New Orleans Designers, Continued

More from New Orleans. It's our week-long tribute to NOLA's independent designers, and today, we speak to Rachelle, from Green Kangaroo. If you missed our rant from yesterday, it is easily accessible here. Hurrah! Love Green Kangaroo. Nothing we can say will be as interesting as what she does, so here we go. Oh, she makes us want to move there.

Above, Fleur de Lis skirt, $25

What do you love most about New Orleans?

I love that there are so many creative people in New Orleans. The people there seem to have a way of making art out of anything. Just look at the incredible costumes that are made every year for Mardi Gras and Halloween (and any other excuse that comes up to costume.) I love that it was a huge thing for everyone to decorate their discarded refrigerators from Hurricane Katrina, even knowing that they would just wind up in the dump. I love that people made art sculptures out of the debris that was sitting around waiting to be picked up.

Deer skirt, $35

Does your work reflect your hometown in any way?

I always hated fleur de lis stuff since it was so closely associated with our dismal football team, the Saints. I always thought it was kinda cheesy, too. Since Katrina, I've been incorporating the fleur de lis into a lot of my designs, as well anything else that resembles NOLA pride. These things have now become my best sellers.

Ensign pendant, $15

How did you get through last year?

My neighborhood, Broadmoor, falls somewhere in the middle of the range of devastation. We had about 7 feet of water in the streets, so that means I got about 3 feet in my apartment. Whatever the water didn't destroy, though, the mold took care of, since we weren't allowed back into the city for about a month. I actually went back in illegally before the approved time, to try and save whatever I could.

I lost about 90% of my belongings. Some of my craft supplies survived. I have a lot of lovely people to thank for sending me fabric scraps and other materials and tools. Some ladies from The Switchboards sent me stuff, as well as people who found my post on the CERF forum (Crafters' Emergency
Relief Fund.) A good friend who didn't get any damage but had to move away left me a lot of studio furniture and some supplies.

I started re-buying craft and business supplies before I started replacing "normal" stuff. I still don't have a real stock of kitchen supplies! That shows my priorities, I guess.

I hadn't made any new inventory since pre-K. I have lived in multiple places since the storm, including a FEMA trailer where there was barely room to walk around, much less have any semblance of a studio. I finally moved (temporarily) to Kentucky. I now have a little more peace of mind and a lot more room in which to work. I can't wait to go back home when this lease is up, though.

Fleur de lis pendant, $15

Is there any particular thing you'd like people outside of New Orleans to do to support the city?

Please, don't forget about us.  Don't turn a deaf ear or a blind eye because you are tired of hearing the stories.  Don't give up on us and succumb to the beliefs that we shouldn't waste time and money on rebuilding. I am more heartbroken over losing my city than I am over losing any of my belongings,
even the most sentimental things. New Orleans is special. The people that live there feel a strong connection to the city. It's got a lot of problems, many of which existed pre-K. But we love it anyway.