Santa Fe designer Nancy Judd and her recycled “trashion” (trash fashion) are headed to Washington, DC, to Saturday’s Green Inaugural Ball honoring President-elect Barack Obama. Judd, a former Recycling Coordinator at the City Different’s Solid Waste Department and current owner of Recycle Runway, has expanded her gorgeous line of “Dumpster coutre” to include pieces inspired by Obama campaign throwaways.
The Wall Street Journal featured Judd on the front page of its January 13th issue, for having caught the eye of organizers of the $500-a-ticket all-organic pre-Inaugural celebration, which is expected to draw 1,000 environmentalists. Models will display Judd’s garments on platforms in the main lobby area.
Showing her stuff in the nation’s capital is a big step for a woman who used to put on a furry blue costume and sweat her way through parades as Carlos Coyote, Santa Fe’s recycling mascot.”
Using campaign paraphernalia she rescued from a dumpster outside an Obama campaign office, Judd has developed an elegant line of Obama-wear, so far consisting of these three pieces (photos were provided by Judd and are used with her permission):
Obamanos Coat
This man’s coat is made from Obama campaign paper door hangers that have been lacquered and stitched together. (Look closely and you can see lots of little smiling Obamas and Bidens.) It took Judd 200 hours to cut, paste, and sew the coat.
Judd tailored the coat to Obama’s measurements, which she found online. She is hoping he will stop by the event and try on the coat. She even managed to hinge the sleeves to give him a measure of mobility: “He can’t wave, but he can shake a hand.”
Maybe the mental image of that dress made from glass might make people think twice before they throw out a bottle next time.
~Jenna Mack, co-producer of the Green Inaugural Ball (from WSJ)
Judd is shown here modeling an old-new take on the ubiquitious “little black dress,” this one made from plastic yard signs. She has no training in fashion, nor does she know how to sketch. She gets ideas from old paper dolls.
Her pieces are conceived as wearable sculpture and she doesn’t sell any of them. They are educational tools to help illustrate the problems facing our environment and to raise awareness.
You can’t be didactic or shaming or all gloom-and-doom…so you sneak in the back door.
~Judd, on how to talk to others about sustainability (from WSJ)
This stylish suit is woven from strips of voter-registration posters.
For Judd, making dazzling garments to hit home a serious message about the earth is a labor of love. For the past two years, she has been living off of savings and a small business loan. She won’t be making money from the Green Inaugural Ball, either, although she is selling tote bags made from recycled campaign posters to cover trip expenses.
The children were amazed to see that something so beautiful could be created out of something we would normally throw away.
~Pat Bluett, assistant director of a Boys & Girls Club (from WSJ)
I’m relieved to know that some of the printed materials—door hangers and brochures that so many volunteers handed out during the campaign—have been “re-purposed” into such gorgeous pieces. (How she managed to cut the plastic yards signs, I can’t figure out. Those things are indestructuable—don’t ask me how I know.)
More than that, I am proud of this talented New Mexico designer for making it to Washington, DC and to an audience of prominent and influential environmental leaders. She’s created a unique and fabulous way to get across a vital message to people young and old—and people in power ought to see her work.
Speaking of people in power, would you say hello to Obama for me, Nancy? Just give him a big hug on my behalf as you’re helping him try on the Obamanos Coat. Thanks.
Obama-rific!
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how awesome. great post!
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yb, This is a fantastic post & the fashions are beyond words! Such talent! I love them all equally!
Can you beliveve the “moment” is just around the corner? I’m so excited!
On another note, our best friends, who own their own trucking company, called me earlier this week to say that they were in the D.C. area. Turns out they had delivered a very popular mixture of soft drinks & water for the Inauguration. The receiver had also requested as many cut off plastic barrels (the kind that held the syrup for the soft drinks) & the shipper only shipped them 8. Duh, but that won’t nearly be enough! D
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Oh, & I would love to own one of those tote bags! D
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Thanks, Bo, claw, diddy. (Hey, a new stage name–Bo-claw-diddy.) 8)
diddy, you can order one via her website. I didn’t check out the price.
A friend of mine has a wonderful Obama bag that she got back in March of last year. Everytime she carries it, everyone asks where she got it. She said the woman who made them sold out in about 20 minutes after putting out the bags. He’s a hot brand. 8)
I heard Obama in a recent address saying that people didn’t need to come out to the Inauguration, that it’s going to be long lines, crowds, etc. I guess they are expecting a real mess there. Yes, it’s a historic event, but glad I’m not going to be in the thick of it.
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ybonesy, fantastic piece and great follow up to your first piece on Judd, Trash In Fashion. I can’t believe she doesn’t sell any of the pieces but lives off her savings. Amazing. She seems like a woman with a lot of integrity. It’s wonderful that she is going to be at the Green Inaugural Ball, too.
I hope Obama does try on her coat. So labor intensive with the 200 hours it took her to cut, paste, and sew the coat. I think that gives people an idea of how dedicated she is to this eco-cause. The most valuable asset we have as artists, designers, and writers is time.
She was very generous to let you use the photos, too. Please thank her from red Ravine. I’m fond of the Voter Swing Coat. Does it look kind of 1940’s to you? Who can you imagine wearing that one next week?
Once again, very creative post. I’m so glad to see it and happy to support the work of local artists in New Mexico. It’s so great that Nancy Judd is drawing national attention.
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Yes, the Voter Swing Coat is a lot of fun. Would look great with the black and silver shoes (the “silver” being made from coke can aluminum) that were in her Albuquerque Airport exhibit (LINK to shoes).
