Our Board
JESSALYN BOEKE
CO-FOUNDER/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
EVENTS AND OUTREACH
Jess is an educator and fiber artist who has been working with natural dyes since 2008. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where she works with her twin sister, Sarah Pottle, to promote ethical fashion and use of Natural Dyes through their project, Drift Lab Textile Co. As a community events and outreach coordinator, Jess plans events that not only engage and educate the Rust Belt Fibershed community but also hold space for people to come together to discuss the importance of local labor, dyes, and carbon beneficial impact of our soil-to-soil textile industry.
Contact: rustbeltfibershed@gmail.com
SARAH POTTLE
CO-FOUNDER/ SECRETARY
PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMMING
Sarah is an educator, weaver, dyer, fiber-enthusiast, and advocate. She is passionate about helping our community within our fibershed understands how fiber has the potential to bring us together and make our community healthier. She believes that this area of the Midwest has so many resources to offer in terms of fiber farmers, local labor, and artisans who truly know the craft, and that by connecting these people with consumers, we can build relationships, improve soil quality, and wear and use items we are truly proud to own.
Sarah is also the co-founder of Drift Lab Textile Co., a natural dye studio located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Sarah is in charge of Producer Outreach and Partnerships at Rust Belt Fibershed.
Contact: rustbeltfibershed@gmail.com
Emily Pek- board member
REGENERATIVE FLOWER FARMER, FRAYED KNOT FARM
Emily’s farm, Frayed Knot Farm, is located in Newbury, Ohio, where she practices land stewardship while bringing beauty into the world through her flowers, and community together through her CSA and workshop events
Emily has been growing flax for fiber and flowers since 2018.
frayedknotfarm@gmail.com
Aaron Jacobson- board member
CREATOR OF FAAN , A CLEVELAND-BASED DESIGN HOUSE
Aaron Jacobson is a designer and creator of low-waste, locally-made, unisex clothing. For years he has been researching and refining design options that support the philosophy of true circular fashion.
aa@faanware.com
Jennifer Lumpkin
CREATOR OF MY GROW CONNECT A CLEVELAND-BASED DESIGN HOUSE
Jennifer Lumpkin is a community organizer and supporter in coalitions and civic efforts in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic region. Her organizing and partnership practice, My Grow Connect, is rooted in supporting the development of sustainable communities through creative relationship building, cultural organizing and mindful resource connections. She comes with an interest in equitable development to learn and improve the diverse agricultural systems within the fibershed.
Amber Rose Ostaszewski
Amber Rose Ostaszewski is an artist, educator, and author who has been fascinated with textiles since childhood. She draws on her heritage to inspire her creative practice and is passionate about regenerative, natural materials, including processing and spinning fiber, natural dyes, and the creation of mindful, intentional textile work. She is the President of the Weavers Guild of Greater Cincinnati and looks to further the work of the Fibershed in, around, and beyond the Cincinnati region.
Olivia Vanistendael- board member
Liaison to Greater Pittsburgh Area
Olivia is a Textile Engineer, Fibershed enthusiast, and sustainable fashion advocate from Pittsburgh, PA. She works as a Fabric Developer and serves as a Sustainable Content Advisor for Style412, a community-based initiative to build a network of fashion industry professionals in Pittsburgh. Olivia hopes to connect farmers, designers, activists, and consumers from the Greater Pittsburgh Region to grow a Fibershed community and develop projects/initiatives that build a resilient local textile economy, and improve soil health and water quality.
o.vanistendael@gmail.com