The Little Austin Shop That Wants to Make a Big Impact on the Planet—One Stitch at a Time
Shop Slow tackles fast fashion, sustainability, and community-building in one fell, crafty swoop.
Tucked away on a corner of South Austin, a salmon-pink bungalow harbors racks of meticulously thrifted textiles, in-progress art projects, and hanging garlands of miniature quilted fruit ornament. This is Shop Slow. A dual-identity bespoke clothing store and workshop space, Shop Slow offers workshops and classes, repairing not only tattered threads but the community—one cross-stitch at a time.
Shop Slow was born out of a classic conundrum for any artist: finding the right studio space. Owner and designer Rebecca Wright was struggling to find a location where her clothing business, Psychic Outlaw, could call home. Wright transforms up-cycled materials—vintage tablecloths and heirloom quilts—into forms of wearable art, from corsets to jackets. Alongside Wright, Shop Slow’s creative director and chief operating officer Mikaela Friedman wants to “open people’s eyes to the possibility of what your clothing can be.” And, by extension, create a space where people bond over sustainability and self-sufficiency.
At Shop Slow, you can buy such pieces as colorful sunglass cases made from terry cloth towels, patchwork denim, and customized, painted cowboy boots from Friedman’s own brand. “We would love to not sell anything and just make cool stuff,” Friedman remarks, “but, because of capitalism, we are forced to do this. So, why not do it in a way that’s cool and different, and gives people autonomy back over their wardrobe?”
Considering this ethos, dubbed by Friedman as “creativity over consumption,” the shops popular workshops turn an eye toward slow fashion. Students learn skills such as sewing, dyeing, embroidery, and screen-printing, to name a few. (We have the latest programming down below.) When you take a class, though, don’t expect to walk out with merely a cool screen printed T-shirt and ink-covered hands. You’ll leave with insight into the impact your regular shopping habits have in your local community and on the environment.
“I think that’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do with our workshops,” says Wright, “not just get people in the door to make money, but have these conversations with people about slow fashion, the planet, how things are made, and supporting small businesses. We’re just information sharing, having fun, and being cute and functional.”
The cornerstone of every class is based on using recycled materials, with students encouraged to bring clothing they already own to put their unique spin on. Additionally, most of the actual tools implemented in these sessions, such as the mesh used to create a screen-printing screen, are up-cycled as well. Friedman, specifically, constructs the classes she teaches based on “whatever material I can find.” The connections made in the classroom setting are equally as organic. “We’ve had a couple people come in here who just need, emotionally, a hug which was so nice,” Friedman recounts. “It feels more like a community than a sewing class.”
“You’re doing something good for the environment and something good for your mind,” Wright says. “Whether you’re coming alone or with friends…I just feel like only good things can come from joining in.”
Shop Slow Workshops
Soul Studio Ice-Dying Workshop
June 8
Mending Workshop with Rebecca Wright of Psychic Outlaw
June 15
Sashiko: Strengthening the fabric
June 16