We had the good fortune of connecting with Tanja Leonard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tanja, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The way we structure our program is the most important factor. Middle and high school students are accepted based on their application. Completing the application process gets these students thinking. Then we have 6 weeks of workshops where mentors help the designers work through the materials and fit issues, and provide encouragement. While the program is a competition and each designer works on their own garment, the designers are very supportive of each other during the workshops. Not only do the students learn about design and fit of garments, they research their trash materials’ impact on the environment. We also bring in a therapist to talk to them about how to manage their stress, and do separate workshop on stage presence.
After all their work, the designers get to shine on stage in front of an ever growing audience (we sold almost 1,100 tickets this year).

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out with a business degree in finance and international business, followed by a few years in the hotel industry. Bookkeeping allowed me to work from home while I focused on being a mom. About 10 years ago, I started to teach creative arts to children and adults at the Creative Lab at Common Threads in Boulder. With the help of other teachers we have grown the program manifold and enjoy teaching all types of fiber arts, including but not limited to sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery and upcycling clothing.
I am most proud of fostering the creative bug in children and help them be proud of what they create – hopefully they continue to use their creative essence throughout their lives.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The story of Trash the Runway is not my story alone. It starts in 2010 with Sarah Tracy and Libby Alexander, they had the original vision of encouraging middle and high school students to create garments out of unconventional materials. In 2015, I took over with the support of the two founders, and Ricki Booker and Abby Church. The team has grown and changed but at its core it remains the same: community members who believe in our youth and the change that our youth can affect.
Rachel Lubanowski was my co-mentor for the first 6 years, followed by Ruth Wight since 2022. Both of these women have been instrumental in the success of our program, they complement me to make the workshops a success.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my husband and daughters who have supported me in my journey with this program.

Website: www.TrashTheRunway.com

Instagram: @trashtherunway

Facebook: @trashtherunway

Youtube: @trashtherunway

Image Credits
Amanda Tipton Photography

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