Behind the Scenes

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Rubbish Renewed

On event day, for designers and models the magic begins in the Greenroom. It’s a space that builds confidence and inspiration to showcase the art on the runway. Nicole Potter, a seasoned stylist, led the styling team, creating a professional and comfortably accessible experience for all ages. Greenroom Photos by Greg Maffei.

This year, for the 2^nd time, we had a student makeup team! These budding make-up artists, Rowen, Bella, Ellie, Lila, and Ila, gained real-life event experience and mentorship while blowing us away with creativity, connection, support and fun. They were inspirational!

Model Sam with makeup artist Ila.

Designer/Model Ruby with makeup artist Bella.

Designer/model Abigail with makeup artist Rowan.

Designer/model Guthrie with makeup artist Lila.

Emcee Jessie with makeup artist Ellie.

A group of fabulous independent hair stylists came together donating their time to uplift the art. Raechel Gilland – Adventure Time Entertainments, Caligosto (Cal) Leis, Jessica Trainor, and Kaia Chopra worked their magic quickly and creatively, with a focus on making each model and garment stand out.

Designer/Model Bethany with hair stylist Kaia.

Model Ian with hair stylist Raechal.

Designer/Model Sloan with hair stylist Jessica.

Designer/Model Guthrie with hair stylist Caligosto.

We’ve now dubbed the space Mayra’s Greenroom. Mayra created an experience of joyous support for all the students and adults alike. We continue to hold the space with her spirit. Mayra Aguilar Stearns – March 1, 1972 – June 15, 2025.

Mayra Stearns making magic; Rubbish Renewed 2016. *Archive Photos: Paula Bullwinkel*

Free Design Workshop Collaboration with DIYcave

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Rubbish Renewed

For the second year we are offering free Rubbish Renewed Design Workshops starting next week at DIYcave, Friday February 20th 4-6pm & Friday March 6th 4-6pm! Sign-up for one today by clicking on the Rubbish Renewed & DIYcave Design Workshop Sign-up Link! Or link by visiting the applications page on the tab above or from DIYcave.com. For more detail check out the flyer below.

The 2026 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show will be at the Pavilion on Saturday, May 9th 2026. The garment submission deadline is Friday, April 10th.

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Calling All Aspiring Trash Fashion Designers!

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Rubbish Renewed

Calling all aspiring Trash Fashion Designers! It’s just over 3-months until the 2026 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show and a great time to start designing. With this unseasonably warm weather I’m not skiing, so why not tap into my creativity! Where do you get your inspiration? Check out past designer profile blog posts below to help you get motivated! We can’t wait to see what YOU create.

Revisit some Rubbish Renewed designer profiles by clicking on the links below. Many of these designers have gone on to create more garments for the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show:

DESIGNER PROFILES:

Ruby Swanson

N Spekktor

Sara Wiener & Karlin Hedin

Tiina McDermott

Garment Submission Forms coming soon. Submission deadline April 3rd!

Shop Reused & Local for a Sustainable Season

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

School’s out for winter break. Weather’s starting to feel wintery, and the community is bustling. This is a great time to do last minute holiday shopping in town. In Bend, we have a bounty of local, sustainable, diverse gift gathering spaces. Check out three great community focused businesses (and Rubbish Renewed supporters) to spend your dollars locally and make sustainable purchasing choices that are lighter on the planet!

RESTORE: 224 NE Thurston Avenue

For the handy person in your life the ReStore has a wide variety of home improvement materials, tools and furnishings almost exclusively donated by our generous community. Shopping at ReStore helps support the construction of Habitat homes that are built for energy efficiency. These affordable homes ensure families have every opportunity to thrive and grow.

GEAR FIX: 550 SW Industrial Way #1

For your outdoor enthusiast needs check out The Gear Fix! They consign high quality outdoor gear and repair your damaged favorites. Gear Fix cultivates a sense of community both inside and outside of the shop helping make our area inclusive for all that choose to venture outdoors.

