The Playground is a kids second-hand and vintage store. I was motivated to start the store after I started thrifting clothes for my son a couple of years ago. There was just so much there.... so many great clothes. Clothes that were much better than the graphic heavy and very gendered clothing that was in store, which I disliked. I knew it was a privilege to have the time and energy to sift through clothing in thrift stores and lots of families don’t have time to do that and wondered that if I did the work of pulling out the great pieces and putting my finds online would any other parents want to buy them. So The Playground was born. A place where a family can find unique gender neutral clothing that is durable for play.
I studied fabric arts in college so I have always been interested in fabric and garment embellishment. So once I started The Playground the idea of taking the garments i found and beautifying them was a no brainer. So I played around with hand embroidery, patching, and repairing denim and dyeing just felt like the next step. I love tie dyeing because there is always and element of surprise at the results. Very dynamic.
I take inspiration from all things around me. Recently my son has gotten crystals and minerals and that has been amazing color inspiration.
Honestly I spend most of the day during these pandemic days running after my 4 year old. He has zoom "school" in the morning and then we spend the afternoons outside in the park. I do most of my dyeing and The Playground duties at night after he is asleep. So tiring but so much easier for me to think.
I don't think I am there yet, I am not in that place where I can see those silver linings. 2020 has been pretty traumatic for me. The amount of unnecessary death, all the ugliness and selfishness on display, and our government's failure to protect and provide is just so overwhelming. If I can hope for a silver lining... I hope that we use this opportunity to restructure this society on all levels to be more inclusive and to help more people.
