Salvage Renaissance partnered with Housing Works to upcycle 100 pieces to sell. Through this collaboration, Salvage Renaissance commissioned 6 bespoke artists to upcycle these pieces in their unique expression and style. We talked with one of the artists, Doobie Duke Sims, founder and CEO of Snow Milk, about his life as an artist, what items present a challenge to upcycle and how his pieces all came together.
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I have been an artist my whole life. My mom is an artist and she used to take me to the Brooklyn Museum as a kid. I did art as a little kid and I’ve always done art, whether it be music, drawing, going to museums to get inspiration, or even trying to get inspiration from toys as a kid, sleeping with them under my pillow and then waking up in the morning and wanting to draw the toy.
The merchandise speaks for itself, and it's very color-focused. If you have a light garment or a dark garment, you have to think about contrasting text colors. The garment will dictate the colors; you can’t force the colors on a garment. The garment speaks for itself and will tell you what colors it will need to complement it.
One of my favorite pieces to upcycle was a crewneck with a vintage feel. I love anything that feels like it's been around for 30 years of awesome Christmas mornings and then someone decided to pass it along to be upcycled. That’s when we can get our print on it and continue its cozy life.
The most challenging items to upcycle are the ones that are weirdly shaped. For example, the infamous Puffy Shirt from the classic Seinfeld episode presents a challenge. It would be hard to print on all of those frills. Tee shirts, in contrast, are really easy to work with. The hard items have buttons or flaps and zippers that present a challenge for the screen you’re using.
Those looking to follow Doobie’s work can check out his website and Instagram.