Defining 'Modern Southwest'

How do you define “modern southwest?”

It can be a line of fabrics, reworked traditional motifs, timeless-yet- fresh color palettes…and so much more. At Hip Stitch, we define “modern southwest” in many ways, including our shelves full of fabric with kitschy and cutting-edge Southwest, Native American and Dia de Los Muertos prints. (Did you know we have the biggest collection of Dia de Los Muertos prints in Albuquerque? Yep. We love our little sugar skulls...)

At Hip Stitch, "modern southwest" is also about connecting with the natural world in New Mexico, with our local mix of traditions and cultures, with bright colors and bold designs. And it’s about the satisfaction of working creatively and helping others tap into their inner artist. Today, we’re sharing the first in an occasional series of mini profiles about our Hip Stitch staff, the real jewels in our modern southwest collection.  

modern southwest: Claudia Reyes   

Claudia has been in the U.S. more than 25 years, but she was born in Mexico and lived there the first half of her life. She is a lifelong creative, doing “all kinds of artsy fartsy stuff,” she says, including ceramics, silk printing and stained glass. She earned her B.A. in Visual Arts and had the rare privilege of working for a time at the Museum of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Mexico City. It was a one-year professional development requirement for her degree, but it was thrilling! She and other students catalogued photographs and other works by Rivera, Kahlo and other surrealist painters and photographers of the time, and assembled archives.  (“I touched photos and paintings that had not been on exhibition before,” she marvels.) After earning her degree, she owned a stained glass shop and studio in Mexico City, designing and making stained glass and etched glass creations. Quilting, in fact, reminds her of stained glass because you cut and assemble pieces, choosing colors that will pop, but not really quite knowing what the final composition will really look like until you’re finished.

profession: 4^th/5^th grade bilingual teacher in Albuquerque Public Schools

hobbies: quilting, sewing and cooking. (“Cooking is number 1! I love to eat food…that’s my hobby!”)

fave fabric style/color: modern prints, Kaffe Fassett

local food love: “Definitely I love green chile! I’m a foodie.”

known for: Her brutal honesty and sense of humor.

Hip Stitch claim to fame: Claudia loves helping teach the kids’ summer sewing camps. During the school year, she works the front counter on various Saturdays. and Sundays.

life goal: To have a big sewing room with lots of windows! And a mid-arm.