*Please note when visiting Ahbap Derneği that donations are accepted in Turkish Lire, which has the following currency conversion rate as of the publication date of this article: 1 Turkish Lire = $.053 USD

This week, Crispina delves into the art and business sides of creative textile-upcycling entrepreneurship with Seren Atilgan of Frust Upcycling.

Seren is a sole proprietor living and working in Istanbul, Turkey, who creates few-of-a-kind clothing items using the pre-consumer waste that is a natural byproduct of the booming textile industry of Istanbul. She describes how she sources her raw materials from bazaars and small shops which offer the end of bolt fabrics, leftover buttons, thread, and other notions that can't be used at the industrial level. Istanbul is a veritable "a paradise of waste" according to Seren.(Crispina sounds about ready to hop on a plane to paradise - can you blame her!?)

Get comfy and pull up a notebook if you're considering starting a textile upcycling business of your own, because this episode contains a lot of great advice for entrepreneurs. Seren and Crispina's conversation touches on: 

• slow growth when starting out with your business
• the exciting challenge of designing products to fit materials rather than the other way around
• leaving no scrap un-worked
• bringing balance to the world of fashion by creating fashion that nurtures our world
• figuring out what (and when, and HOW) to delegate to others
• the ins and outs of creating few-of-a-kind and one-of-a-kind products
• how much bookkeeping is really necessary?

Are you ready?