We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carli Vergamini a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carli, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am a self-admitted hoarder of craft supplies. I’m talking all the way down to storing a brown paper bag of pom pom fuzz (the leftover trimmings from making pom poms). Said fuzz sat in my studio for years, occasionally accumulating more, completely convinced that someday the time would come for the perfect project. It stuffed one disheveled stuffed animal and provided materials for a random craft project, but finally the time came for the fuzz to flourish. It was the perfect storm of inspiration plus a free afternoon. I dug out some mesh from my fabric stash, sewed a pouch, stuffed it with pom fuzz and quilted the crap out of it. It turned into its own textile (plus A LOT of dust). I ultimately turned it into a tote bag and affixed a patch to the front that read, “every little scrap adds up.”
Completely unintentionally, this project turned into an art piece that sums up what I feel so passionate about. That alone our actions may feel insignificant, but when paired with everyone else’s efforts, they can make a huge impact. All our “scraps” add up- pom pom pieces, small changes and all.

Carli, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a self diagnosed deep feeling highly sensitive introvert who sometimes cries when I’m happy, usually cries when I’m sad and always cries when you get me to laugh really hard.

When I’m not crying I’m trying to change the way the world thinks about waste while occasionally enjoying a fountain beverage out of a single use plastic straw or fighting the inner monologue of, “Should I go thrifting today? Or do I already have too much stuff?”

I am a writer of run on sentences, lover of alliteration, an artist at heart and find myself wanting to start most conversations with, “Hiiiiiiiiii.” My snarky humor and love of color plus pops of neon are attempting to shake up the sustainable fashion space, and hopefully inspire others to make small changes towards a better tomorrow.

Becoming a mom made me want to fight even harder for a better world for my daughter. A world with polar bears, trees, an ozone layer, where schools feel safe and where she can unabashedly be herself.

I did not set out to be a tree hugger, but marrying an environmental science studying chainsaw fanatic who wanted to live in the woods set my city dwelling sights on a slightly slower lifestyle. But what really started it all was a desire to design and sew leather handbags and accessories without the slightest clue of where to buy leather. Once I realized my local thrift store had plenty to choose from in the jacket section I fell in love with the idea of repurposing and using what’s already at our fingertips instead of creating something totally new.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I hope sharing my story and my work inspires us to think differently about what we throw away. Not only the possibilities that discarded materials hold, but also the amount of stuff that we’re discarding. Getting grossed out by the amount of stuff that I was consuming made me want to make changes to my own lifestyle, but also to think twice before tossing it out. It turns out that popped kiddie pools can turn into jewelry and that snack pouches can be quilted together to make a brand new textile. Creativity is key to turning trash into treasure.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Every project is like a puzzle with endless possibilities. And the journey of reaching the end is both exhilarating and infuriating at times. But without the lows, you can’t experience the highs and the high of finishing a project that exceeds the original expectation is one of the best feelings ever.     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cravebycrv.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cravebycrv
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cravebycrv
• Other: www.pinterest.com/cravebycrv

Image Credits
Carli Dudzik