Mary Safranski is not your typical college student.
The 40-year-old Cudahy resident is a wife and mother of three who recently graduated from Mount Mary University after studying apparel design with a minor in graphic design. Beyond the realm of just making clothing, she also has a passion for sustainability.
After years of working in food service and her husband working in the grocery industry, Safranski saw how many single-use plastics were being used and how much food was being wasted daily.
“Everyone was aware, and it was like we were just following the same playbooks,” Safranski said. “It takes a lot of personal interest and conversations and teamwork for [change] to happen.”
Like Safranski, Kendall Holewinski and Andrew Trester are also local designers who focus on sustainability in their creative work.
Trester is a Sheboygan native who attended UW-Madison as a student in the fashion apparel textile program. He currently works as the designer for men’s lifestyle apparel at Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee after working at Land’s End and Ralph Lauren.
“I started in high school, making my own clothes and being on the environmental club,” Trester said. “Then I started reading Rachel Carson and Edward Abbey and other people that were focused on ecological sustainability in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and that journey for them.”
Holewinski was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended Indiana University where she studied sustainable management before moving to Milwaukee shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she used the time of isolation to start sewing and find a community of other creators in Milwaukee.
“The pandemic is really what started my passion for art, or what kind of opened up my lens to textile art in general,” Holewinski said. “I only had some embroidery thread, a couple of pillow sheets and some needles from Dollar Tree, and I was just sewing by hand.”
Inspiration is one of the key elements in fashion design, and both Holewinski and Safranski take inspiration from their grandmothers. Safranski’s was a seamstress, and Holewinski’s simply spent time with her sewing, even before she had a flair for creativity.
“I think about how many things I wish I could’ve asked her now, but I take a lot of inspiration from how much skill she had and the photos I’ve seen of the things she’s created,” Holewinski said.
Style is another element of design, and each of these sustainable creators has their own distinguishing factors. Holewinski works with a myriad of sustainable mediums including textile art, machine sewing, hand mending, embroidery and crochet tapestry.
“I would describe my designs as a mix of sweet and sour, tough but tender accessories,” Holewinski said. “I like mixing two mediums together, especially things that maybe don’t necessarily go together, like camo and a frilly collar.”
One of Trester’s favorite pieces is a blanket stripe shearling jack with plan woven material, sheep shearling and wooden toggles that he designed at Ralph Lauren.
“Using natural materials is always a joy for me,” Trester said. “I do work with lots of synthetics, but I don’t love it.”
Safranski also prefers natural fibers and enjoys making outerwear and jackets. She said she loves the arts of tailoring and patternmaking.
“When you make something, it really is like a work of art,” Safranski said. “It can be on display on you, which is way cool, the coolest ever.”
While the paths Holewinski, Safranski and Trester took to get to where they are now may have looked different and their preferences in fashion are unique to themselves, the sustainable practices these designers incorporate into their work are similar.
“If you have a shirt with a stain on it, you can choose to put a fun patch on it or do some embroidery over it, or make a dress out of a tablecloth,” Holewinski said. “All of that is going to reduce landfill waste, cut down on the energy resources in making the garments and overall reduce greenhouse emissions.”
Regarding sustainability, Trester said working in a corporate environment, as he and Safranski do, means that positive change might come slowly, but it will still happen as long as action is taken.
“I know that my core values are always present with the decisions that I make daily,” Safranski said. “You could look into a corner and see something and be like, ‘Oh, that could be a backpack,’ and it might have a couple holes, but you can patch it.”
Looking to the future, Safranski said she might like to have a business of her own one day.
“My trajectory has taken all these twists and turns that weren’t expected, but there are very exciting things happening in Milwaukee, for sure,” Safranski said.
As for Trester, he’ll continue bringing sustainable practices to Harley-Davidson after already generating a complete switch to non-carcinogenic fabric coatings in his first six months at the company.
“I think it’s important to always not get jaded in this industry and to stick with it and do what’s best for you,” Trester said. “It’s good to always look at it with fresh eyes.”
Holewinski keeps her art and work completely separate from one another. She said for now, she’ll continue to treasure the pure joy she receives from designing a new piece or trading a clothing item with an artist she admires.
“The difference for me is to inspire people to pick up a sewing needle and some thread and mend your own clothes,” Holewinski said. “Anyone can pick up some thread and a needle and create a really creative piece while being sustainable and reducing the amount of waste.”
This story was written by Mia Thurow. She can be reached at [email protected].
