NEWS FROM O’FALLON CITY HALL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Autumn Wiggins is a Riverfront Times 2010 MasterMind Award Winner
O’Fallon, Illinois – August 27, 2010 – Mayor Gary Graham is pleased to announce that Autumn Wiggins has received a Riverfront Times 2010 MasterMind Award. Autumn is a member of the O’Fallon Arts Commission and is the Chairperson for the annual Strange Folk Festival that is held in Community Park every September.
The MasterMind Awards were given to four individuals during Artopia, a showcase and celebration of St. Louis’ art community. The event was held at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild and each award winner received a check for $1,000.
“Autumn is the catalyst behind the extremely successful Strange Folk Festival that continues to grow year after year,” said Mayor Graham. “She is a very talented crafter and organizer and is dedicated to ecologically minded practices within the crafting community. Congratulations to Autumn on her Riverfront Times award.”
Wiggins is a self-proclaimed science nerd, website designer, crafting class teacher, and founder of the Upcycle Exchange and the Strange Folk Festival. She is also a former head writer for a blog called Crafting a Green World that educates crafters about environmentally responsible ways to craft. She has moved on to speak at national conferences and write for other publications, such as Craft: Magazine, on the subject.
Upcycling is one way for crafters to be environmentally responsible. Whereas recycling often involves melting, remanufacturing or otherwise changing an object’s chemical structure, Upcycling takes something that already exists and alters its function. Examples include decorating jelly jars that are used for glasses or old clothes that are used to make quilts.
Wiggins founded the Upcycle Exchange where people donate everyday materials such as candy wrappers, felt flowers, neckties and hundreds of other items that local crafters put to use in their creations. The program operates drop-off sites throughout the metro area, including Circa Boutique in Belleville, DIY Style Boutique in St. Charles, Masterpeace Studios in Crestwood Court, and Cherokee Street’s Peridot. In exchange for the items, crafters reward donors with incentives such as freebies or discounts. By upcycling, crafters don’t waste time sifting through thrift-store items or expending resources buying something new, and it reduces the environmental impact.
The Upcycle Exchange has been so successful in the local area that Wiggins has open-sourced the pilot program, and now other cities, including Chicago, New York and Leeds in the UK are in the process of starting their own.
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Additional Information Contact:
Pamala L. Funk
Asst. City Administrator
624-4500, Extension 9-1112
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