Conversations with Kneelen Buotte

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kneelen Buotte.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started out making clothes for my Barbies using fabric scraps and hot glue. My grandmother made a lot of our clothes growing up and taught me how to sew when I was 6 years old, mostly just pillows at first. When I was about 10 years old my mom graciously let me use her sewing machine so that my best friend (Olivia) and I could run up the “boutique” out of my mother’s bedroom, called Bowen’s Boutique. Olivia ran the “front desk”, which was just an ottoman with a fake keyboard and cash drawer, and I did all the sewing for our imaginary customers- needless to say, that didn’t really take off haha. I taught myself sewing construction by buying clothes at Goodwill, ripping them up, and using them as a template to cut clothes out of new fabrics. That’s how I designed my eighth-grade graduation dress. It was a gorgeous number-neon lime green with zebra ribbons and matching zebra converse. Luckily my taste has improved since then. I always knew I wanted to be a fashion designer, but by the time I was in high school climate change had become a lot more prevalent. I decided to marry my love of fashion and my love for the environment and study stable fashion. I went to school at Framingham State University right outside of Boston for a year and then transferred to Colorado State University during my sophomore year.

While studying at CSU my favorite professor Kevin Kissell really helped push me and molded me to become the designer I am today. For our senior thesis, we have to do a capstone collection of 9 outfits. My concentration is sustainable fashion, I wanted to use as little store-bought fabric as possible. Both of my grandmothers had passed away the year before and had left me their craft collection. I incorporated their goodies as much as possible: with my Nanny’s yarn scraps into a jacket made of solely Pom Poms, which took me about 100 hours to make. I also collected clothing from the Fort Collins community that they were otherwise going to donate and I cut it up and re-purposed it into patch fabric for new garments. I made pants & overalls out of re-purposed futon covers, raincoats out of re-purposed shower curtains, and dyed hemp/cotton linen using tea & plants. This is when Your Local Fairy Godmother was born, in 2019. Since then I have created collections made entirely with hemp bamboo cotton and hand-dyed using various plants & herbs such as spinach, nettles, turmeric, beets, and so much more. I still make a lot of upcycled garments using clothing that people have donated to me. I’m excited to see where my business will venture next!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I don’t have a brick-and-mortar location so I sell a majority of my products on Instagram sales, pop-up craft fairs/farmers markets, festivals, and art/house shows that we put on at our house. I constantly doubt myself if I can make it work full time but I keep pushing towards that being my end goal!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make sustainable clothing using eco-friendly products and upcycle clothing. I also make jewelry out of dried fruit, wire wrapping, beadwork, etc. I am mostly known for my eclectic sustainable clothes. I think what sets me apart is that my clothes are all one of a kind and truly so different from each other.

I don’t have one set style, I just make whatever pops into my head. I am most proud of my “emblems of the earth” collection, which was lounge/yoga/festival wear. It was made entirely out of hemp/bamboo cotton and hemp linen and hand-dyed with various herbs and spices.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was very bubbly and talkative growing up, and I still am. I was always interested in fashion but I also did gymnastics and swimming. Camping was a big family activity growing up in Maine, so we were outdoors a lot.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Yourlocalfairygodmother.com
• Instagram: @YourLocalFairyGodmother