My name is Helen and I live on Vancouver Island. I live with my amazing partner, my adoring black lab & cute cat in a little house on a hill in the old part of Nanaimo, with a great view of the ocean & coast mountains. I love my life and am amazed how much it has changed over the last 5 years. I have learnt lots about myself & about life’s journey along the way & am excited to share some of my stories with you in my new blog.

I have always been attracted to beautiful old things and had a hankering to create something new out of something old. I hate to see things that could still be useful being thrown away, I think it has something to do with my English upbringing. You don’t waste anything and only replace objects once they are worn out.

While visiting thrift stores I saw all the old wool suits that nobody wants anymore and had the idea to make purses out of them, using my sewing skills. I try to use all the different parts of the jackets, reusing the pockets and leaving on any buttons and leather. I love finding beautiful Harris Tweed Suits that I can repurpose to give them a new life. I pick up upholstery trim to give added texture and also old buttons for decoration and fasteners.

I made a bag out of a vest last year for a friend of mine and had the idea to use neck ties as the handles. There are so many old ties in the thrift shops it seemed a great way to use them, as not many people seem to wear them these days. Again it is fun finding attractive ties that I can repurpose and give a new life to. I have a supply of beautiful vests that I am slowly converting into tote bags, they are all so different and inspire me to create new looks.

I recently named my business Reclothe as I love the definition “to clothe again’.
My latest venture is to jazz up recycled clothes to give them a new life. I scour thrift shops to find the perfect item that I can add to or refashion to give it that special look. Hope you like my new recycled fashion line & appreciate the original looks!
You can find my bags & clothes at Reclothe on Facebook & available for sale on Etsy.

Each time I finish a new bag or piece of clothing I feel like I am helping to improve the world by recycling and also sending a little bit of myself out there…….

Stay posted…..