(re)claimed is a collective organized by students Shanel Wu, Nathalia Campreguer, and Mikhaila Friske that questions economic, political, and social structures by reclaiming materials, tools, and data. Shanel Wu (they/them) is a graduate student researching smart textiles, as well as a rogue physicist and fiber crafter. Nathalia Campreguer (she/her) learned all sorts of crafts growing up with her Grandma and loves to experiment with alternative materials. She is also a graduate student in Human-Computer Interaction. Mikhaila Friske (she/her) is a graduate student in Information Science exploring themes around the topics of queerness, craft, and smart textiles.

Save money and reduce textile waste by unravelling old and discarded clothing! The fashion industry generates an enormous amount of textile waste, and consumers often buy much more clothing than they need. To break this wasteful cycle, we’ll reclaim yarn from thrifted or unwanted clothing by cutting apart the pieces and unravelling them. As we unfabricate and deconstruct, we’ll imagine alternate lifecycles not just for textiles, but also electronics, plastics, and other types of waste. While materials and tools will be available for everyone, participants should bring unwanted clothing items if they can.