Life & Work with Francis River

Today we’d like to introduce you to Francis River.

Hi Francis, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi! My name is Francis River and I would describe myself as someone who makes things.

Right now my time is focused on managing a 1.5-acre non-profit urban farm called GrowGood that grows food and supports the Bell Homeless Shelter, and additionally translating my inspirations from farming, outdoor adventures, and community engagement into designing and sewing clothes and creating ceramic art pieces. My goal is to intertwine my creative passions with my passion for community and I hope to make something that covers some form of a need for someone and to share my knowledge and experiences anyway possible. Sewing has recently become my main direction. I’ve been making workwear styled garments for friends over the last two years and it keeps growing. So, you can say that it’s been a combination of slowly learning how to sew and receiving support from friends that have got me to where I am today. This can also be said for my ceramic work. It’s been a slow natural progression.

I like to think that the creative process fuels my mind, and teaching and working with others fuels my heart. I’m teaching gardening and pottery classes and soon will be teaching sewing classes. Hopefully down the road I can create a communal place of resources, friendships, and opportunities. These aspects of creating, teaching, and community is what motivate me and how I got to where I am today.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest lesson about creating clothes and ceramic art is that so much is needed and happens outside of the studio. My time is split between my day job, volunteering, and teaching classes, as well as figuring out ways to create more opportunities. The more I connect these things, the more I feel it will smooth out. There’s a lot of business aspects and problem-solving involved. I see this beautiful connection and direction of where I want to go, but it’s a difficult road to get there because I’m not an artist or a business person.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Right now, my goal is to translate my relationship with farming, outdoor adventures, community engagement, and friendships into meaningful creations. I’m focused on creating workwear garments that celebrate farming, friendships, and community and equal parts functional and beautiful. It isn’t really a thing yet, but I thought it would be good name for this next project I’m working on. I want to increase this concept of “know your farmer” to “know your sewer” and beyond. Everything is still in the works but I’m hoping to have more garments available this December. There’s this magical connection to steward the land in handmade garments, and growing food for friends where we gather around and share. It’s all connected. The next part is creating a community workshop space for people to meet, learn, and share. There’s so much more I want to go into but I’m still wrapping my head around it all.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up in Wisconsin and my mother worked on the other side of this small lake. She had to drive south around the lake to work which took about 40mins and I would ride along. However, in the thick of winter when the lake would freeze, my mother and I would drive straight across the lake and get there in 15mins. Those trips really sparked a sense of adventure and a creative approach to problem-solving in me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: francis_river