Mezamé Signature paneled Denim Jacket

Lauren Oland is a fiber artist with a focus on sustainable design, creating wearable art with sustainable fibers through a combination of free-form weaving and sewing.

Lauren's handwoven work is unified through a mission to create special one-of-a-kind wearable items in a zero waste studio. Her items are created with remnants and locally sourced fibers such as wool from regional farms. During SAORI, the weaver treats the loom like a canvas to paint on. Favorite items include shawls, upcylced denim jackets, and handwoven tops. After weaving, Lauren uses every part of the cloth to create various items. This process brings a large variety of sizes and price points to the handwoven line. Lauren's signature approach is inspired by the play of negative versus positive space, landscape, cityscapes, musical patterns, and color studies.

Before Lauren worked as a weaver full-time, she was a fiber art instructor throughout the Midwest. In 2013, she coordinated the education and outreach for an exhibition at the Goldstein Museum of Design in St. Paul, Minnesota about fashion and sustainability. As a part of the outreach, she put together a workshop including classes on different sustainable fiber art techniques. She observed the workshop about SAORI- a freeform method of weaving which is always sustainably practiced and fell in love. She signed up for private classes right away and eventually stopped teaching so that she could weave full time!