Look mom, no hands!

Hi there! I’m introducing myself here as I’m partcipating in #slowfashionchallenge& #memademay Here goes! 

I picked this photo because I am a person who likes taking risks. I am always diving off cliffs and making my way down. It makes me feel alive (see photo). I get super interested in something and just go for it. Things I have gone for:

•Hiking, ⛺️/ I was a National Park Ranger in a “previous life” I still take pilgrimages to my beloved SW each year, but do plenty of hiking in my home state of Washington.

•Chinese/calligraphy/I have a degree in Chinese & traveled there in 1981 when everyone wore Mao jackets.

•I have remodeled 5 houses including tiling most surfaces using cast off tiles, rocks, broken pottery, and using lots of materials recycled from local schools. •I’m a deadhead, having gone to 40-50 concerts. (Usually hitchhiking) My oldest son(shown above me here) took me to a Dead & Co concert at the Gorge, giving me a real appreciation for @John Mayer.

•David Krauter. Still married to my first husband after 32 years. We have 3 nearly grown boys who all know how to weld and sail, & recycle

•I took my boys ages 3, 9, 12 to rural India for 4 months. We hiked 90 miles in the Himalayas & had adventures while my husband worked on tunnel boring machines there.

•After Axel was born I made all his clothes, did my first street fair selling them & created IMPWEAR clothing many of Seattle’s children in colorful reversible goodness for 14 years.

•While raising kids I taught art in public schools, teaching every child to sew, some to weld, do pottery, make pies & all to solve problems using their hands.

•5 years ago I started IMPWEARhome, using an eco-friendly version of oilcloth. It’s laminated cotton. I fell in love with it and made up a wholesale line, doing @NYNOW, @lasvegasmarket & other shows. I found that I could go to the shows with a Rollie bag and scrounge furniture from castoffs once I got there. (Typical)

•3 years ago I dove into fabric design, ordering 3,000 yds at a time. I’m now on my 7th design. (Most inspired by travels) That was a real cliff dive but it launched me into a satisfying new adventure that keeps me growing and learning.