Rescued materials, travel inspired design, functional fashion

(Exerpt originally found on my Etsy.com "About" page)


YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

I was the kid growing up selling dried wild flower bouquets to the neighbors from my wagon. I've always been most content working on creative projects. Sewing, drawing, painting, coloring, building things...One of my favorite games was "business"; I had a wooden box filled with fax cover sheets and blank receipt books.

While in college I had my first run with clothing design. Working in the costume shop at the Skidmore Theatre, my creativity was put to the test creating costumes from thin air based on an idea from the director. I then produced two collections for student fashion shows.

BA in hand and a day job to boot Etsy crossed my path. *light bulb* the perfect outlet for the creative working person. Of course I dream of quitting my day job like most Etsians, but for now the bills must get paid and Etsy is the perfect forum to run my business while I sleep.

I have been transient the last *ahem* nearly a decade; each space I have lived in I have always made room for a studio. My current studio is a dark walk out basement filled with yellow lights and borrowed furniture. My living and creative space are woven into and on top of one another. It works. I thrive in organized chaos.

My favorite materials are discarded clothing found in secondhand shops. Textiles inherited from retired friends and family. Found objects from flea markets and the beach. My absolute favorite thing is to determine the limitations of a discarded item, discover its potential and work it into a functional piece of wearable art.

YazBerry is in essence, a grand recycling experiment; manifested in the form of wearable art. I am a first generation "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" student and have found it is one of my guiding mantras in all that I do in life. Always finding ways to reduce my impact on the ecosystem and preserve the beauty around us for those to come after.

At the moment I am mostly flying solo on the YazBerry frontier. At times my generous fiance will help with the online shop. My number one fan and best sales person. My mom also helps at art fairs.

I always carry a small notepad and pen with me. I never know when something will catch my eye, inspire a design and need to be captured before my short term memory allows it to float on the wind. I am particularly inspired by architecture, eye catching color combinations in ethnic textiles and the artisan craft of peoples around the world.

I rarely make the same item twice. It feels like a chore and I want your YazBerry creation to be singular in this world. I stand by the promise that YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

Enjoy!

Virginia Berry

Designer * Creator * Picker * Maker

The Trench Coat Project

I like to think that out of every mistake is born a great idea. I recently completely ruined a vintage trench coat with bleach while trying to clean off a stain. Devastated, the recycler in me couldn't throw it in the scrap pile because of its fine construction and high quality vintage fabric. So after a week or two of stewing over what to do with it, I came up with The Trench Coat Project.

The trench coat project involves re-tailoring, distressing, adding to, modifying and otherwise updating vintage trench coats to take on a haute couture look and feel. Here is a sneak peek at the first trench coat victim:


Stay tuned in the next few weeks as I unveil the first trench coat!

Repurposed: The Art of Recycling Vintage Clothing

In a box of vintage fabric I recently acquired I discovered this cute, mint condition bodice that had once been part of a dress now taken apart. The skirt bits appeared to have been sourced for some creative venture, but the bodice was left intact, with simply a raw edge at the bottom where it once attached to the dress.

What do to with a vintage bodice...boring by itself, a little too simple and homely for my vintage taste..."I know, I'll alter it a bit to make it more contemporary". Also, in my stash is a vintage accordion pleated skirt that my friend gave me when she moved. As a skirt it underwhelmed me a bit, but as a trim it had potential.

I cut wide strips from the accordion skirt and carefully arranged it to make this luscious ruffled collar and cute shoulder frills. I altered the bodice and made the neckline lower, raised the hem and opened up the arm holes a bit to make it more comfortable...*drum roll* I present you...my latest creation!
Not only are the garments recycled and repurposed, but the design offers versatility in that both the collar and the shoulder frills can be worn two ways, offering a few options for your look.



I have always enjoyed giving new life to vintage fabric and clothing. Even when I first started designing in college, I used pieces of vintage skirts and other garments in some of my designs as the fabric tends to be rich in color, texture and quality. Today, I have been repurposing antique kimono obis in many of my designs. I also use vintage fabrics in a lot of my purses, especially as liners. Be sure to read my item descriptions as you browse my store as I always mention when I am using repurposed fabric and what it was before. Enjoy!

Love this cropped jacket? It's available now in my yazberryfashion.etsy.com store. Here is the direct link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29856663

Mesocyclone Fashion Show: The Re-fa-shen Collection

At this month's Design Hive Market, Fashion with Impact presented Mesocyclone "celebrate the awakening of Spring through green fashion. Featuring the re-fa-shen collection". Many of the designers use repurposed fabrics, either from vintage clothing or other salvaged fabrics. Recycling fabrics to give them new life and revitalized look.

Contributing Designers included: Amanda Antunes of d. aMa Design, Tricia Wilde, Lyric Couture, Photosynthesis, Shannon Glasheen, Jillian Gorski (accessories) and B;aires (accessories).


I love the richness of the bluegray babydoll dress.


The red reconstructed sweater is my favorite piece of the show. It has a unique shape, innovative design and great texture. Plus, it is a wonderful way to repurpose a sweater!!


While I'm not typically fond of plaid, this pristinely tailored dress has a playful use of the plaid at the bust with fun delicate straps at the shoulders and back giving an unexpected pairing with plaid.


The white shirt has incredible architectural qualities to it which I enjoy.


Be sure to check out these eco-conscious, sustainability savvy designers!

YazBerry Selling New Designs at Design Hive Market in Cambridge, SUNDAY, APRIL, 5!

Event Reminder: Rock your eco-look this Sunday!

FOR MORE INFO ON DESIGN HIVE CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: www.designhivemarket.com

YazBerry Fashion will be selling many never before seen designs and vintage clothes and purses at this month's Design Hive Market.

Many of my handmade items incorporate repurposed fabrics, antique kimono obi's, vintage scarves as liners and more repurposing can be found!

In addition to our regular music-meets-indie market mashup, on Sunday April 5th, we’ll be hosting the “Get Green and Groovy” event featuring products made from salvaged and recycled materials by local indie designers and a fashion show presented by Fashion With Impact (FWI). FWI will adorn the runway with recycled fashions and debut its Re/fash-en collection of unique garments made from recycled fabrics (fashion show starts at 1pm)

Plus, Autonomie Project, a new Boston-based fair trade fashion company, will have artists on-hand to help shoppers design and paint their own Ethletic custom footwear and screen print their own t-shirts.

Just a quick reminder that we've got some great (groovy & green) events planned for Sunday:
- Sustainable fashion show at 1pm by Fashion with Impact
- Design-your-own fair trade t's and hightops with Autonomie Project
- Live DJ spinning hot tracks all day

Hope to see you there!


*Much of the copy originally found on Design Hive Market event page on Facebook.