Evergreen Style: Sustainable Bainbridge

***Evergreen Style is a column focused on how fashion intersects with the environment and features interviews from local fashion artisans.***

---

Although caring for the planet is an action that should be taken every single day, engagement tends to increase during the month of April. Commonly referred to as Earth Month, people like Naomi Spinak put forth extra effort during this time to raise awareness about the importance of sustainability in their community.

If you live on or near Bainbridge Island, chances are you may be familiar with some of her work.

She helped launch the annual Trashion Show with Sustainable Bainbridge nearly 10 years ago. 

Recently, Naomi has been reimagining the event to stretch community members’ creativity and make use of more recycled or upcycled textiles. I caught up with her to discover what exactly she has up her sleeves and seek advice on how to stay motivated to protect our planet.

[Transcript has been edited for clarity and length.]

ReFashion models and artists, 2024

Nick Felkey

JeLisa: Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Naomi: Sure. I’m Naomi Spinak. I work with ReFashion Bainbridge, which is a program under Sustainable Bainbridge.

JeLisa: What inspired your work with Sustainable Bainbridge?

Naomi: So, I have a degree, a Master’s degree, in costume design. I really thought I would go into costume design for theater. I moved across the country to San Diego with my husband for his school…I went to school there, and then we moved up to Seattle [where] I got pregnant, and had our first son, our only son. I tried working in theater in the Seattle area, but because we just moved and I didn’t have a lot of connections—and because I had a kid, and I didn’t want to stay out until the middle of the night doing dress rehearsals and tech rehearsals—it was really hard. 

So, I also had a children’s clothing business when we lived in San Diego, just making handmade children’s clothes, and while doing that, I was a member of the Costume Society of America. When I moved up to Seattle, I was still a member of the Costume Society of America, and I went to an exhibit that was on sustainable fashion way back [in] probably 2005 or 2006. I learned a lot about textiles and the environmental impact of them. And then when this organization, Sustainable Bainbridge, was going to have a big Earth Month program…they were looking for someone to run the fashion show. They convinced me to do it.

And, so, we built our first ReFashion Show, which was called the Trashion Show back then. We just invited artists to come and show clothes made out of trash, basically made out of things that couldn’t be recycled or reused in other ways. It was really fun and a lot of work, and then I just got into it.

JeLisa: How would you say that the journey has impacted you as a person and as a leader in the [sustainable fashion] movement as well as the community?

Naomi: I think because I hear now from students…[in the] community and people know who I am. It takes a lot to reach people in the community who wouldn’t naturally gravitate towards a fashion event or towards an environmental event…so hopefully our reach is getting further.

JeLisa: On the flip side of that, what keeps you motivated to do the work that you’re doing?

Naomi: I think all we can do in the face of people who want to tear us down, is just keep going, because the option is to give up or to say what I do makes no difference at all. And sometimes it's really easy to feel that [way]. We had JB McKinnon here a couple [of] years ago, who wrote The Day the World Stops Shopping, and he was so amazing. He works in the environmental journalism space, and everything he writes about is depressing. I said [to him], “You know, I feel like we do these things and we’re just preaching to the choir.” He said to me, “You have to keep preaching to the choir because then they keep singing.”

JeLisa: I like that, let me write that down! So, what about the ReFashion Sewdown? Is this desire to “keep preaching” how it came to be, or can you talk a little about it?

Naomi: Sure. Yeah. So, we’ve been doing this Trashion Show for a number of years. I noticed that we’re getting a lot of the same kinds of things…like ball gowns made out of plastic bags or plastic bottles or plastic caps. And, that was cool, but I felt like as an artist and a creative person, I was ready for something new… So, we started doing the ReFashion Show. …We’re providing the materials this year and having people make things on site. …We got people who want to do things, you know, take the day and have a team and do it together. It’s something new.

JeLsa: Is it open to the public?

Naomi: I mean, if you want to volunteer [during the day], you could. We have a showcase [afterward], so that’s what the tickets are being sold for [and] where we’ll have an audience and a runway where people will show what they made that day. It’s [also] going to have a cocktail hour first so people can mingle and talk.

ReFashion models and artists, 2024

Nick Felkey

JeLisa: What’s the takeaway that you want everyone involved to have from this event, or any event that you host, really?

Naomi: Yeah, so I thought about that a lot. I see a lot of fear in art, especially in art as an adult. If you’re not a professional artist, often people feel like [they] don’t know what to do. …I want to reverse the process, because we have so many materials already out there, because we have so much deadstock, so much clothing...We have enough clothing already created.

…I think it’s actually more rewarding, because you use up something that might have been thrown out, and you make something beautiful out of it, and you make something you might not have made. Maybe there’s a learning curve. Maybe you don’t make exactly what you thought you were going to make. Maybe it doesn’t work that way, and you have to problem-solve. Life is all about problem-solving, right? So, it’s just a different way of addressing creativity based on where we are in the environment and in our world. We have so much. Let’s keep creating…in a way that doesn’t harm the Earth more. Getting people to be more consciously creative.

JeLisa: For people who have never heard of Sustainable Bainbridge, the ReFashion Show, or the ReFashion Sewdown, how would you want them to get involved?

Naomi: Well, I think at the show we’ll obviously have all the art. We’ll have a table that will talk about Sustainable Bainbridge and what we’re doing. But you know, like most things that you're getting involved with, you can get involved at any level you want. There’s [a lot] of volunteer work to be had in Sustainable Bainbridge. Please sign up for [our] newsletters for what we’re doing next.

---

As Naomi mentioned, Earth Month can be celebrated in many ways. Attending an event like the ReFashion Show is one way. Taking matters into your own hands to mend, recycle, or upcycle some of the clothes you own is another way. Even reading more books on the subject counts!

What matters most is that you are consistently putting your skills to good use to limit your negative impact on the planet. If you want to learn more from Naomi or the team over at Sustainable Bainbridge, sign up for the newsletter or get involved by becoming a volunteer.