STAUNTON — Machteld Schrameyer has lived from one end of the United States to the other, calling both New York City and San Francisco home. She's also lived in places in between. Together with Johan Westenburg, the two lived in Marfa, Texas and Hopkinsville, Ky. They also have spent time in The Netherlands.
Schrameyer, a fashion designer, enjoyed traveling to other cities with her work, but the pandemic put a halt to that. Stuck in a small town in Kentucky without a lot of cultural activities, Schrameyer and Westenburg decided it was time to find somewhere else to live.
The two had opened a water store in Kentucky during the pandemic, selling alkaline and filtered water. Schrameyer said there was no interest in the town for their service, but the two entered an international water competition in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. Driving home from the competition, they passed through Staunton.
Schrameyer told Westenburg that it was a nice place. They stayed for a night in Hotel 24 South and toured the city the next day. Unlike their Kentucky home, they loved the cultural diversity in Staunton. After one more trip to the city they made the decision to move East.
They bought a building on 113 W. Beverley St.
"It was very weird, very dark, a very cavernous building," Schrameyer said. "Lowered ceilings, depressing. But we said, 'OK'."
They built a wall separating the front of the building facing West Beverley from the back, which had a door leading to a parking lot along North Central Avenue. It gave both sections about 2,000 square feet.
The original plan was to create an apartment in the building so the two could live and work out of the same space. That plan fell through because of the cost involved. Now, the store front is home to Studio Broad, a showroom for an interior design company. The back portion is Schrameyer's studio.
A life of fashion
Schrameyer began her own label, Iota, in 1981. She operated a wholesale business on Seventh Avenue in New York City. The area is renowned for its fashion designers and big brand labels. A brief recession in the early 1990s along with the emergence of international fashion designers changed the landscape of wholesale fashion in the United States.
Schrameyer scaled back her operation, focusing on making one-of-a-kind pieces. She moved to San Francisco and began selling her designs at craft fairs.
"At a craft show you basically have to do the show yourself as the maker," Schrameyer said. "It has to be made by you or someone who works for you. It's an artisan setup."
She would travel from show to show around the country. The shows ranged from very small ones to big museum events, including ones at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
"Depending on what type of things you make, you can really choose what is suitable for you," Schrameyer said. "I started doing things in the San Francisco area. I'd drive to Salt Lake City. I had a great time just driving around out West. I think I've seen more of the United States than most."
That has been her life in fashion design since 1992. Her career allows her to live anywhere, but it helps to be in an area where shows are easily accessible. Staunton fits that bill being on the East coast with easy access to interstates. Schrameyer enjoys driving instead of flying to shows. She has a lot more freedom with the work she does now.
"There's a very nice show in Richmond," she said. "New York is not too far. There are many on the East Coast. Up in Massachusetts where are a couple, one in Boston. All really pretty doable."
Upcycled fashion — turning old into new
Schrameyer has always been interested in sustainability.
"In the '90s I had done a collection of recycled sweaters," she said. "But it was way too early. People found it creepy and is it clean and that sort of thing."
She designed shearling jackets and coats, before transitioning into sustainable leather designs around 2017. She basically makes new jackets out of old ones. She and Westenburg spent a lot of time in Amsterdam between 2016 and 2019, allowing her to collect European leather jackets.
How long does it take to turn an old jacket into a new one? Schrameyer said the answer is probably her whole life.
"To come up with an idea, to develop it, all of those things, to develop skills, blah, blah, blah, it takes your whole life," Schrameyer said. "But people usually mean the sewing."
She said sewing anything new is simpler than sewing something new made out of something old. She has to take the old jacket apart and then determine what parts are usable. And until you know what parts are usable, it's very difficult to have an idea of what the new jacket will look like.
"It's not been a very practical choice," she said. "Because it takes a long, long time. Regular garments you can make several in a day if you want to, but this is several days for one jacket if you keep working hard at it."
That makes the prices she charges higher, but she understands at the end of the day it's still a second-hand jacket, so determining the price is challenging.
"Of course, they're all one-of-a-kind pieces," she said. "You couldn't repeat it if you wanted to."
Her craft can take two different approaches. One, she takes apart an old jacket or jackets, cuts the material into strips and makes a new jacket. The other way is taking the old jacket and keeping the shape the same, but add to it, maybe different pockets or a different color sleeve or add zippers. It is still the existing jacket, but enhanced.
She also uses the repurposed leather from jackets for tubular chairs and couches.
She doesn't sell her designs online. She said it doesn't work well for high-end, one-of-a-kind pieces. The logistics of finding models and taking photos of the clothing just makes it much too complicated. In-person at craft shows is the best way to sell her designs. If interested in any of her designs, you can contact Schrameyer by email at machteld@iotabluechip.com or visit her Instagram @iotabluechip .
The pandemic shut down a lot of shows for a couple of years. Between that and the move to Staunton, Schrameyer hasn't done a show since before 2020. That will change this September when she and Westenburg head to Jackson, Wyoming for the Western Design Conference.
Then in November it will be Pennsylvania. Schrameyer was recently selected by a panel of jurors to show her work at the prestigious Philadelphia Museum of Art craft show.
She has made a good living in the fashion industry. Years ago, there was always the financial pressure that came with going to shows. Would she make the booth fee back? Would she make the travel back? Would she make enough money to pay the bills? But after a lifetime of fashion design, she's comfortable now so shows are a lot less stressful.
As for whether people will like her work, that is its own type of pressure for any artist.
"I've been lucky that most people like my work a lot," she said. "It's different than most things that you see at the craft shows. There's really nothing like what I do."
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Sustainable fashion: Staunton designer turns old leather jackets into one-of-a-kind pieces
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