Masters of Creative Alchemy
“forging new concepts in the world of up-cycling”
Bat-Fish Studio was created in 2014 by Tracy Yerrell.
Headquartered in the Pacific North West Coast on Vancouver Island Canada, Bat-Fish Studio is focused on sourcing post consumer textiles & objects often bound for landfills and transforming the elements into wearable art.
Working with materials that would otherwise be turned into the dumping grounds, I have gone on to create a line of clothing using a combination of my original screened art work & reclaimed textiles. I also have a line of jewelry 'Tube*Bella' that is made from the inner tubes of bicycle tires & found objects. Accessories use a wide variety of ingredients from off-cuts from the upholstery industry, reclaimed leather & dead stock fabric to a wide array of interesting items that come my way.
As materials come to the studio they are reconstructed into completely new items altogether, altered and reworked. By incorporating a variety of design techniques & incorporating nontraditional materials, the garments & accessories go on to become re-imagined new pieces.
Some materials are sourced from second hand or thrift stores. We also take donations of dead stock fabrics, boxes of forgotten textiles in attics & basements needing to be made into something wonderful. We source off cut textiles from local retail suppliers, theatre & film costume & custom set designs, interior design houses, & private donations.
Fabric sample books from the upholstery industry are used to create a line of fascinators 'Singe Exquisite' that you can wear in your hair, on a hat or clothing.
The bicycle inner tube used to create the Tube*Bella jewelry line is sourced from local bicycle stores working to restore & refurbish bikes. We utilize broken pieces of jewellery, discarded chain, off-cuts of leather, unwanted & found objects, all coming from a wide variety of sources including private donations, second hand stores, estate & church bazaars.
Bat-Fish Studio’s goal is not only to produce & sell clothing & materials made from post consumer waste, but to educate & inspire others to look at material waste in a different light. Making a difference does not come in a neat package of one big "solution", but rather in the small actions of many that make the difference. By tapping into more unconventional design aesthetics and embracing the idea that waste can really be a resource, it inspires people to get in touch with their own creativity and how they can make a difference with up-cycling & re-purposing.
By continuing to challenge the norms of industry standards, Bat-Fish Studio shows through example the result of innovative design and the use of unconventional materials, inspiring others to look at textiles in a different light from their initial purpose. The possibilities are only as limited as our imaginations.