an eco vision

TEXTILE ART

Studio M's seed inception started in late Fall 2020. At the time, Molly was the manager of a high end tile and stone showroom. Having a love of high fashion, and a great eye, she was always on the path of a thrift store or salvage market. Walking tile boards to the dumpster at work, she noticed about 10 large black Hefty trash bags, with what appeared to be very high end luxury fabrics (ie…..clothes) inside. She waited until the staff left after 5 pm not wanting her employees to catch her knee deep in waste.

She discovered what is happening at every U.S. Design Center around the country, not to mention textile manufacturer, upholstery shop, distributor and fabric group sales rep's garage.

THROWING AWAY EXTREMELY HIGH END FABRIC.

Numbers

THE STATS

The contribution of America’s textile waste today, is an estimated 11.3 million tons in landfills on a yearly basis.

Approximately 81.5 tons per person per year, and around 2,150 pieces per second countrywide that get thrown into the garbage.

READ ARTICLE

partnership

GFDA - Good Future Design Alliance

We proudly support the GFDA. As a primary member of the Colorado Chapter, we are spreading the message to others to consider it's mission. Good Future Design Alliance is a community of architects, interior designers, builders, and product manufacturers who are passionate about reducing waste in the built environment.

READ MORE

MISSION

REPURPOSE

Every week, Studio M receives about 15 black trash bags full of luxury textile from her partners in the Denver Design District, or area designers. Every trash bag weighs about 40 pounds. Studio M then turns that “textile waste” into approximately 350 pillows per month. By our calculations, this means Studio M is keeping 600 pounds of textile out of the landfill per week –added another way, that means 2,400 pounds per month, or 28,800 pounds per year. Considering a metric ton weighs weighs about 2,205 pounds this means Studio M is keeping keeping 13 tons out of the landfill every year.

MENTORSHIP

LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES

About a year and a half after the company's inception, due to demand Studio M was desperate for good seamstresses. Like other skilled labor trades in the U.S., there is a shortage of candidates. Seeking advice from a neighboring business, he suggested partnering with an agency. Studio M contacted Lutheran Family services local chapter to hire seamstresses. We discovered a group of highly trainable political refugees settled in the Denver Metro area by the U.S. State Department. This is their shot at the American dream.

LEARN MORE

SOURCES

MATERIAL SOURCES

There is no shortage of places Studio M gets materials. Storage containers, archival collections of interior designers that have been in business for 45 years. The grassroots effort to "preserve" expensive, well crafted textiles goes beyond the hemispere of profit.