Piles of clothing will be swapped, altered, embellished and recycled into new clothing or accessories at the second annual Swap-O-Rama-Rama Saturday at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA).
Jennifer Alexander, the producer of San Luis Obispo’s Swap, said it is an international event to encourage the community to create more and consume less.
“The purpose is to get people excited and inspired to reuse clothing and be more creative,” she said.
Alexander’s goal this year is to make the event just as successful as last year’s held by Upcycle SLO. The organization had 200 people in attendance and raised $1,500 for Ecoslo, the environmental nonprofit chosen for the benefit last year. This year, the Swap is supporting SLOMA’s children’s programs.
“Art is one of the first things that gets cut in schools,” Alexander said. “(SLOMA) is taking the place of schools when it comes to art education.”
The entirety of the gallery space will be used for the event and if the weather is nice, the swap will take some of its displays outside.
There will be demonstrations on alterations and embellishments, as well as ways to recycle materials. One example is making beads from plastic bottles and pendants from bottle caps. The event will provide craft supplies and sewing machines. There will also be a Yudu screen printing machine, which is a do-it-yourself screen printer that puts designs on flat surfaces.
Impromptu fashion shows will also be put on and sponsored by Goodwill. Attendees can make custom coffee cup sleeves and take them to Linnaea’s Café on Garden Street for a free treat. Ash Reiter, an Indie pop band from San Francisco, will provide music from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.
Executive director of SLOMA Karen Kile said she is delighted to host the swap at the museum this year.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to learn the importance of recycling in an artful setting,” she said.
Kile said it’s important for people to reuse materials, since there is only a finite amount. A good example of this is the White Gowns exhibit currently being showcased at SLOMA.
“The value of upscale recycling is White Gowns,” Kile said.
All the gowns are made from reused materials made by local artists Jennifer Blue, Peg Eckert, Melinda Forbes and Nancy Martin, and are perfectly wearable.
“Let’s honor the past,” she said. “Recycled art is wonderful. It’s a fun and excellent process.”
Alyssa Gies attended the first swap last year, simply expecting to get rid of clothes and acquire a few new ones, since she doesn’t consider herself a very crafty person. She ended up staying for the entire event and attending workshops, where she made items such as picture frames and lamp shades out of old fabric.
“I ended up making a hat, though I’ve never sewn before,” Gies said.
This year, Gies said she plans on getting her 21-month-old son something, if she can find it. She picked up five or six things for herself last year that she still wears, she said. The entry cost was also lower, so she ended up getting nice, recycled clothing for only $3.
“There are some clothes I plan on taking back this year,” she said.
Participants are encouraged to bring in as much recyclable clothing as they wish and to take as much clothing away from the event as they want. Attendees pay for the experience, not for the clothing. Participants can walk in with a few T-shirts and come out with an armload of recycled sweaters.
The presale tickets are $5 and $10 at the door. The event will be held Saturday March 12, from 1 to 6 p.m. at SLOMA.