Conversations with Addison Stonestreet

Today we’d like to introduce you to Addison Stonestreet

Hi Addison, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started making art when I was very young. I started sewing when I was in middle school. I took a sewing class because I had taken all of the art classes available at the time. The entire semesters objective was to complete one quilt. And I still have that quit to this day. In high school I made a blue plaid collared shirt that also had a hood: I also have the to this day too. My memory is a bit foggy on when exactly I made the shirt; I can’t remember if i made it after college or before. My mother said I sewed it in high school. I don’t know lol. I received a BFA in painting from the University Of Kansas. College is where i started getting into fashion more seriously. After college is when I picked sewing back up. I started tailoring my own clothing. I would thrift collared shirts and tailor them to fit me better. I would alter coats. I also started sewing on paper. Allowing me to take my drawings further. Adding texture. Giving more depth. Adding another dimension felt like I was onto something cool. Soon realizing that my thicker, heavier and much more archival art paper worked the best. 300lb cold or hot press watercolor paper. BFK rives. It was unused painting and printmaking materials.

In KC I started participating in more shows during First Fridays in the Crossroads. I worked at Creative Coldsnow for a couple of years, This all lead me to meet a significant amount of people in the art world in KC. I started a small pop-up gallery space in the old Silver Screen Salon building of of 19th and Wyandotte. Then I met a girl. She moved to San Diego within the first two weeks I met her. Two years later, in 2014, I would end up being accepted into my first artist residency “A Ship In The Woods” in San Diego. A 501c3 artist non-profit run out of a mid-century home in Del Mar, CA. A three month artist residency turned into staying and working with them for several years. In 2015 I met a women who sold vintage clothing. I was always into vintage clothing. I simply loved older styles. We dated a couple of years. She broke my heart sad to say. I turned that sadness into fuel for my new work to come. During that time with her I made something by chance: my first handmade patch. That changed everything for me. A gift for her. She and I loved pizza. She made this mazing vinyl pizza purse for herself. Then one day for her birthday. I decided to make her a pepperoni pizza patch. I was a painter so I had lots of heavy canvas laying around. That turned out to be the best substrate to make my patches. She loved it. I adorned the large patch onto the bak of a black satin bomber jacket. Along with a small pepperoni pizza on the front. After that it opened a whole new door for me. That chance patch has lead me to making all kinds of clothing. Of course i made more pizza jackets. I made a pizza sash. I also made a pizza clutch. Which is my first couture piece. My favorite piece that I have ever made.

In 2017 I started going to Joshua Tree and Los Angeles. A couple of years later I worked on my first Childrens book project. I created all of the watercolors for the entire book. At the end of 2018 I started working on a house project with one of my friends. In 2019 I started traveling to Mexico with friends. By late 2019 I officially moved to Joshua Tree. By the end of summer in 2020. I visited Ensenada and stayed with my friends. Not knowing then that I would meet someone and eventually move to Mexico. In 2022 I had the opportunity to purchase the beach house I was living in, with my now Ex. This will be my second year officially owning a house and the fourth year living in it.

Since 2017. I really started to make my own clothing. I like to make more one-of-a-kind pieces. I like to make my own textiles now. Much more time consuming and expensive but much more creatively freeing for me. I made a series of reversible kimonos out of all kinds of materials like burlap. denim and canvas. I just finished my second couture piece. A 1950s vogue swing coat. It is made from my deceased grandmothers denim. The entire coat is patchworked denim. I am working on a series of patchworked denim corsets. My main focus currently is to use only what I have in my studio to make clothing. I am going through every bit of scrap material and unfinished projects. In doing so I realized that I want to focus more of my efforts on only creating my own textiles and printing my own artwork on fabric.

I travel back and forth from Kansas City, Joshua Tree, San Diego and Ensenada mostly. My home studio is in Ensenada. But I am able to work at my parents house as well. My mother and I have the same sewing machine.

2024 has been a year full of collaborative projects with other designers. My current agenda is to exhaust all my current materials in my studio. The goal after that is to focus on finding more shops to sell more clothing in. I have built up quite a collection. I have over 300+ handmade items. Not including my drawings and paintings. It is time to free up space in my studio. Looking towards the future I want to only focus on creating my own textiles and using my own art to create clothing.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has not always been so smooth. It is important to make the best of the good and the bad.

