FASHION FUTURE: Irene Stickney

Yes, she is my friend but she's also an amazing women who wants everybody to fulfill their creative self and be fashionable all at the same time. I previously mentioned her in a post but wanted to speak a little bit more about what she does. A big advocator of sustainable fashion, Irene keeps it local in many ways.

She's in a bike gang called The Deadly Nightshades, who make it their life's mission to promote sustainability, fashion and bike riding. Amazing, check them out here.
http://nightshadesbikecrew.blogspot.com/

Irene runs her own sewing studio where you can learn to sew, pattern draft, make various accessories, attend fashion school bootcamp, portfolio development, learn about vegetable/natural dyeing and design/sew your own prom dress. Yup, she also works with students to make one of kind dresses for that oh so special prom night. She also throws sewing parties, special workshops and promotes local talents.

Irene works with at risk youth and youth in conflict with the law across the GTA in partnership with Fabricland called PACTFashion. PACTFashion provides a safe and non-judgemental environment where youth can fulfill community service orders, ignite a passion, acquire valuable and tangible skills, while also gaining a sense of belonging and self-esteem by working in a team environment and seeing a project through to completion (ie. a prom dress). Maybe fashion can save us!

Oh and you can buy a sewing machine from her because she's also an authorized seller of Janome.

http://www.themakeden.com/

Take a look at her amazing studio space located at 1207 Bloor St. W. in Toronto.