HANDS OFF OUR DEMOCRACY & SHOWCASE OF MY FIRST OFFICIAL CLOTHING LINE:

In a world where the climate crisis is often reduced to charts, policies, and doomscrolling headlines, I’m drawn to a different way of communicating—one that’s rooted in creativity, culture, and emotion. I believe that if we want to move people, we have to meet them where they are. And sometimes, that means showing up not with a policy memo, but with a jacket that tells a story.

This work is part of a larger mission I’ve stepped into: using wearable art as a tool for climate engagement. I design pieces that carry powerful messages into public space—on trains, at protests, in classrooms, or even just at the grocery store. Unlike traditional forms of advocacy, wearable art is disarming. It invites curiosity. It holds space for meaning without demanding perfection. And most importantly, it gives people a way to express their values out loud, without saying a word.

These pieces aren’t just about aesthetics—they’re about anchoring complex, urgent issues in something tangible. Each one starts with a feeling, a moment, a message that needs translating. Then it becomes a design, a physical object, a conversation starter. This is creative climate communication at work—and for me, it’s one of the most needed and underused tools we’ve got.

The “PROTECT” series !

It’s rare for a project to align this clearly, but this project brought my art and climate work into focus like never before.

The spark came in a moment of clarity during an environmental policy lecture, when a frustrated professor exclaimed, “We all live downstream!” That line became more than a comment on water quality - it became a mantra, a mission, and the visual anchor for a jacket I named: Protect Our Waters. Framed by bold mountain peaks and flowing rivers, this design reminds us that what happens upstream affects all of us, echoing the call for water justice and indigenous rights. The sleeve illustrations — featuring fish, water hearts, and a fierce “Water is Life” guardian — deepen that message with sacred imagery and cultural resonance.

So I ran with it.I started sketching designs, thinking about what it would look like to wear a message — to turn a lecture moment into something you could feel, see, and share out in the world.

This jacket series isn’t just clothing - it’s a statement. Each hand-printed jacket in the Protect series speaks to a deep-rooted belief: that the natural world is sacred, interconnected, and worth defending.

The Protect Our Parks jacket centers a wise, ancient tree surrounded by delicate forest flora. This jacket is a tribute to the wild places that hold our awe and offer us escape. Centered on the back is an intricate print of a sacred tree, its branches stretching wide, surrounded by native flora. But look closer, and you'll find something deeper: etched into the trunk are the words “Hear Her.” It’s a quiet plea — a reminder that nature has a voice. The wind, the rustling leaves, the silence before a storm — she speaks.

The third design, Protect the Trees, steps into a subtler, more intricate visual language. Printed on a moss green coat, it blends the sacred geometry of nature with rising forest forms, quietly powerful in its reminder to honor the roots, not just the canopy.

These pieces live at the intersection of streetwear and storytelling — walking protest signs, love letters to the land, and shields of solidarity. Whether shown against mountain backdrops, marching in the streets, or posted up by the water’s edge, they carry the same message loud and clear:

Protect what protects us.

Bringing the Protect jackets to the Hands Off Our Public Lands protest felt like the perfect full-circle moment. This was exactly the kind of space they were made for — a gathering of people fighting to defend the very lands, waters, and ecosystems these jackets honor. Marching with others who care deeply about conservation, public access, and justice gave the art purpose beyond the studio. It became armor. It became signal. It became community.

And as if the day couldn’t get any more aligned — we ran into Congressman Joe Neguse! A true champion for environmental justice and public lands, he’s been a longtime inspiration and shows up all over my website and work already. Getting to cross paths with him, while literally wearing the message, was a surreal and affirming moment. The kind of moment that says: yes — art can speak policy. And yes — people are listening.