Kelly Hickey
www.kelehickey.com
Weybridge, Vermont
Artist Statement
As a textile artist/designer I work with reclaimed fabrics from the 1960’s-70’s as my primary medium for both their enduring quality and nostalgic prints. Discarded fabrics are plentiful and a viable resource for both my art & clothing product line. My designs engage the client into a deep curiosity to consider where cast off or vintage fabrics can be sourced, how these historical textiles and prints maintain relevancy in today’s fast fashion world, and how better quality choices will meet individual needs reducing overconsumption, providing fair wages for fashion production workers and demanding less of natural resources.
Biography
In 1977 at the age of ten I stepped in to the folds of my zany neighbor’s sewing closet and instinctively knew that I had to be a part of the world of textiles. She took me under her wing & instructed me in the art of measure and remeasure, as if it were the breath that would sustain me into the future. From teenage years spent swept up in design, cut and sew I further pursued the field as an apparel design student at the University of Delaware graduating in 1988. My professional life has included three decades of opportunities as a textile consultant, artist, designer and entrepreneur, always curious no matter how worn life leaves me.
Education
1988 B.S. Textiles, Design, Consumer Economics - University of Delaware
1989-90 CE in Textile Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management- Philadelphia Textile
2015 200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher Certification - Marianne Wells School of Yoga
Art Awards/ Recognition
1988 1st Place “Belt Design” Category Ginny Johansen National Design Competition
2017 Featured Artist ‘The Elegy Project’, www.naturestrikesback.com
2017 Artist in Residency in Embroidery, Arquetopia, Oaxaca Mexico
2018 Chandler Art Gallery ‘Abundance/The Art of Mental Health’ group show, VT
2019 S.P.A.C.E. Gallery, ‘All The Feels’ group show, Burlington, VT
2019 Southern Vermont Arts Center, ‘Unusual Threads, the Future of Fashion’, Dorset, VT
2019 National Arts Strategies, New England Creative Community Fellow
2020 2Creative Community, ‘Not My America’ group show, Winooski, VT
2021 The Beyond Gallery, ‘Repurposed’ group show, Bennington, VT
Art Related Employment
1986-1988 Flapdoodles Pattern Maker, Production Asst. - Children’s Clothing
1989-1990 DuPont Textile Division, CAD Design Consultant for “Quick Response” project
1991-1994 CO/OP Nation, Co-Owner/Designer - Garment Dyed Unisex Apparel
1997-2000 Z.A.C.’S. Hats, Co-Owner/Designer - Reversible Children’s Clothing
2002-2005 Kids On Stage, Costume Designer - Children’s Theater Company
2013-Present edie&glo, Owner/Designer - Garments & home goods from vintage fabrics
2014-Present BCA Selected Artist participant for BCA Artist Markets, Burlington, VT
2019-2021 BUNDLE Creative Consultant, Manager, Middlebury, Vermont
2021- Present Find Your Wings VT, Co-Director - Public art installation project Middlebury, VT