who we are
Founded in 2020, The Trash to Treasure Movement encourages the use of resale clothing and accessories. Their Slow Fashion Ezine features a global community wearing their favorite sustainable outfits, while their Talking Trash with Ash series highlights professionals in creative reuse and sustainable fashion. The Trash to Treasure Movement has built an engaged following that continues to grow exponentially each year.
About the Director
Ashley Kurth-Reinhart, director of the ReFashion Show and founder of the Trash to Treasure Movement, has worked in arts education for over twenty years.
Ashley owns Paloma Vintage Designs, a small boutique for one of a kind wearable art and home decor made from recycled and vintage jewelry. In 2020, her two sons inspired her to found the Trash to Treasure Movement, an educational resource that raises awareness of the benefits of shopping more sustainably through purchasing secondhand and engaging in creative reuse. She also teaches students and adults to become better stewards of our planet through her work with UpCycle Creative Reuse Center.
A violist by training, Ashley worked as an arts administrator with a speciality in music education and community engagement while continuing to perform in a string quartet and various orchestras. At Washington Performing Arts, she managed The Capitol Jazz Project, a collaboration with DC Public Schools and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as working with the Children of the Gospel Choir, Feder String Competition, and the WPA summer arts programs. She has also worked in education and community engagement at the Dallas Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, and Opera Theatre Saint Louis. Ashley was a former board member of the Arlington Philharmonic and Arts on the Horizon.
The mission of UpCycle Creative Reuse Center is to inspire all people to explore and create by engaging our community in art-making experiences with reuse materials. We value originality, inclusivity, and community connections. Our initiatives foster creative expression, experiential learning, resourcefulness, individuality, and fun. UpCycle also endeavors to keep art-making affordable, by making donated materials available to the public at a deep discount and by providing memberships and materials vouchers to schools, teachers, nonprofits and families in need. UpCycle’s classes, workshops and community outreach utilize its reuse collection for unique art and exploratory experiences for people of all ages and abilities.
UpCycle Creative Reuse Center was founded in 2011 by Susan Miranda and Kelley Organek, two teachers with a vision of creating a resource center full of reusable materials that would help foster artistic expression, experiential learning and environmental awareness in their community. In March 2022, UpCycle moved its materials center to its current, larger space on Eisenhower Avenue. In this location, UpCycle has blended its materials center with studio space to significantly expand its ability to serve the community.
A very special thank you to Building Momentum for providing The Garden, an innovative venue that is the perfect spot for the ReFashion Show!