"Make Milwaukee": Week 3 | Stop 2 of 9: Leah Parkhurst's Rustbelt Fiberwerks

(Photo by Faythe Levine)

Listen: Stop 2 of 9 in Faythe and Cortney's dash around Milwaukee's creative community! After a hop, skip, and a jump away from Susan's home/studio, we invaded Leah Parkhurst's home/studio where she operates her business, Rustbelt Fiberwerks. Leah makes functional housewares from used, discarded fabrics that you can find around Milwaukee and the country, as well as at her online store. No more introduction is really necessary, as Leah's effervescent voice and personality do a great job of communicating what Rustbelt Fiberwerks is about. Join Leah as she shows us around her compact houseware production operation:

From the outside of her house, you'd never know that there was an amazing house ware enterprise behind the front door. You never know, right?

(Photo by Faythe Levine)

In the spirit of Rustbelt Fiberwerks spirit of giving leftovers another life, here are some extras from the interview: -First, Leah talks about how she finds her textiles (I'm sure she also has some awesome trade secrets that I wouldn't dare broadcast):

-I ask the question "Do you ever have a problem selling this?" and Leah interprets the question in two different ways:

-After pulling out a big tub of fabrics out from under a table, Leah tells us about her approach to working with stained fabric:

Do your kitchen wares need an injection of impeccable old-new style?  Check out Leah's Rustbelt Fiberwerks and bring some of her awesome creations into your home .

P r o duced By: Adam Carr

Interview By: Cortney Heimerl (Photo by Faythe Levine)