4 minute read

Avant Guardians

from Mankato Magazine

by Free Press Media

from Mankato Magazine, page 42

From This Valley

By Leticia Gonzales

Meaningful connections

For Allison Ellingson, family history and son’s birth inspired her art

Allison Ellingson is taking the skills she learned from her mother as a child to transform her St. Peter business, The People’s Store, into a community hub.

“She had a sewing machine always out in the playroom,” said Ellingson of her mother. “As soon as I got old enough, I had one next to her.”

Not only did Ellingson’s mother sew, but her grandmothers and older generations of her family also partook in the skill.

“I guess it was just part of my DNA,” she said.

Ellingson recalls spending many afternoons shopping at the fabric store. She even took a quilting class in high school because her mother wanted her to become more skillful at sewing, which has now become her main art form as an adult.

While Ellingson was always immersed in the field of art and sewing, she took a different career path after high school when she attended St. Olaf College, followed by McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago where she grew up.

“In my 20s, I was working in nonprofits and higher education and I took every textile class offered by the Chicago area art center.”

Those classes sparked her interest, so she decided to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received her MFA in fiber and material studies in 2015. She also began working on a portfolio of hand-dyed, handquilted quilts.

In 2018, Ellingson and her family decided to move to St. Peter due to the lack of social services available in Chicago. “Our oldest son has cerebral palsy and he is profoundly disabled,” she said.

Her husband grew up in the Twin Cities, so they were familiar with life in Minnesota. They also had friends in St. Peter, which would provide a stronger support network for their family.

The connection to the area has a deeper meaning to Ellingson, who started an indigo-growing project at her friend’s farm, Little Big Sky Farm in Henderson, during one of her visits to the area before moving.

“My oldest son lost oxygen during birth — that’s how he got such a severe brain injury,” she said. “I knew that indigo, unlike other dyes, is achieved through an oxidation process.”

Ellingson described how indigo doesn’t turn blue until

the fabric hits the air.

“It’s a very one-to-one meaning. You have to deprive cloth of oxygen to achieve the beautiful blue. At that time in my life, that was really meaningful.”

For Ellingson, the indigo-growing process often involved creating her own dye, while other times she just simply enjoyed the beauty of the plant. She soon began collaborating with the farm’s co-owner, Jenny Kaepernick, to create products for her shop.

“I have started to move past working with indigo and incorporating other colors that can be found in this area — plants that can be found in the prairie that you can grow on the farm.”

From marigolds to Hopi sunflowers to Colangelo and other prairie wildflowers, she experiments with the plants to naturally dye fabrics to make scarves and tea towels. She also started making quilts as a collaboration with the St. Peter Woolen Mill by using their fabric waste.

“I have started to reconfigure my practice so I can make art for the people,” said Ellingson, who opened The People’s Store, 303 S. Minnesota Ave., in October.

Her focus is on reviving the art of quilt-making by learning how to finish quilts in an “old-fashioned way.” Ellingson also has sourced a curated collection of other independent makers and ethically produced household goods, which includes kitchen accessories and a bulk soap section. In addition, she will be offering courses such as a wreath-making class.

“I think part of my practice as social. I am interested in the social fabric. Part of the store is meant to create community, especially around the connecting of the land and our lives here.”