We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alison Green. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alison below.

Alison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I think about this question a lot.

I started Atomic Tangerine 2-3 years ago when my life felt like it was at a standstill. All through college and my youth, I was very passionate about sports, mainly soccer – but once I graduated, I felt like I lost everything that I worked and practiced so hard for. I had nothing to fill that space!

Since I had much, much more free time, I started crocheting more. At first, it was hats and blankets for family, but what I really wanted to make was a sweater! I found patterns and spent months on my first sweater. I loved the long-term projects, I loved having an item that I could wear all year round and would last for decades, and I loved how the sweater shaped my body each time I put it on. I remember thinking, ‘everyone deserves to feel this much love for their clothing’.

At the same time that I became obsessed with making sweaters, COVID hit and I suddenly had more time to make pieces. I started off getting orders from my friends and then friends of friends. I started learning more about the fashion industry and the effects of fast fashion, waste, sweatshops, and pollution the industry caused. I think all of these things together helped me get to the place where I am, and although I love what I do, I think it found me at the perfect time.

Alison, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Yes! My name is Alison Green and I am a self-taught circular fashion designer based in Youngstown, Ohio. Growing up, both of my grandmothers were (& still are) extremely talented crafters and artists – this really allowed me to play with colors and fabrics from a young age. Although, for the majority of my life, I didn’t view myself as an artist or designer. Even when I created things for my family and friends, I never really took it seriously! As I got older, I found the value in making my own clothing and started to peek behind the curtain of the fashion industry; how garment workers were paid (or not paid), the pollution the industry created, and the short lifestyle of garments. This inspired me to crochet more and share the importance of circular + handmade fashion with people.

At first, I was teaching myself (thank you Youtube!) how to crochet and construct garments. I bought a ton of used fashion books, Zero Waste Fashion Design, Design in Color, etc., watched hundreds of hours of designer’s processes on Youtube, and cycled through vintage crochet and knitwear magazines trying to learn what I thought fashion school could teach me.
I did this for about a year until I found myself in a local thrift store staring at all of the unwanted, damaged crochet blankets.
After that, I started buying all the unwanted granny square blankets that I could – in awe of the days and months the original artists put into their blankets. I wanted to preserve these blankets as best I could, all while turning them into something new that someone could love.

Something that I am most proud of about Atomic Tangerine, is how the pre-loved blankets are preserved. We take each item apart by hand and crochet it back together (as a new garment) how the blanket was originally stitched. We never use a sewing machine and rarely use yarn from outside what that blanket provides – we try to keep each garment, whether it’s a sweater, pants, or dress as circular as possible. Even down to staving the scraps/leftover yarn for pillow stuffing!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something that I had to unlearn was that a college/professional education is not always needed!

Early on in my business, I was so intimidated that I didn’t have a degree in fashion design, or textile design and didn’t attend a University like Parsons. Most of the podcasts, videos, and books that I tried to learn from repeatedly said a degree in the field is necessary to succeed in fashion/your own brand. I spent so much time looking into schools I could go to, ways that I would pay tuition, and online certificate programs, just to realize that I can learn just as much by doing – so I did.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Although loads of inspiration comes from vintage crochet and knitwear books, what has impacted me the most in my work is remake.worlds yearly Impact Reports.

A huge part of my business is sharing why healthy clothing matters! Reading these Impact Reports and learning more about the fast fashion industry, exploitation of workers, and environmental impact inspires me to create circular garments, and save textile waste from landfill.

It is really important to me to connect with the people who purchase my pieces. Humans make our clothing (even the cheap ones from Shein) and I think that knowing who makes the items you love puts the question of ‘Where is the item coming from? Who made this?’ in the heads of shoppers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atomictangerineclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atomictangerine__/?hl=en