I often get questions of why I chose the name dumpster slayer, other than for obvious reasons that it so perfectly encapsulates me, there is in fact a long line of reason. When I was a sophomore in high school, I first learned about the climate crisis when I watched the documentary chasing coral. It most literally changed my life and sparked something in me, I felt responsible to make a difference. Upon opening my eyes to the many ways we have neglected our planet's well being, I started to notice litter…everywhere. On the sides of the roads, at my school, in the nooks and crannies of the forest. I decided this was something I could change, and 16 year old me and her friends would not be stopped. So, we started collecting litter in neglected areas throughout our town. Obviously by the time I was graduating high school, I was going to college for environmental studies and sustainability. During my time in college, I worked on a taco truck and collected the bottle caps from drinks that I noticed were being thrown away often. I slowly became a trash hoarder, believing everything could become something beautiful and useful again. I started using them to make earrings in my dorm room for my coworkers and I, eventually making them to sell off the taco truck. When I first moved off campus and had the space for plentiful craft supplies, I made an instagram account to share my creations and trash jewelry I was selling. I thought about a name for no more than 30 seconds, and the beloved tag @dumpsterslayer444 was born. Learning about sustainable business, environmental policy, and other various paths you could take to work alongside the planet was empowering. Yet when I got to my junior year of school, I felt like the jobs ahead of me weren’t fulfilling and supportive of the life I dreamed of living. I cried a lot, I wanted to drop out, and then… I learned to sew. I simply fell in love. Every moment of free time was spent crafting or outside, practicing my skills. I have since shifted my creations to upcycled clothing and sewing patterns to inspire you to create more and be outside often. As my platform grew and I began pursuing this dream full time, I thought of changing my name to something more serious that made “sense,” but I never did. Dumpster slayer is so perfectly vague, leaving room for my creative freedom to run wild, so silly & ridiculous that people always seem to remember it, and so simply me that it doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else.