Salvage Renaissance partnered with Housing Works to upcycle 100 pieces to sell in-store, Through this collaboration, Salvage Renaissance commissioned 6 bespoke artists to upcycle these pieces in their own expression and style. We talked with one of the artists, Wanda Rojas about her career, where she draws her inspiration from and how her pieces all come together.
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I have been a print artist for over 30 years. Although I do a lot of digital art, I prefer to hand-paint and usually prefer watercolor when I’m working on paper. When I work on fabric and leather items, I’ll use fabric paint or leather paint.
When developing a theme to design the merchandise I stayed true to myself and went with what inspired me. I am usually inspired by animal life, by nature, patterns, and the fashion industry.
My favorite piece to redesign was the olive green army jacket, where I used gold fabric paint on the pockets and I hand-painted the leaf in the right corner freehand. What I liked about it was that I just did it - I didn’t plan anything, I didn’t plan the leaf I just followed my instincts and whatever happened, happened.
The most challenging item was the big leather jacket with the heavy hardware. It wasn’t my favorite piece but in the end, it worked out very well, and the stripes running down the side make it look very cool.
It was amazing to partner with Housing Works, not only for the sustainability aspect but also because I’m proud to be part of something that’s helping a lot of people.
Those looking to follow Wanda’s work can check out her website and Instagram.