We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christine Bonipart Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Christine, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
A meaningful project…. It all began in February of 2023. I was playing around with upcycling vintage textiles into jackets and robes. Hand pieced and hand stitched vintage quilts we transformed into beautiful jackets, and vintage cheille bedspreads were upcycled into warm cozy robes. All unique, one of a kind, garments were being called “pieces of wearable art” by my clients. Truly sustainable fashion at it’s best.
I was noticed by Angela Johnson, co-founder of Fabric in Tempe, AZ. Fabric Tempe is a nonprofit fashion incubator that;s sustainably redifining the fashion industry. Angela was hosting a fashion show to kick off their new location, and asked me to join in. I was asked to bring two of my favorite pieces to be displayed at the event. I can’t tell you what an honor it was. I was so new in the industry, just launching my designs, and here I had the opportunity to network with over 200 guests, fellow designers, and fashion industry trailblazers.
I go to work on my jackets to display, created a wonderful photo collage of some of my designs and had a drawing to win a one of a kind Bucket Hat. With the give a way, I was able to obtain emails to all those who wanted to participate and begin a contact list for future email marketing.
Long story short, we had a fabulous time, gave away 3 Bucket Hats, and the two jackets that were on display eventually were sold to overseas clients. One was sent to Japan and the other to Australia.
The friends and connections made during this project were life changing. Three months in and things were just beginning to take off~
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Christine, I am married and a mother of three wonderful grown children.
I am fortunate in the fact that I spend half my year in Arizona and the other half in Washington state with my children and extended family.
I have always had a creative mind and desired an outlet that could travel with me.
Stitches N Bloom all came about with my obsession with vintage textiles, and the thrill of the hunt in both locations. My garments are made using 100% rescued vintage textiles. Each piece I create captures the beauty of the original textile and repurposes it into something wearable that can be celebrated.
My beautiful cozy chenille robes, stunning quilt jackets, fun bucket hats, and the casual denims are all unique pieces. They are the perfect addition for any wardrobe. Collect one for each season, or a single statement piece for that special outing.
Custom orders? Yes Absolutely…..If a client has an heirloom quilt or textile they would like upcycled, I verify the integrity of it, make sure it is large enough for the style the client is interested in, and design that special garment for them.
Voila’ ….. Giving new life to their family treasure
A truly sustainable business, where nothing goes to waste. By selling the remnants, or donating them where they can be used as pillow stuffing or crafts projects, will keep the extra remnants out of the land fills. It is my goal to create sustainable fashion, and also have a business that promotes a healthy enviroment.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the joy in my clients when they wear my designs. Every piece is an upcycled, hand made, one-of-a-kind, work of art. As an independant designer, I create functional pieces of wearable art at the highest quality using second hand materials. These pieces evoke convsations and emotions within others.
When I am stopped by someone and asked “Where did I get that amazing jacket?” or “I just love what you are wearing!” I am so proud and grateful for the conversation. I explane what I do, where the textile came from, and how it’s new life came to be. Isn’t it fun to explain that the jacket was a 1910, Amish crazy quilt, stitched by a quilting circle? Each individual quilt/textile has a story, which only adds to the beauty of it.
There is only one jacket, which belongs to that one special client. The joy of bringing these two unique individuals together is priceless.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The mission that is driving my creative journey is fashion sustainability.
The fact that less than one percent of clothing is recycled to make new clothes. The fibers in clothing are polymers, long chains of chemically linked molecules. Washing and wearing clothing shorten and weaken these polymers, so by the time a garment is discarded, the polymers are too short to turn into a strong new fabric. In addition, most of today’s textile-to-textile recycling technologies cannot separate out dyes, contaminants, or even a combination of fabrics such as polyester and cotton.
As a result, 53 million metric tons of discarded clothing are incinerated or go to landfills each year. In 2017, Burberry burned $37 million worth of unsold bags, clothes and perfume. If sent to a landfill, clothes made from natural fabrics like cotton and linen may degrade in weeks to months, but synthetic fabrics can take up to 200 years to break down. And as they do, they produce methane, a powerful global warming greenhouse gas.
We all need to take part in preserving our world, and stop the waste that is creating global warming.
Sustainable fashion is a small piece to this big puzzle, but it is a piece that can make a difference.
While building a business that is environmentally conscious, and preserving beautiful pieces of history in the textiles, it is a win-win for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: Stitchesnbloom.com
- Instagram: @stitches_n_bloom
- Facebook: Christine Bonipart Johnson
Image Credits
Good Karma Photography by Lauren Topor Rebecca Redondo model