COSA CURA: 2735 NW Crossing Dr. #101 & 19570 Amber Meadow Dr, #170

For your stylish fashion and home decor needs Cosa Cura is the place! The store currently represents 80+ Independent Artists & Designers and carries fashion from 8000+ local consignors. Cosa Cura creates an atmosphere of sustainable style, creativity, local support and community service. “Killer style and saving the planet one fabulous outfit at a time.”

Showcased for Action: 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery Posted

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

I’m so proud to live in a town where many local businesses put our environment in the forefront of their work. Not only considering waste, but also community, social, and global actions. Looking back on last year’s Business Challenge Gallery post inspired me to renew the message:

“In Bend, we have the power to create a holistic sustainable community. More than just action around waste, it’s about access to affordable housing, supporting local farms and food production, prioritizing employee well-being, creating green-spaces and access for recreating and habitat in these, shifting status quo policies surrounding waste and distribute items for reuse, establishing safe routes for biking and walking… the Business Challenge participants are making a difference through local, community focused practices, that empower people, and ultimately contribute to a better world. It’s more important than ever to step up and get involved.”

Celebrate the creativity and beauty showcased for action in the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery and get inspired by the emerging work happening in our community!

6 of the 7 Business Challenge Garments at the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show. From left to right: Lonza, DIYcave, ReStore, ReCoHere, Bend Anesthesiology Group, and Gear Fix (missing Humm Kombucha). Visit the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery for captivating photos of each garment, their description, story and businesses’ sustainable practices.

Rubbish Renewed 2025 had a diverse team of photographers. Thank you to Kimberly Teichrow Photography, Joe Kline Photography, Stark Photography, Melissa Barnes Dholakia, and Greg Maffei for the incredible images you’ll find in our galleries.

Check out the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery and look for more posts coming soon!

Hidden Creatives: 2025 Adult Show Gallery Posted!

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

Bend is a haven for environmentally conscious creatives. You can find local artists openly producing significant sustainable pieces, but many innovators are hidden in the cracks. People known in our community as teachers, medical care providers, outdoor professionals… are quietly creating powerful pieces that reflect their commitment to sustainability, education, and artistry. Luckily, some materialize for meaningful opportunities like the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show! Among these incredible hidden designers are: Martha, once a Realms student, is now the Community Engagement Coordinator at the High Desert Museum; Katie, a first time Rubbish Renewed Designer, is an inpatient hospital pharmacist; DeeDee is the VP of Homeowner Services for Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity and has produced pieces for RR every year; and the list goes on. Take a look at the 2025 Adult Garment Gallery and enjoy the stories and designs created by a vibrant community of eco-conscious designers!

“RUBBISH ROMANTICISM” Designer: Martha Campbell Model: Rona Campbell; “A PROPER BAG LADY” Designer: Lloyd McMullen Model: Mikayla Gil; “POOL PARTY” Designer/Model: Qristy Kurtz; “BEN’S BACKPACK 2.0” Designer: Meg Knight Model: Ben Knight; “GARDEN PARTY” Designer: DeeDee Johnson Model: Robin Cooper Engle; “INTRAVENOUS SEAMSTRESS” Designer/Model: Katie Valentine

Check out the 2025 Adult Garment Gallery and look for more posts coming soon!

Students Inspired! 2025 Show Gallery Posted

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

When people ask me what my favorite thing is about being the producer of the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, it always comes down to the students. They inspire me to step up my game as a global citizen, a community member, an artist, a designer, a teacher, and an environmental steward. I’m blown away every year by their creativity, their garment stories, and the craftsmanship, even by the youngest designers. This year the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show showcased student designers from 17 Central Oregon schools – from 3rd grade to college! Check out the 2025 Student Garment Gallery and see what students inspired create.

Check out the 2025 Student Garment Gallery and look for more galleries and blog posts coming soon!

Sneak Peak: 2025 Show Photos!

