Fulop '14 Publishes Wear, Repair, Repurpose

“During my senior year of college, I worked on a project about using design for social and environmental change. I decided I wanted to create a community to raise awareness about fashion sustainability and inspire people to mend and upcycle to reduce fashion waste. I created my Instagram account, @mindful_mending and started sharing tutorials and educational tools. I also created zines and hosted mending parties, where I would teach my friends how to sew,” said Fulop.

“My online presence caught the attention of my publisher, who was looking for someone to write a book on mending. Although I was young and relatively new to mending, they really liked how I visually communicated ideas and made the techniques feel accessible. So, I spent the next year and a half creating projects, illustrating tutorials, writing the book, and contributing to the design. It came out in March 2020, and I’m so proud that it’s in the world!”

Fulop, who majored in visual communication design at Carnegie Mellon University, currently works as a designer for Refinery29. Her interest in textiles dates back to childhood when she began knitting, crocheting, and sewing. While at Chatham Hall, Fulop received an iQuest grant to support an independent study in graphic design during senior year.

“I learned about composition, typography, and web design,” she said. “It was a great experience to get a head start in the subject area before arriving at my design program the following year for college. It was also really valuable to practice self-directed study and take control of my own learning.”

Fulop also served as co-editor of The Iris, Chatham Hall’s arts and literature magazine. In this role,  she managed creative submissions as well as the design of the publication.

“It was my first experience with curation, art direction, and print design, which are skills I use now in my career,” she noted.

For Fulop, the publication of Wear, Repair, Repurpose is just the beginning. She’s hoping to continue to find ways to intertwine her interests and balance her career as a visual designer with her passion for sustainable craft and clothing. You can stay up to date with her creative projects on Instagram, where she continues to teach and inspire.

Photo by J. Houston