People of Troy

Interview with Kathleen Tesnakis, Owner of Ekologic

If your your studio could talk, what do you think it would say?

"I think what’s so amazing in here is that the work is actually very difficult, and we are problem solvers, so we’re always overcoming obstacles. And that is why there aren’t as many people doing this type of work. But what gets missed is the longevity of the item, the bespoke qualities of the item. So we’re imbuing love into things here in the studio, and I think that’s what the studio would want to say. She’s like, “Look at those hands. Look at the creative thought and spark and love that’s going into everything that we make.” It’s so rare to find handmade sewn products in the way that we create.  I have been upcycling for the last 30 years, so I’m both a designer and an eco-activist. I’ve been out there showing people beautiful objects instead of using those objects as a soft entry into having difficult discussions about what’s going on in our environment and how, as humans, we’re really responsible for the impact on the ozone layer and on other animals that we share this planet with. We can do so much to benefit our world if we actually just sort of wake up from the disposable-use-and-dispose concept. So we’re really trying to be a shining example of that and give people an alternative to fast fashion— being able to wear beautiful things that you know are giving back.

When we remanufacture out of textile waste, we are not doing an industrial process, so it is a much lighter footprint on the earth than some of the mass-manufactured recycled items that you’re going to start seeing in stores in the upcoming years. I originally started my company in Portland, Oregon, in 1996, and I moved to Troy in 2003. I was looking for a community that had a soul — that I knew I could live my values here. I could walk, I could engage with neighbors, I could take care of old historic buildings. I was actually in a building that was built in the 1900s to recreate out of what they called “bats and shoddies” from the textile industry that used to operate here in Troy. So to me, it was, in a sense, coming home to a place that valued the type of work I wanted to do, and I wanted to carry on that legacy, that thread."

Has there been a moment in your work that has made you feel connected to Troy’s past or Troy’s future?

"When you look in the past and you see Hannah Montague and Kate Mullany— who actually created the first women’s textile union, or really the first textile union here— those are all really incredible historic events for sewn products and for women in the industry, and of course for men when they do come into this industry. So for me, being a part of that history is huge. And being a woman-owned business owner in Troy that’s carrying on the legacy of these women— that is also a huge piece. I love things from the past and carrying on that energy. That’s why I’m a recycler. I like to treat those things with care because I know the love and energy that’s gone on beyond me in the past, and drawing that forward is critically important. And if you’ve noticed, recently there have been a lot of articles about sewn products and how we are losing that skill. Well, I teach that skill to the people that work here in this studio, and it provides an alternative for people that want to create as a livelihood. I think that our skills are becoming more and more valuable. Obviously, most of this work is being done overseas, and to be able to be here creating for the United States and people around the world in this way is really special."

If you could leave a message to a future Troy resident, what would you want to say to them?

"Come here and learn how to be in community. The thing that is so special is that the people who sort of “left the lights on” when Troy was very much abandoned— they knew how to communicate with each other. They knew how to participate with one another. They said hello to you on the street when no one else was there.

So this type of connectivity is so incredible, and I do hope that people who come here can carry on that thread— that it’s important to our culture here. In fact, that’s what’s drawing people here, because we have such an amazing community. So I really encourage people who come to Troy: don’t just come to the market and leave. Come and say hello to a neighbor. Make connections. Find the real sort of American values here."