under Reconstruction creates one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art, premised on the philosophy of reduce-reuse-recycle.

Four years ago while I was living in Berkeley, California, I started collaging together sweater jackets.  I have always loved textiles and color; this was the perfect opportunity to bring each into play, re-purposing cast-off garments.  People encouraged me to make some for others to wear.  One friend who is an avid knitter introduced me to the world of funky yarn, which proved to be another component to factor into the composition!

My passion for textiles has dictated where I have traveled internationally, beginning with a visit to the print studios of Marimekko in Helsinki, Finland.  Later, I lived in Japan for seven years and while working there, studied kimono design with its potential for endless permutations and combinations of color, pattern and decoration. I then traveled to Indonesia to see batik first-hand. After spending a summer in Nigeria, my PhD research took me back to Osogbo for a year to study the indigo-dyeing process of adire*. Recently, I have been to Haiti and begun to explore its relationship with France, indigo, and Nimes—resulting in denim. Textiles are often an overlooked source of historical information readily available to tell us their stories.

Elizabeth Jerde