Emily Manalo Ruiz

Emily Manalo Ruiz is a California native living and working in Philadelphia, PA. Her work evokes a sense of catharsis through reinterpretation of the past. Using salvaged textiles, Emily stitches past experiences into reverent stories with a sense of nostalgia, longing and, sometimes, hope. Through the interplay of intimate and collective associations, Emily creates a romantic historical landscape at once intensely personal and universal. Commissioned by Urban Outfitters and inspired by the colors and landscape of Malibu, Emily’s largest work to date is made from scrap fabrics from The Resource Exchange. It is currently hanging in Urban’s new store in Malibu. The Resource Exchange hosted a “Weaving with Scrap Fabrics” workshop taught by Ready to Hand‘s Leslie Sudock during Emily’s featured month to emphasize the possibilities of creating art with scrap and remnant fabric pieces, a material we have a great amount of in our store and one that does not have to go landfill after one use.  Read more about Emily on our blog.