milli lux/ Einzelstyck

On 18 square meters in a former tobacco shop in the Graz Herz-Jesu district lies the realm of Barbara Stölzl. In the small sales room, dresses, skirts, and tops await their wearers in all colors and patterns: Imaginative lamps hang from the ceiling, crafted from discarded fabrics – including her classic "Pimp your Bulb," a small lamp for easily dressing bare light bulbs. The "Shirt Rescue" series, made from old t-shirts, is also part of the collection and even shone at the Graz Art House during a pop-up exhibition. Just separated by a curtain, in her workshop, her ideas take shape on an old Pfaff industrial sewing machine.

What drives her is the idea of upcycling: From old, discarded items, something new emerges, almost exclusively from materials that once had another life. "I receive so many beautiful fabrics as gifts," says the 56-year-old, showing a long pleated skirt made from a fabric from the Rijksmuseum shop in Amsterdam, inspired by a Vermeer painting. She started sewing at the age of eight – "on a little doll sewing machine." She taught herself a lot, later continuing her education at the fashion college Wien-Michelbeuern, then moving on to the master class in Graz – today she is a ladies' clothing master with certification. In 2011, she founded milli lux, sewing sustainable clothing under the label EINZELSTYCK.

Stölzl finds her materials in Carla stores, at flea markets, or from dissolved households, carefully sorting through their textiles. The limited amount of fabric forces her to choose a form, a size, a design, instead of getting lost in endless possibilities: "For me, the limitation is exciting." Some encounters touch her deeply: One woman brought hand-embroidered bedding from her deceased grandmother, from which Stölzl crafted a lampshade for her and her four sisters each. "Those are the most beautiful orders for me," she says, "because a small piece of memory lives on in them."

Particular:
We also gladly work with treasured items brought in (old baby comforters, a favorite dress, the concert shirt from back then) – this way, they may continue to live on in a new form instead of disappearing in a drawer.