Story by Ashley Shickler, Staff Writer
and Hailey Tolleson, Web Designer
Photos provided by Lila Martinez
On Saturday, April 20, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Main campus inside the Coal Avenue Theater, Lila Martinez’s intermediate costume and sewing class was scheduled to have an Up-Cycled Pop-Up Shop where clothing and accessories made by the students would be sold.
One of the assignments this semester was to have the class design and create a series of upcycled garments, Martinez said.
The students were able to re-create some really amazing pieces of art out of personal donations which will be sold at the pop-up, she said.
One group, for example, did chic business wear that included a pencil skirt, really nice blouse, and some really great accessories, Martinez said.
Some of the students have been working on stuff from home because of being so inspired and a lot were able to create things the students never thought of before, she said.
The class will be selling various items at the pop-up shop, such as clothing, shoes, art, and quirky items for resale, but primarily upcycled items, she said.
“This assignment really gives the students an opportunity to get inspired and open up,” Martinez said.
One student, Javier McBride, created a Flamenco skirt out of old t-shirts and an old cocktail dress, which was beautifully executed, Martinez said.
“The students are really inspired because it is that generation, the millennial and z generation, that are very proactive in sustainability and I think in a creative way we can approach that and I would like to continue to teach that,” Martinez said.
A lot of things can be prevented from going into the landfills and oceans just by recycling and creating new art, she said.
It takes 700 gallons of water to make one cotton t-shirt and it is things like that for which resources could be better used, Martinez said.
CNM theater instructor Leonard Madrid and Martinez came up with the idea to have the upcycled pop-up shop, she said.
“I would love for the pop-up to be an ongoing thing. As long as I continue to teach this class and as long as CNM will have me, I will definitely encourage sustainability in art and this is a really good opportunity to do that,”Martinez said.
The pop-up shop is going to be really fun and anyone and everyone is welcome, Martinez said.