Posted on June 29, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

PHOTOS BY: Kimberly Teichrow Photography (more photos for purchase ), Joe Kline (more photos for purchase ), Stark Photography (more photos for purchase), Melissa Barnes Dholakia, and Greg Maffei

The Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show had an incredible photography team this year. We were lucky again to have: Kimberly Teichrow Photography taking portraits before the runway, capturing clear images of each piece and some with designers; Joe Kline’s atmospheric photos, seizing the essence of the event; and Melissa Barnes-Dholakia, with her bright photos of pieces on the runway. New with us in 2025 were 2 photographers, Daniel Stark, who captured the whole event from the marketplace to models, and Greg Maffei who shot the back of the house catching the magic behind the curtain.

Kimberly Teichrow Photography

Joe Kline Photography

Stark Photography

Melissa Barnes Dholakia

Greg Maffei

And the 2025 Business Challenge Winner is…

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

The 2025 Business Challenge was the most diverse yet. Restore, Gear Fix, Lonza, Humm, Bend Anesthesiology Group, DIYcave, and ReCoHere gave it their all and showed us how thinking outside of the box with materials can uplift sustainability through creativity and fun.

And for the 2nd year in a row, the winner is…. Gear Fix, with Moth Mess Monster, taking home the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Coveted Trash Trophy to add to their winning display! Congratulations (again) Gear Fix!

Business Challenge Sneak Peak – Who will get your Vote?

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

For our 13th year and our 12th Business Challenge we have 7 sustainably-minded, local businesses competing for the 2025 Rubbish Renewed’s Coveted Trash Trophy! Each year a group of businesses come together to uplift our collective actions to make a better world, and have some friendly competition with the winner decided by the night’s audiences. Bring your friends and your voting block, to support your pick to win the The Rubbish Renewed Business Challenge this Saturday, May 10th!

Meet Betty. The vintage scrap laminate used to create the 2025 Coveted Trash Trophy! Thank you Rob Walker for another one-of-a-kind keepsake for our Saturday night winner!

Returning as the most consistent Business Challenge competitor and our 2025 Presenting Sponsor, ReStore is competing in its 12th Business Challenge (winner in 2018). Designers DeeDee Johnson and Lisa Mcluskie, are going big this year. This Restore creature sees everything with a different lens. Walk the floor of the store any day of the week and you too can imagine a whole new world.

Both back for their 5th Business Challenge competition Gear Fix and Lonza are stepping up! Gear Fix, the 2024 Coveted Trash Trophy winner, has designer Nico Brilmyer back leading a team of colleagues Kasey Boyd, and Kate Weatherholtz. With this dynamic design group we can expect the cosmic guardian of the wild, the Moss Mess Monster, to fight pollution to the extreme! Lonza is trying something new with material manipulation – crocheted plastic packaging, truly transforming plastic bags! We can’t wait to see what the seasoned Trash Fashion team, Nahi Ortiz, Thyia Scott, and Kari D’Angona, brings to life with this marvelous mermaid inspired piece.

Back to compete again from 2024 are Humm Kombucha and the Bend Anesthesiology Group. Humm Kombucha is in it’s 4th Business Challenge! New to Rubbish Renewed designers, Zhenya Cotita, Kevin Coneys, and Syd Becker, bring a fresh look to the Kombucha trash fashion scene with hairnets creating the softness of this Sugar Humm Fairy. For their 2nd Business Challenge, Bend Anesthesiology Group continues to change the medical waste stream. BAG is highlighting the sustainable work they do by using poly wrap destined for the landfill to create bags for new families in the Family Birthing Center. This garment, fashioned by prolific Rubbish Renewed designer Karen Holm, highlights the simple, clean, beauty our future could hold by lessening our impact on the planet.

Joining Rubbish Renewed for their first Business Challenge are DIYcave and ReCoHere. DIYcave has finally jumped into the Trash Fashion competition. Inspired by their deep appreciation for pollinators, creatives Mak Sales and Quentin Gooding, are manipulating material into something flamboyant. ReCoHere has been keeping us in the dark up until now. Their multi-layered piece will bring out masterful material manipulation while sending a message – These garments have a lot to say about consumerism, power, and how we can all do more even simply by what we choose to dress in each day.