While living in San Diego and working with the non-profit. I had the opportunity to live in some incredible mid-century homes. That were quite large. I helped renovate the second home of the non-profit in Escondido, CA. While moving from the previous non-profit home to the new location. We simultaneously worked on a 110 acre art show in Cabrio National Park in Point Loma. With 50 artists from all around the United States and Mexico. We had a full plate for quite a number of years. Eventually that company ran out of money and had to let me go. Thats were my struggle in San Diego really came into play. I had to quickly find a job and a place to stay with only a few weeks to do it. Or else I would have had to move back home.

San Diego felt like where I needed to be. So i found an art store job. Found and apartment. Lived closer to the city. During that time the love of my life broke up with me. It was a very sad time in my life. I was miserable at that art store job. I felt like a failure to be there. After a year and a half I couldn’t stand to work there anymore. Grateful for the opportunity but I knew that there was more out there for me. Eventually I was fired from my position. They could see working there was killing my spirit. I left with big hugs from my managers and my spirits held high. They knew my art and design work was great and they wanted me to pursue that instead. Fortunate for me I had another job already. On the weekend I was working on a children’s book with a woman who lived in Del Mar. I made double the pay and had half the working hours. This lead me to have a significant amount of time to work on my projects.

After my children’s book job had finished. I was called back to the 501c3 art non-profit. Which was great timing because I was gearing up to move out of my apartment at that time. I worked on a music festival with them. Eventually leading me to moving back into the house. I lived there for a couple of years. Worked on and off with them. Before the non-profit finally disbanded due to a divorce from the co-founders. Luckily I was able to find a job working on my friends home in Joshua Tree. They let me gut, rebuild and redesign their entire property. It was during this time that I gained a lot of useful building skills for my own home. Which I use to help my friends and family from time to time. I eventually moved to the house in Joshua Tree. I had to live in a construction zone for a significant amount of time. However, I was glad to have a place to stay.

During that time in Joshua Tree. I had met a woman in Mexico. Fell in love. Eventually moved in with her. Things were great for a long time. But life happened. Right after I had bought the home we were living in. She broke up with me and moved out. Life’s weird like that. Now I live alone with my dog. Being alone there has enabled me to renovate the house as I see fit. Which makes me happy. I always try to stay positive in the good and bad times of my life.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I received a BFA in Painting from the University of Kansas. My skillset extends further than just painting and drawing. I still love to paint and draw. I use my artwork for my clothing designs now. I love photography and videography. I document and edit all of my work myself.

I have a background in printmaking, sculpting, construction, illustration, graphic design, drawing, painting, sewing, photography and videography. So I have many disciplinary avenues when it comes to my work. I always love learning how to take things apart, fix them and put them back together better.

I specialize in sewing currently. I am known for working with a variety of materials. I have painted leather projects, I work with vintage materials, I create my own textiles and I work with found objects.

I love to cook and I find a lot of inspiration from cooking that influences my work. I have a lot of food themed related work now.

I am most proud of the patches and patchwork designs I have made. They have to be my favorites of all my sewing projects.

My creativity and how I see the world is what sets me apart from a lot of other artist / designers. I can find inspiration from anything. Life is art to me. Whether i am cooking or constructing. Something always inspires me for new ideas.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
The one surprising thing that only my friends and family know about is that I have Tourettes syndrome. I don’t hide it. I am very open about it. I have even made artwork about it. If anyone ever asks i always am happy to answer any questions. Honestly it is like having super powers to be honest. It makes me hyper aware. My attention to detail is heightened. That has helped me become a better artist. My reflexes are heightened. The list goes on. My case is pretty mild now. But I still have some tics that resurface now and again. As I get older the tics become less prevalent. I used to be embarrassed when I was younger but everyone thought it was cool. So i never worried about it. None of my previous partners ever had any issues with it. Everyone in my life has been very supportive. Its pretty fun having it to be honest.

Pricing:

• I have items as low as $10. Typically they are pocket squares or smaller patches.
• A lot of my reversible clothing starts around $60 and goes up to $2200.
• My typical two-piece outfit set is around $290.
• I have painted leather jackets around $1600-$2800
• I have items as high as $5000. They are typically very time consuming patchwork pieces.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://addisonstonestreet.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addisonstonestreet/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addisonstonestreet
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@addisonstonestreet