Arleigh Hitchcock of Them Processed Goods says their venture has taken several forms over the years. They initially started Them Processed Goods as a way to make dog booties, bandanas and beds, and other mending projects. They have a sewing machine, but find that it is more rewarding sewing by hand.
“I’ve been hand stitching since I was a little, little kid,” Hitchcock said. “I love sewing, that’s definitely a passion of mine. I found [using a sewing machine] kind of made me dislike sewing, like mass-producing stuff like that. It made me dislike my sewing machine a little bit dealing with tension issues.”
Hitchcock regularly hosts stamp making parties in Fairbanks, with their next event on March 7. When they became a community organizer, they were sent to an arts and action camp and learned screen printing, and were reinspired to make stamps.
“I printed for a local band called The Honey Buckets, a queer-fem band in Fairbanks and they wanted to tell people to get out to vote when we were trying to flip the borough elections.” they said. “I did a printing of ‘vote the assholes out’ and was doing live printing. That was my first time doing live printing like that, I really enjoyed it.”
Hitchcock describes their style as “eco-punky,” constantly finding inspiration where they live in a wetland. As a wetland ecologist, they say that comes out a lot in their designs.
“I really enjoy seeing other people use my stamps and see what they come up with to refresh their clothing,” they said. “Folks come up with ideas that I didn’t think of, and they’re my designs, so that’s really cool and wonderful to see.”
In the future, Hitchcock says they have big dreams of expanding Them Processed Goods into more of an artists collective, where folks can share their scrap fabric or magazines and have a place to upcycle them.
“Ultimately, my community is my buyer, because of the live printing, and what do you want to wear? What do you want to put on your clothes? There’s not necessarily the easiest access as queer people to queer designs up here. You can, of course, buy stuff online from major distributors, you can buy stuff from Etsy, but there’s not like, in-person places where you can customize your things.”
Hitchcock is having a First Friday print and collage night, “Here and Eternally Queer,” at the Dena Movements Commons (526 Gaffney Rd., Suite 204) on March 7 from 5-9 p.m., where community members can bring clothes to print on or any collaging materials to share.
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
