Queen of recycling: Santa Fe artist Julie Anderson

Julie Anderson's Ann Tenna, an EB Nation doll
Julie Anderson

Everyday, Julie Anderson turns trash into treasure. The Santa Fe artist uses mostly recycled materials to create dolls, masks, puppets, purses, wearable art and more. She started out as a photographer specializing in weddings, portraits and the usual humdrum stuff. “I have really sexy photos of drilling rigs,” she says. She began taking photos of folks in costumes and 18 years ago, a new career was born, she became a costumer.  Her business, Costume Salon is located at Santa Fe Outlet Mall and is open by appointment only, or visit her online.

She was not really a designer or a seamstress at the time. She sewed on her mom’s 1946 Singer. She hired folks who knew what they were doing and she learned on the job. They told her to buy a piece of equipment, she did. Gradually, she learned the tricks of the trade.

She does theatrical costumes (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Branson, Missouri), the costumes for the annual Santa Fe Renaissance Fair and costume rentals all over the world. Halloween is her busiest season. There is an upsurge of business around Mardi Gras. Apparently, people are serious about costumes as these do not come cheap, add shipping and the cost could enter four-figures. “I did a Marie Antoinette outfit for someone in Ireland, for a party in a castle” she relates. “ I sent several outfits and wigs.” The client was delighted. She often gets celebrity requests, but does not necessarily know whom the outfit is for. It is all very hush-hush. She once sent Cleopatra costumes, wigs and size 11 sandals to the wife of a famous film star and got the most beautiful bouquet delivered as a thank you. Anderson is very serious about her costumes. Her costumes come with everything from the underwear up to the headpieces.

She also makes custom one-of-a- kind clothing for clients out of recycled materials
Anderson also uses as much recycled materials as possible. She works with stuff that is literally headed for the dump. Sarah Pierpont, coordinator of the 2009 Santa Fe Recycled Art Festival says “My husband rented a knight’s costume from her and it was made from recycled vegetable steamers.” She is known as a collector of useless (to others) objects and people deliver things to her all the time. If she can’t use them, she passes them on or recycles them.

Her latest project is EB Nation, a collection of dolls stuffed with discarded plastic clothing bags and sporting heads made from broken-plastic Easter eggs. “Someone brought me 100 of them” she says. “When I get 100 of something, I know I gotta make something of them.” The plastic bags come from her fellow tenants at the Outlet Mall. They receive clothing in plastic bags and the dumpsters are full of them. They headed for the landfill. She doesn’t want them to end up there, so she dumpster dives and retrieves them. (The dumpsters are really clean, she says.) And so, the EB Nation was born. They are made of 98% recycled materials, just about the only item not recycled is the glue from her glue-gun.

Anderson shows at the annual  Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival held each November. Besides her wearable art, mostly coats and scarves, she sells her dolls, masks, puppets, purses and more. Her work has appeared in Italian Vogue and one of her crowns may be featured in an up-coming Vera Wang fragrance ad.

If you’re visiting Santa Fe, love the unusual and want to preserve the environment, make an appointment to see the busy artist. Or let your fingers do the walking and visit her website.

Note: Julie Anderson is exhibiting at Recycle Santa Art Festival 2009, November 13th to 15th. Read abput this event.