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about me
Hi!
My name is Jackie Way and I am the creator and designer, and basically the "WAY', behind “up and a WAY designs”.
By day, I am a full-time “science geek”, but after a day of technical thinking, I can’t wait to get home and get creative.
During the school year, I am an empty-nester, with twins away at college, so I can turn my dining room into a sewing studio, have cereal for dinner if I want, and stay up way too late at my sewing machine!
“up and a WAY designs” came to life in 2016. A friend of mine had just started working with a coffee roaster and told me about the cool bags the beans came in. I asked her to save me one to see what I could do with it and she brought me TEN! I started to play with them and "up and a WAY designs" was born.
All my burlap comes from authentic coffee bean sacks that have traveled from countries all around the world to carry their native beans to your morning cup of coffee. While you get to enjoy their rich, exotic flavors, I get to enjoy creating treasures from these unique and interesting burlap sacks. Imagine all the places these sacks have been and the stories they could tell if only they could talk!
Unfortunately, the original purpose of these sacks is only for storage and transport of coffee beans. Once they get to their destination they are nothing more than abandoned trash. Not only am I transforming trash into treasure by upcycling the burlap from the coffee sacks, but the linings I choose for my items are often fabrics recycled from past projects or donated remnants. Because the coffee sacks are all different and the linings are repurposed, everything I design is a one of a kind, sustainable original. I am having so much fun designing, creating, and refashioning these discarded sacks into something sustainable and unique for you!
