The Fabric and Leather Academy

Some knowledge can’t be Googled.

It can’t be generated by AI.

And it can’t be learned through a screen.

It must be felt.

The weight of a fabric.
The drape of a garment.
The texture of leather.

The more digital our world becomes, the more valuable touch becomes.

✨ Issue #62 is live:
The Return of Touch

Link in bio.

The risk wasn’t moving to Italy.

The risk was staying the same.

Years later, I realize the biggest decisions in my life didn’t come with guarantees.

Just a feeling that it was time for something different.

Florence taught me that growth often looks like uncertainty before it looks like success.

This week’s newsletter is about reinvention, risk, and the move that changed everything.

✨ Link in bio.

Fashion is changing fast.
AI, smaller teams, faster timelines…

But good taste, creativity, and human perspective still matter.

That’s what Issue 058 of The Luxe Materialist is about. ✨

Link in bio.

Something about fashion feels… off.

Not because of trends.
Not because of price.

Because the connection is gone.

We’ve been taught to recognize brands,
but not to understand what we’re actually looking at.

And when you don’t understand materials, construction, or quality,
fashion starts to feel distant.

Untouchable.

Like it belongs to someone else.

But it didn’t start that way.

Luxury wasn’t built in magazines.
It was built in ateliers, mills, and factories,
by people who understood what they were making.

That knowledge still exists.

Most people just don’t have access to it.

I wrote about this in today’s issue of The Luxe Materialist.

If fashion has ever felt out of reach to you,
this might change how you see it.

Link in bio.

I used to read this differently.

Tomorrow….

Link in bio

Luxury isn’t just “the best material” anymore.

I’ve seen perfect leathers get cut.
“Sustainable” fabrics fail.
And teams choose margin over magic.

The future?
Not perfection.
Decisions. Trade-offs. Timing.

Issue #055 of The Luxe Materialist is live.

MaterialMatters

Back in the classroom… but this time, on the other side of the table.

I had the opportunity to teach a leather sourcing class at Berkeley College, and it reminded me how much of this industry is learned through experience. Through touch, through mistakes, through time.

Leather teaches you patience.
It teaches you standards.
It teaches you what is worth investing in.

Full circle moment 🤍

TheLuxeMaterialist

Before fabric was luxury, it was survival.

The quilts created by Black American women were not made for trend or recognition. They were made to preserve memory. To carry story forward. To ensure that history lived on through cloth.

Every remnant mattered. Every stitch meant something.

As someone who has spent my life working with materials, I am constantly reminded that the true value of a textile is not just in its rarity, but in its meaning.

Material is memory.
Material is identity.
Material is legacy.

Issue 044 of The Luxe Materialist, The Quilts That Carried Memory, is now live.

Read it. Share it. Remember it.

Link in bio.



fashioneducation materialculture textiledesign fashionindustry heritagecraft

You don’t have to start the new year with everything figured out.

This issue is about letting curiosity lead, easing the pressure, and trusting the unexpected paths that open up when you stop forcing clarity.

Read “The Rabbit Hole Is the Point.”
Link in bio.




#2026