That old shirt just isn’t working for you anymore. It probably shrunk in the wash, faded in the sun or just doesn’t have the appeal it once had.
That’s where Shirra Wall comes in. She takes unwanted, used clothing and breathes new life into it. She cuts, sews and screen prints, creating new, locally-crafted fashion with fresh and modern appeal.
“I just think it’s really funky and contemporary using reclaimed clothing,” she said. “It immediately becomes something totally unique and very creative.”
Wall has always been the designing type. Back in 2001, when she and her husband ran a landscaping company, she started Shining Sun Gardenworks, creating garden art from reclaimed steel. The company flourished, both online and in more than 300 stores throughout North America.
The work was challenging and rewarding, Wall said, but after seven years grinding steel she decided she’d had enough. It was time to dive into fabric, and so began Super Craft Star.
Wall said she still loves the idea of using reclaimed material, giving people the option to shop local and feel good about consuming.
“I feel really proud of the fact I’m creating something valuable and beautiful and unique from something that was a cast-off,” she said.
Wall makes women’s shirts and sweaters, men’s shirts, hand bags, totes, pillows, headbands and scarves. She has also recently started creating framed art work.
To create a typical shirt, Wall begins at the thrift shop, gathering a bundle of different materials and patterns. At home is where it gets exciting, she said.
“The really fun part is when my scissors are flying and fabric is flying and I get to say ‘Oh this looks cool with this,’” she said.
Wall will often add a band of new material to a shirt’s middle or bottom to make it longer.
She then serges pieces together, sometimes appliques little patches on, like leaves or birds, and decides on an image to screen print on, often animals, trees or striking graphics.
Wall has recently begun doing workshops for people to come and make their own original items.
The workshops are two to three hours and cost $50 per person, including all the materials. The next workshop is for T-shirts and will happen Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m.
Locally, Wall’s crafts can be found at Shades of Green on Craig Street in Parksville, and at local summer markets like the Craig Street Market. Her crafts can also be viewed by appointment at her home studio.
For more information on Shirra’s recycled fashion visit www.supercraftstar.com or look up her Facebook page Super Craft Star for workshop updates and more.
This is the final story in The News’ series, The Art of Making Things.
