Thrift and Wear
One of Jackson’s designs as seen on her instagram @gr.upcycle
Strolling around Elon’s campus, perhaps near McMichael or the Global lake, you may run into a bubbly, strawberry blonde-haired girl with a big smile and a heart full of joy.
Meet Grace.
Grace Jackson is a sophomore at Elon University from Savannah, Georgia and the proud owner of Gr.upcycle, an Instagram based embroidery business.
“So basically, upcycling is when you take an old piece of clothing and make it new and wearable,” said Jackson, “and my name is Grace so that’s why it’s called Gr.upcycle!”
On Gr.upcycle, you will find Henley style shirts (thrifted from Goodwill, of course) with subtle but extremely cute quotes, mountains, wildflowers, or anything the buyer requests. Jackson has spent the past few summers working on outdoor expeditions all over the world and you can see how these trips play a major role in her creative lifestyle.
Jackson has hiked the alps, kayaked through Costa Brava, and belayed down a waterfall in Costa Rica along with other adventures.
Grace has been embroidering for years but always enjoyed it as a way to escape her busy school schedule (we love a Bio major)! There was something about this year, however, that lit a burning desire in her heart to start a little business.
“One day I just found a sweatshirt at Goodwill that I really liked but I wanted to make cuter.” said Jackson. “I’ve known how to embroider since I was in middle school and so I thought why not! I can do this!”
A few of Jackson’s sweaters as seen on @gr.upcycle
Within the first week of opening her Instagram business, Grace had over twenty-five orders! With years of practice under her belt, Grace is able to embroider fairly quickly, so she had her first batch of orders mailed out in under two weeks. Talk about a quick and impressive turn around!
“It’s really exciting! I get a mix of customers from around here to all over the world,” said Jackson. “I’m in the process of shipping one to Australia!”
When ordering from Gr.upcycle, you get the option to pick what color shirt you want as well as the color string used to embroider your design, which is placed on the left side of the chest. Jackson even goes as far as resewing the buttons for an extra little pop of color.
It is amazing to see an Elon student combine her passion for crafting with a little sustainability effort as well! Each shirt is purchased from a resale store, like Goodwill, because she wants her art to “upcycle” something that needs a little love and attention.
But, even the most creative minds have help.
“My friend Hannah helps me a lot with the organization of everything,” said Jackson. “She’s super great, she's a really big part of the business coordination side of things.”
So far Grace has sent shirts to Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. The cutest part of each purchase is Grace wraps the shirt in a twine bow and writes a handwritten note to the buyer.
To all who are reading this, go follow Jackson’s company @gr.upcycle and then order one of her made-with-love shirts. We hope to see everyone sporting some cute new shirts and keep on the lookout for Grace around campus!