September 20 through 26 marks D.C. Fashion Week. DCist will be celebrating by interviewing a different local designer every day this week. Check out the rest of our coverage here. Today we talk to Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson of ReVamp.

Who are you and how has ReVamp evolved?

ReVamp is run by Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson. Erin grew up in southern Wisconsin. Coming from a long line of talented sewers, she started using her mom’s old Kenmore at the age of seven, and eventually went to school for costume design in Minneapolis. Kristen is a farm girl from rural MN. She was the youngest of three girls, and since her family couldn’t afford to buy much, she began sewing purses out of clothing she outgrew. Kristen came to D.C. with her fiancee exactly one year ago with only one goal in mind–to find a job sewing anywhere. She met Cathy at Treasury who had been seeking an in-house seamstress for the store, and Kristen got her start repairing vintage items and tailoring in-house garments. After starting the small business known as ReVamp, which offered eco-friendly clothing design and custom tailoring, she also began to cultivate a customer base outside of Treasury. Very quickly she found herself falling behind with the amount of work, and considered giving up.

Meanwhile Erin in Minnesota was recently laid-off from sewing costumes for Sesame Street Live, and found herself waitressing and antsy. In one phone call, Erin agreed to move out to D.C. and thus ReVamp became a team. The ladies got to work, but almost immediately it became apparent that they had already outgrown the extra bedroom in Kristen’s apartment, and needed to find a larger space. In a month and a half, they renovated their new storefront/sewing studio, while maintaining their customer orders, and patterning/constructing the Treasury in-house line Ouroboros. It might sound like a crazy summer, but all the work was well worth it, Ginger Root Design is now open, and ReVamp finally has a home.