter and a seamstress. Heavily influenced by his father, who always said, “the word ‘mistake’ does not exist,” and his mother whose creative style used colorful textiles and hand-finished details. When he was a child, he would help her with the finishes of welting, piping, cording, and the sewing-on of buttons. His parents’ influence can be seen in his watercolor and sashiko fabric mending techniques.
PACKAGING AND TAGGING
In her quest to find recycled, recyclable, biodegradable, and/or reusable shipping supplies, Erin Kimmett founded eco-friendly packaging and shipping supply company EcoEnclose. In 2005, Erin quickly realized there weren’t any great eco-friendly packaging options, which started the search for, and development of, EcoEnclose, whose first product was the recycled poly mailer, now 100% recycled, 50% post consumer resin, and recyclable! In 2015, Saloni and Kyle acquired EcoEnclose after years of searching for a business whose mission aligned with their own. They loved the values that EcoEnclose was built upon and saw its tremendous potential for growth. EcoEnclose has now expanded into over 200 shipping solutions, almost all of which are 100% recycled and recyclable!
Since 1992, Green Field Paper has created innovative, eco-friendly papers that are distinctive in appearance, function, and origin, reinventing the age-old tradition of creating fine paper without cutting down trees. Their business is dedicated to providing exceptional quality recycled paper products with creative design while implementing environmentally friendly manufacturing practices. All of Green Field Paper’s products are made in the USA without dyes or bleach. Earth pigments are used to color their handmade paper and all of their seed paper contains non-GMO, non-invasive seeds. In addition, Green Field Paper Company is a zero-waste facility that has made a commitment to offset 100% of their company-wide electricity use by purchasing wind energy credits; even the water used to make the 100% recycled handmade paper is reclaimed and recycled back into the next batch.
Mayday Labels Founded by Sara Boatright in Lee Summit, Missouri, Mayday Labels manufactures custom clothing labels, personalized name tags, and garment labels, all on GOTS certified 100% organic cotton. Their labels are soft, durable, and produced without harsh chemicals.
PATTERN DIGITIZING AND GRADING
There is no shortage of talent outside of New York and Los Angeles but, for many, the resources the coasts enjoy are not always readily available. Chicago-based OnPoint Patterns helps fill the void with a comprehensive knowledge of the sewn product industry that provides a one-stop shop for both budding and established designers.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Greg Fairbank
Greg Fairbank is a photographer, teacher, and human based in Chicago. You can see his work on Instagram @gregfairbank (his account is private so that his middle school students don’t spy on him, but accepts requests from fellow adults).
Lyndon French
Lyndon French is an editorial and commercial photographer based out of Chicago, IL. He likes making pictures of people, vans, cars, dirt bikes, food, buildings, rocks, factories, clothes, shoes, family, and the occasional winter surfer. Outside of being a photographer, he enjoys romantic joyrides in his station wagon accompanied by a cup of vanilla bean ice cream. For a taller male he's quite elegant on a pair of roller skates.
WOODWORK AND FUNCTIONAL DESIGN
Kumiko Murakami is an artist, designer, and educator who creates functional art for both herself and collaboratively as a fabricator for artists, designers, performers, and organizations. Born in Osaka, Japan, Kumiko has been curious about colors, patterns, and shapes since childhood, especially as they relate to manga, novels, animation, action figures, character goods, and artificial flowers. She holds a diploma from Marronnier Fashion Design College in Osaka, and both a BFA and MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Kumiko has exhibited her work throughout the U.S. and received fellowships from SAIC and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has expertise in a variety of technical and artistic forms, including woodworking, furniture design, sculpting, painting, fashion design, and more.