I also think she looks great in her own creations. The WSJ article has a slide show (LINK), I should have linked to it separately in the post but this link in the Comments will have to do, and she is shown modeling a few of her pieces. She definitely has an eye for some of the best classic looks from the past.
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Voter Swing Coat gets my vote as well QM. Looks like something Jane Jetson would wear in the colder climates of outerspace.
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Hello yb, QM et al, I am hoping to get caught up on all you’ve been doing and what I missed while off-line and since returning. There’s some great stuff here.
I have to say I love the title, “Out with the Old, In with the Old” – so fitting – and the fact that Nancy Judd got started in this line of work through employment with the Solid Waste Dept. in Santa Fe. – it’s fascinating and clever work. I wonder if she’ll make any dresses out of those old McCain yard signs, like the ones here which had the “Palin” part cut out of them. Nah, probably not…
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Yes, Heather, Jane Jetson! It does look a lot like Jane’s outfit, now that I think about it. 8)
Lil, great to hear from you. Great idea about the McCain signs. Gosh, that seems like so long ago now. Can’t believe it’s only been a few months.
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Yes, definitely a Jane Jetson coat! I think it would look fabulous with a wide brimmed, shallow hat. Almost like a saucer for the hat. 8)
lil, thanks, and glad to see you. Nancy Judd’s work is, indeed, clever.
Your comment about the McCain signs got me wondering about how this past campaign, the Republicans and Democrats both used blue with white lettering on their yard signs—don’t they usually use different colors?
I was also thinking that the NM Obamanos signs—the background was a bright sunflower yellow and the O of Obama was brick red and made with a Zia symbol, which is also the state symbol—those would make a cool design for a dress. Or maybe a belt. Or a tote bag. I really loved that sign!!
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How very interesting and thought provoking about wastefulness.
I’ll never look at campaign materials the same again. An entire new wardrobe could be found. I am a registered “independent” though, and I don’t remember seeing much material around…actually none. :O
Hmmm…I would love a NM Obamanos tote bag as I love sunflowers (and Obama). 🙂
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ya know, I didn’t think about it before…but I have an artist (and friend) here that makes all her jewelry from recycled cans and bottle caps. They are magnifico! Keeping in line with “trashion” I think she could make a fine looking propeller for the top of that saucer hat yb!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5291662
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I love the etsy shop! I have visited it often in the past. Thanks for the link anuvuestudio! Very cool stuff there! D
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Heather, “wearwolf” is awesome!! I love her stuff—Day of the Dead, with a sort of graphic whimsy. And the play on her name, it’s perfect. Magnifico, indeed.
It’s cool to see a pair of earrings and recognize the look yet not quite recognize it. I guess that’s what happens when you take something that you’re used to in one context and use parts of it in a totally new one.
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Hey suz, thanks for stopping in. Taking a break from the house remodeling project on the island?
The sunflower-yellow tote bags don’t exist yet, as far as I know. Nancy Judd’s current tote bags use mainly the blue campaign materials, but perhaps if she can find enough of the yellow Obamanos bumper stickers, she might be able to make a tote with those.
I can’t wait to see what else might come out of this Obama line of fashions and goods.
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I noticed campaign signs were incredibly overdone this season, esp the local ones. I think 20 “eric youngberg” signs on the ditch was unconscionable. I’d like to make a giant dumpster out of those signs,and throw the other thousands of red-white-and-blue plastic in it.
The only sign I liked was the Obama Hope poster, that had a timeless quality about it, something to keep.
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ybonesy, just adding a note here about the HBO happening today at the Lincoln Memorial. And adding the link for anyone who wants to watch. It’s free!
2:30 PM EST (1:30 CST, 12:30 Mountain, 11:30 PST) We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial: A public celebration, free to the public. (LINK)
The entire show will be broadcast live and for free on HBO and HBO.com. (Even though it is shown on HBO, anyone — subscriber or not — will be able to watch. Check your local cable/satellite listings for the channel in your area.) The celebration will be rebroadcast at 7PM ET/PT and 11:30 PM ET/PT.
Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation.
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Oh, lil, about the Obama Hope poster, Liz was telling me yesterday that it was just installed into the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, a real coup for artist Shepard Fairey. Here are a couple of links to two AP stories about him:
Street artist’s star rises with Obama portrait: Shepard Fairey, a leader in urban art scene, attracts vast new audience (LINK) — Good article on his past street art, personal life, and the Hope poster. Also has a photograph of the author in his T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I like these lines:
Piled on the table beside him, and in the hallway outside, were hundreds of anti-war posters from his popular feminist peace series waiting to be signed for an upcoming exhibit. He also designs album covers, stickers, a line of clothing and fine art pieces that have shown in galleries around the country.
Here’s the second link:
Obama illustration finds place at Portrait Gallery By Christine Simmons (LINK) — Barack Obama,” — a mixed media collage by Shepard Fairey, is installed in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. Fairey’s large-scale, mixed-media stenciled collage was the central portrait image for the Obama campaign and was previously distributed as a limited-edition print and as a free down.
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ybonesy, hope you’re watching HBO live. Stevie Wonder was just rocking out with Obama. 8) It’s giving us chills to watch all this in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The crowds are astounding. Wonderful. We’ve been streaming it live on our computer on HBO.com. I think I might watch it later tonight again. Wow!
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Great links on Shepard Fairey, QM. That was a wonderful poster. I loved seeing it all over the streets around here.
I did not watch HBO live. I heard about the concert at Lincoln Memorial while I was driving—they had something on NPR. It sounded fabulous.
I might try to catch some today.
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[…] to posts: Out With The Old, In With The Old (Recycled Fashion Goes To Washington, DC), If You Can’t Say Something Nice…, Why It Won’t Matter To You That I’m Voting For Obama, […]
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