Join Contemporary Craft Executive Director, Rachel Rearick and Knotzland’s Founder, Nisha Blackwell for an inside look and conversation focused on an exclusive product line that they are working on launching together! The discussion will be moderated by podcast extraordinaire, Kahmeela Adams.

The Rockwell line is a collection of handmade bowties and lavallières that will premiere at Contemporary Craft’s annual fundraiser, Out of Hand, on April 9. What makes this work unique is that all of the fabric for the collection was hand printed by Rachel, and then reimagined and turned into a series of wearable artwork, by Nisha and her creative team. You’ll learn how Rachel and Nisha came to know one another, hear how this project came to life, get insight into artist practice, and be the first to see a sneak peek of the final collection.

P.S. Does the name Rockwell ring a bell? That’s because this line is named after Contemporary Craft’s founder, Betty Rockwell Raphael!

Contemporary Craft has been presenting contemporary art in craft materials by international, national, and regional artists since 1971, and offers innovative exhibitions focused on multicultural diversity and contemporary art; as well as a range of hands-on workshops, community engagement programs, and a retail store. Aside from being the Executive Director, Rachel Rearick is a practicing printmaker.

Nisha is the fashion-forward Designer and Founder of Knotzland. A sustainable accessory brand that takes the best in textile discards and reuses them to recreate stylish accessories that everyone loves! In doing this, they are vastly reducing the disposal of fabrics that may otherwise be deemed unusable and ultimately end up lying around and polluting our environment. To date, they have rescued over 6259.133 pounds of textile waste, and 3,967 lbs of it (and counting) has already made its way to its new home on the necks of their fabulous customers!

RuggedAngel is a Pittsburgh based hub for inspiration, pop culture, and general geekdom, founded by Kahmeela Adams. Specifically, the RuggedAngel podcast is all about women who Kahmeela finds inspiring, where she spends time talking about life, professional passions, and personal origins. Beyond the podcast, Kahmeela has produced a myriad of short films, art shows, film festivals, pop-up galleries and most notably, the Pittsburgh 48 Hour Film Festival.