Being raised on a farm can have a number of different effects. For Desiree Annetoinette, good ole country living taught her how to reduce and reuse waste, far before it has become “fashionable” to do so. Many of her adult years were spent working in the retail industry, stemming from a childhood passion for designing and making clothing. Her son Edge’s birth in 2000 sparked an interest in the boy’s clothing industry as well as the environment; by 2005, EdgeweaR was official.

Made mostly from recycled material, EdgeweaR is a fashion line for boys and girls, ages two to 10. In order to term her line’s dream into a reality, Desiree teamed up with Boulder, Colorado’s EcoCycle recycling planet for supplies. As eco-conscious clothing lines garner more and more attention in the fashion world, EdgeweaR is going to be one very much worth watching. Read on to see what Desiree has to say about working in retail, getting design help from her son, music she works to, and more!

When you first started EdgeweaR, was being eco-conscious one of your main goals?

Yes, my initial concept of EdgeweaR was to build a line of children’s clothes that were environmentally responsible as well as durable & fun. When we first started, I looked at using organic cottons or hemp, but these materials didn’t fit the fun and unique aspect that we wanted in the line. It was after I found refashioning through DIY (Do It Yourself) web sites, and went back to my own refashioning past, that the concept of using recycled materials seemed to make the most sense.

You spent a lot of your childhood making your own clothes, which also lead to a long career in the retail industry. What kind of work did you do?

I started in the fashion industry as a model in junior high. The more I worked in the industry, the more I became involved in many things such as sales, management, buying and designing. I have loved every aspect of working with the fashion industry! It is my passion!

Did you work for any big companies we all know of?

As an artist myself, I have always loved the authentic feel of trunk shows, open markets and off-the-beaten track concepts. So much so that I decided to stay away from larger retail chains and mostly work with innovative independent boutiques and stores. I try to bring this authenticity to each and every piece we offer through EdgeweaR, and believe it is one of the lasting qualities of a product that develops brand loyalty amongst the consumer … even if it becomes an internationally known label.

How has working for retail helped you to market your own line?

Every aspect of the fashion industry, model-manager-buyer-designer, helped overall with the development of EdgeweaR, but there is only one thing that brought about EdgeweaR’s actual birth into the world: my life! The experience I gained in the fashion industry only added to the roles of environmentalist, entrepreneur, mother, farmer, adventurer and artist the world has given me so far. You could definitely say that my LIFE is EdgeweaR! I have been extremely blessed by this world, and all of these blessings have introduced everybody else to EdgeweaR, so we take our responsibility to HELP others live a healthy and passionate life seriously by aiding in the health and future of our world by reducing waste! It really is as simple as they say, “what comes around goes around!”

Does your son, Edge, help you with designs?

Edge is the inspiration for our line, and continues to play a larger role each day in its development. I started this line when he was too young to participate in many ways other than his presence in it. Now, as I sit here typing out my answers, he sits on the floor cutting the material that will eventually be refashioned into some other little child’s shirt. Edge helps with publicity, doing interviews, and modeling for the line. He also helps decide most of the graphics, and is an important part of the actual individual design of each piece! I built this line around him and hope to bring more and more children into the creative process in the future. We are currently working with other children for future graphic image content, and are constantly seeking new ways to bring fresh new ideas to the line through the involvement of children.

How did your relationship with Boulder’s Ecocycle recycling plant get started?

Back in late 2004, when I decided to start working with recycled material, I was volunteering at my local library branch. One night while cleaning up, I came across an issue (that I still have in my desk) of the “Ecocycle Times” that mentioned a materials collection they had just started. I immediately got a hold of them with my samples and concept, and immediately became a weekly presence over at the yard. I can’t even begin to describe how important this partnership with Ecocycle has been to EdgeweaR’s growth! Not being a native of Boulder, I have brought up the name Ecocycle to many people locally and nationally, and no matter whom I speak with, Ecocycle’s presence carries such recognition in the environmental community! We are honored at EdgeweaR to have had the opportunity to work with such an innovative and respectable company for our beginnings. We are committed to helping Ecocycle share its message of reducing and reusing to a much broader audience with our product!

