Katastrophic is my first venture into fashion, which has turned out to be the passion of my life.

My background is in studio arts. I have always loved to draw, and drawing is always the beginning of each design and collection. In college I studied glass blowing, ceramics, sculpture, and had an independent study in book making and doll making. Clothing has turned out to be the perfect format for me as an artist, where I can make something that is both useful and conceptual.

Though I have always been an artist, spending my life making strictly conceptual art always seemed to mean neglecting other issues I felt were really important. The time I spent overseas in high school opened my eyes not only to the realization of widespread poverty in the world, but also to the possibility of doing things differently and creating my own culture. I became sharply aware of the fact that the choices we make with our own lifestyles have far-reaching affects that we usually are never aware of. Though the issues are vastly complicated, part of the affluence of our American culture has been built on dominance and exploitation of other cultures and economies. The fashion industry is one of the worst at this problem.

Katastrophic, a college nickname of mine and now the (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) name brand of my first clothing line, is an exploration of a different kind of economy. My goal is to build a sustainable and ethical business that makes available beautifully crafted, highly versatile, inspiring, and long lasting clothing produced in a life-giving, dignified, and conscientious process.

My little business and I have come a long way in these three or so years, though I still feel so far from really doing anything significant in the world. But let me end with this favorite quote of mine from Wendell Berry's book, A Continuous Harmony, which is a continuous inspiration and my hope for all of us:

"We have invested in the wrong tools and the wrong projects, have become ensnarled in bad plans, have been too slow to recognize the obvious. That is, we often have, not always. But by this awkwardness and this partial success we can see that we have not got to where we are by anything so simple as deciding what we wanted to do and then doing it- as if we had shopped in a display of lives and selected one. We have, instead, in the midst of living, and with time passing, been discovering how we want to live, and inventing the ways."

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