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Barb Brecher in her studio gathering materials for a new piece of fiber. © Michael Geissinger
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Each handmade piece combines silk and wool to display a lively range of vivid colors and captivating textures. Sara Runje is pictured modeling Brecher's clothing. © Michael Geissinger
Barb Brecher describes herself as a tactile person, happiest when she’s doing something with her hands.
For years, her medium was graphic design. Located in Old Town Alexandria, Brecher Design Group, her graphic design and marketing firm, produced award-winning designs for more than 20 years. The turning point was when graphic design went from a hands-on process using board, paper and markers to a computer-based field. Two years of sitting in front of a computer daily brought her to a hard truth. “If I’d known when I became a graphic designer that I’d be sitting in front of a computer all day, I’m not at all sure I’d have done it,” Brecher admits.
To get back to using her hands, Brecher took up myriad art forms: silk painting, lampwork beads and fiber arts. In 2010, after she and her husband Michael sold their Alexandria house and moved to their Lottsburg weekend house permanently, she decided to find a practice that allowed her to be tactile and focus on that.
The first step was redoing the small studio that sits on the property of her home, committing to creating a fiber design studio and removing most everything else. A generous worktable sits center stage in the I Felt Fine Design Studio. Pattern pieces are tacked to the wall, one dress form wears a creation in progress while several others stand unadorned and drawers overflow with fabric scraps that may eventually find new lives as part of a creation. A Red Sox flag and a large cutout of her husband, photojournalist Michael Geissinger, at age 10 were both given a dispensation to remain in the studio despite their unrelated status.
Over the years, Brecher worked to develop a unique felting process that became the basis for items such as jackets, capes, scarves, tunics and ponchos in rich jewel-like colors. Beginning with a large piece of silk as a base, Brecher designs her pieces
by placing various kinds of ribbons, metallic threads, silk or other fibers atop the silk. She then adds a very light layer of fine merino wool to the top of her design.
A spin in the dryer does the initial felting, allowing the wool to travel through the silk fibers and base, effectively holding the design together without any stitching. “The hemming of the sleeves and bottom is done through felting, not sewing,” she explains. “The material is my canvas, and my process allows me to spend my time on the design.”
In creating her designs, Brecher also must consider whether she wants to paint portions of it with silk dye or whether she wants to overdye the entire garment to achieve gradations of color. “Every piece starts with a white or black base, then the wool and fabric decide which way it wants to go,” she says. “Some things you can’t control and that’s the beauty of it.”
Because Brecher’s textiles and clothing are completely handmade and her colorful designs so distinctive, they naturally appeal to women who don’t mind getting attention. Each wearable work of art is completely unique, so they speak to those who want something they’ll never see on anyone else. The garments are one-size-fits all with deep arm openings to accommodate all sizes and body shapes.
It wasn’t long after Brecher began designing her unique creations that she was offered the position of executive director at the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington. Ostensibly a 30-hour a week job, for eight years the position utilized her years of experience in graphic design and working with the community while allowing enough time to work on her wearable fiber art. “My work began catching on and I started selling at Pearl Boutique in Kilmarnock,” she says. “People loved them.”
Not surprisingly, accolades and awards followed. In 2021, she was awarded Best in Show for a three-piece wedding gown at the 35th Annual Uncommon Threads show in St. Charles, Illinois, as well as winning Best Use of Media in RAL Art Center’s 60th Annual Members Show. Brecher also took home awards from RAL Art Center in 2018, 2019 and 2020. She participated in the Smithsonian Women’s Craft2Wear Show at the National Building Museum on Oct. 21 and 22, a prospect she embraced. Now she's focusing on finding more local outlets for her creations.
“I have no plan, but I’m doing what I love most,” Brecher says. “Doing graphic design was always about the client. Doing this is freeing.”
I Felt Fine Design l 840 Doctors Point Road, Lottsburg 22511 l ifeltfinedesign.com I 703-867-7125
