FEATURE
New Year, New Use
From slow fashion to creative reuse centers, Ocean State organizations are turning trash into treasure By Abbie Lahmers
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ost of us know the dopamine rush that comes with hitting “order” online, and the fleeting thrill of the unboxing that follows, but in a state that harkens to the ocean in its nickname, a shift toward more sustainable consumerism can be even more appealing than the lure of two-day delivery. With this sentiment in mind, Charlotte von Meister and Danielle Sturm founded Rhode Island’s first slow fashion collective, and late last year, The Nest grew into a bigger space on Carpenter Street in Providence, where racks of secondhand styles are complemented by a second floor dedicated to community outreach. “ We’re an educational space first, where people can learn and meet other people,” says Sturm. Through monthly clothing swaps, knitting and sewing clubs, tailoring and mending appointments, and more, events get clients thinking about The Nest’s mission of “combatting overconsumption and waste in the textile and fashion industr y.” Hailing from the midwest where she grew up thrifting , Sturm sought refuge in searching for cool, unique plus-size clothing she couldn’t find in traditional stores. As her collection grew, she realized, “If I’m having this problem finding plus-size clothing , other people must be too, so I started reselling on Instagram.” For von Meister, shopping at Closet Revival in Newport was her first foray into consignment, before working at fashion startups in New York City. “ The longer I worked within the fashion industr y,” she relays, “I really started to see how toxic it was, from production to end of life of the product, and especially the pushy consumerism.” The pair’s journeys converged over a dinner to discuss splitting a booth at the Providence Flea in 2021 and snowballed into finding their first space on Craigslist, where they let their business model grow organically, g uided by what their clientele were seeking : a thoughtful alternative to fast fashion.
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The Nest founders Danielle Sturm and Charlotte von Meister
Photo by Abbie Lahmers
JANUARY 2024 | HeyRhody.com