Meet Jennifer Duff
Meet Jennifer Duff
A maker of many things!
Jennifer Duff is involved in local community in a myriad of ways. Not only does she work with Connecticut Fibershed on their social media and outreach, she uses her graphic design skills (A graduate of Bard College in studio art) to help promote local Democratic campaigns and the CT chapter of climate activism group 350.org.
We met through our mutual love of wool and Jennifer has been invaluable in connecting us to the people in the local wool ecosystem. An avid knitter she is also a lover of local food, even working at one point at an artisanal goat cheese farm! Read on to learn more.
What excites you about Wear Wool New London?
I'm excited by the amazing team you've put together and the rapid pace that you're moving forward. I can't wait to see the wonderful collaborations that come from you and our local wool supply chain.
What is one idea that has fundamentally changed you/your life trajectory?
I was working for a mass market t-shirt company designing t-shirt graphics and listening to ethical fashion, knitting, and wool podcasts. I came upon an episode of Woolful interviewing Rebecca Burgess, the founder of Fibershed. In it she said to try to imagine what it would look like if everyone was wearing clothing produced within their Fibershed using locally grown materials and dyes. This would create an industry and community around farming, weaving and dyeing. To imagine how vibrant that community would be and what interesting local styles would evolve. I knew right then I needed to get involved.
Jennifer on the UCRF Connecticut Chapter Local Assembly: Soil Health and Natural Fibers panel along with William Calvert, Trent Loos and Nancy Cowser and Jane Philbrick moderator.
What analog object or activity do you enjoy?
I'm a collector of craft skills, but my favorite is knitting. I've been knitting for nearly 20 years and still enjoy the process. There are always new techniques to learn. Branching out into local breed specific yarns has been fascinating.
If you could live in another time period when/why?
While it would be really interesting to see handcrafts in person at another time in history, I can't imagine living in another time given the constraints on women as well as the limits of historical medicine. There are places in the world where people are still doing handcrafts in their traditional way and watching videos of them is a little bit like traveling through time.
What has living during a pandemic taught you?
How valuable our interpersonal connections are. Giving birth during the pandemic with a toddler at home made it obvious how much we need our "village"
In one sentence your positive prediction or hope for the future.
I envision plastic clothing losing favor with the masses and wool shifting to the dominant textile especially in cooler climes.
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