Written by Cass White
Over the summer I created WovenCandy as an outlet to share and store my projects and collections that I had started building. I went into college with no idea how to thread a sewing machine, and as I started developing my skills I decided that I wanted to show them off a little bit and get feedback on the things that I was doing. During the second semester of my first year in my Industry Theory Practice course we were given loads and loads of information regarding sustainability and all the things that play into the word.
Workers rights, environmental safety, and proper disposal were a few of the things that we touched on, and they really inspired me and sparked my curiosity. Fashion was no longer just about the clout and making cute clothes that people wanted to buy—it was about bringing awareness to the things that go on behind the scenes. Who is making the clothes? How are they being treated? Where the clothes go when people decide they don’t want them anymore? Bringing awareness to these ideas became super important to me as I was finishing up my first year at UC, and I wanted to show other young people that thrifting and repairing old clothing could be FUN! It isn’t dirty, it isn’t the “cheap way out,” it’s responsible, and it’s crucial.
I started going on a lot of thrifting hauls, using my new sewing skills to up-cycle the things that I was buying, and reselling them to my followers. I tried to make the page as fun as possible to get people excited about the idea of thrifting, and it has been so successful. Products are sold after a bidding process, and the winner is messaged with information about payment and shipping. I have had such a fun time working on the account, and I hope everyone can realize that sustainability doesn’t have to be black and white.
Check out @cash.money.cass on Instagram, and more importantly, her business account @wovencandy for her take on fabulously thrifted and up-cycled garments!