Since each piece is made from recycled materials, it is unique and even numbered. Do you think that is one of the main attractions for kids and parents?

EdgeweaR designs with a child’s sense of color & fun in mind, but appeals to their parents with the environmental and designer concept. It is this combination that is an overall appeal to BOTH the adult consumer and the children they purchase EdgeweaR for!

Do you find that music and fashion go together smoothly in relation to your line?

Definitely! That is why we are so excited to speak to a Music AND Fashion magazine! We are always listening to music at EdgeweaR! Our TV’s and Laptops are usually on some kind of streaming audio or music channel around the studio; we LIVE music and love to create while listening!

Are there any certain bands or artists that inspire you as you work?

We have a broad range of music interests in the EdgeweaR studio! While I am a classical music lover, I choose to keep an upbeat tempo around to move to while we are working. Edge’s father has been to every rock/new wave/punk concert you could think of growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s, so Edge has a tendency to want to listen to the Ramones, Eno or some Clash. Mommy grew up in Seattle and loves to listen to streaming audio from C89.5 but will switch between the retro and electronica channels on the surround sound if we really need to groove! There is only one kind of music that doesn’t get much airtime around here… country.

Your line is for girls and boys from two to 10 years of age. What made you want to focus on that age group instead of more popular ones, such as young adults?

I originally started when Edge was about 3, so of course we produced samples for his size initially. As he grew and the concept changed, so have the sizes of our samples. It occurred to me, while in the development phase, that this age range (toddler to pre-teen) is greatly untapped in the market outside of the typical chain store environment. The infant market is overcrowded, and by the pre-teens kids are making their own clothing decisions. The environmental aspect of the line is our foundation, and one that we are dedicated to keeping, so we decided to stay in markets where the parents are the consumer targets because of their environmental dedication.

Do you find yourself creating different themes or commonalities in each collection?

EdgeweaR does have common interests in things like extreme sports and colorful combinations, but other than that the line can and will change to adapt to consumer demand. Even though we produce for the boutique specialty market right now, we are also building a brand name and reputation that will appeal to a much broader market. To grow to that capacity means staying open to change… always a good idea no matter what you do in life. As long as you stay true to a foundation, change keeps you current without loosing your identity.

Is there anything that you hope to add to the line in the future?

In the immediate future the line will be introducing a selection of infant and toddler apparel in the spring. We are also beginning to sample different materials such as: corduroy, jean, flannel and various possibilities like eco-fleece made out of recycled plastic bottles for our Fall/Winter 2007 line.

EdgeweaR has many projects in the development phase currently such as working with locally based non-profits for production to keep our product serving the communities it reaches! We are also looking at possibilities with national and international recyclers to help with the education of the public on the many interesting products that are made from/with recycling!

With the recycling resources that are already at hand, and with all the new environmental discoveries that are happening everyday, the possibilities for future EdgeweaR apparel are endless!

Is there anything you were expecting me to ask, but didn’t?

I do get a number of people wanting to know exactly HOW we produce with recycled material. It is a very interesting process, and I love to see people get excited about a new way to recycle when I explain it to them!

I sort through lots of totes of recycled material that are donated from all over Boulder County by companies, private individuals, etc. I sort for the best quality pieces (a lot of which is BRAND NEW material!) which are then sent to a local uniform supply company to wash our material in their industrial strength machines. I then take the product back to the studio and cut it down to the reusable portion and sort depending on density/type of weave. We could be cutting down anywhere from 50 to 200 pounds of material at a time for the current or future lines. Once it is in its “raw” form, we sort it into color combinations and cut to pattern for sewing. We then take the product to our sewer, and then to the printer, and then it’s examined for sale. There are many smaller steps in between, like the final screens of the graphics and the supervision of quality assurance, but in a nutshell … that is how EdgeweaR is born!

[Scans can be seen here]