INTERVIEW: The Art of Repurpose: Local Artist Ingrid’s Passion for Cute Curiosities Made From Recycled Clothes
Photos by Ingrid Tiffe
“To me, it’s very important that you see little glimpses of things that make you curious and want to look more.”
On a Zoom call, textile artisan Ingrid considers — in a low, thoughtful voice, her dog inquisitively perched on her lap — the best reactions they’ve seen to their work. From tapestries to a signature hand-crafted doll line called ‘Beasties,’ the emotional response people have with Ingrid’s art varies, but always comes down to one word: connection.
“I do love it when someone picks up something and they instantly have to hug it or they instantly start doing their own little world of play,” says Ingrid. “That’s what they’re meant [for].“
Self-described as a ‘tactile person,’ Ingrid loves to watch someone pick up a Beastie and touch the carefully repurposed materials, strengthening the bond between the doll and its new companion. By utilizing crochet, felting, wirework, painting, 3D printing, and more, every Beastie is born from Ingrid’s experience in the medium of fashion, sewing, and art.
“I’m always evolving because I always think there's a new thing to learn,” they tell me. “I’m very much about discovering new techniques and incorporating them into my work. Quite often I will put something into my work that people don't think should go with textiles. I've gone through phases where I have used copper a lot, either in the frames or actually stitching it into my piece.”
Ingrid, a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) First Nations artist, has been creating Beasties for about 15 years now. Before then, Ingrid still had a needle and thread in hand. “I’ve been sewing since I was about four, so a long time,” they say. “That brought me into fashion, but fashion is a very competitive and nasty world at times.”
They worked in children’s clothing and had an eco-fashion line. Working in the industry, Ingrid witnessed the rise of fast fashion, overconsumption, and the constant waste of materials.
“With fast fashion, things aren’t made to last,” Ingrid explains. “There aren't as many classics in fashion to a certain extent. It’s always, ‘What did I see in the latest TikTok video?’ If something catches on, they can have it made and distributed in a week, which is kind of scary if you think about it. There is a lot of — what I guess a lot of people would say is garbage — that has nowhere to go. Even thrift shops have to bundle stuff up at the end of the week, and it goes in a dumpster. I’ve always been very against that.”
Ingrid remarks that they have an inherently curious eye for the world. When walking into thrift shops, such as the local store Up-Stitch, which provides repurposed materials for artists, they notice the neckties, clothes, and fabric just waiting to have another chance. In tapestries, Beasties, and other creations, Ingrid reworks the old into the new.
“It’s giving it another chance at life. It may still end up in waste eventually, but at least it has another lease on life for a while.”
To Ingrid, one of their most meaningful creations is the in-memoriam wall tapestries. Typically crafted out of neckties (which often have beautifully unique patterns and materials, they note), their tapestries are an homage to the person who made the clothing special.
Ingrid shares a few anecdotes about the dolls that reflect the new life they’ve been given, too. “One of the cutest things was when a mother and daughter came and picked up a doll, and the mother had to sit in the back seat because the doll rode shotgun,” laughs Ingrid. “They sent me pictures of the doll, all buckled in and everything.”
Another custom doll has become a fixture in the mountain biking circuit, meeting riders and accompanying them on biking adventures. “What I make, I want them to be a part of the person’s life, so when I get stories about them being a part of their life, it’s really awesome,” says Ingrid.
Ingrid finds it “a horrible shame” that so many adults lose this ability to play, when it’s imagination that makes us human. Science agrees, as it's been extensively proven by psychologists that the experience of holding, cuddling, and playing with dolls is a stress reducer, aids in trauma processing, spurs creativity, and builds social connections.
“I think that [connection] is partly because they’re tactile. That’s something they get to feel and touch,” explains Ingrid. “If they need that extra little comfort, it’s there. Even with the tapestries, when you’re walking through a room and you glimpse it out of the corner of your eye, you get thoughts of the person that’s important to you when it’s made out of things that are connected to them.”
There is an intentionally ‘cutely creepy’ quality to the Beasties. The aesthetic stems from Ingrid's ‘goth’ background that was absorbed into the free-spirited, whimsical yet mysterious bohemian goth culture. Ingrid links it to their childhood; growing up, Ingrid could never find clothes that they liked. “I couldn’t really find what I wanted, so I just started making it,” says Ingrid.
An independent streak was born, and the Beasties reflect this. Wholly original, they are designed to make a person smile and find that uniqueness within themselves. You won’t find another tapestry, Beastie, or creation by Ingrid that looks identical — but it should always make you look twice.
“To me, it’s very important that you see little glimpses of things that make you curious and want to look more,” says Ingrid. “That's kind of how my Beasties are based and my tapestries too. They usually have a little Beasties in them, but sometimes you have to search for them, and sometimes they’re obvious. It’s all about inquiring and finding that extra thing.”
Beasties are sold at Nerdy by Nature and by commission through Ingrid’s social media. Ingrid takes requests for original characters, fandom dolls, and doll clothing. Tapestries are also commissioned. For more information, visit Ingrid at @IsaTesDesigns on Instagram and @IsaTesDesigns-Blog on Tumblr.
