SPOOKYLAUNDRYby Cate ✦

She fell from the sky and became the first cactus. The rest of the story, she'd rather show you than tell you. ✦

My style comes from Pueblo — the community I grew up in, where Native and punk rock live side by side. That mix shaped everything: my life, my lifestyle, my art, my whole philosophy. Spooky Laundry is a reflection of all of it — punk rock, Pueblo culture, Mexican culture, and the melting-pot culture that only exists in a place like this.

Growing up, I never had access to nice stores, or to clothes I liked and could actually afford — the options were limited. So I learned to take my wardrobe seriously and build my own sense of style, because that's always mattered to me. As it's gotten harder to find things I love, I've had to learn to fix and mend my clothes in fun ways. It's been such a fun challenge — and somewhere in it I understood why my ancestors, and everyone who came before me, have been doing this since before we even had written language.

I believe in sustainability. I care for the earth, and I care about preserving things — because I want to help people see that we have to start living differently if we want to keep the world we live on. Clothes are a necessity, but so is keeping your appearance and your style. Just because something gets damaged or ages doesn't mean it should be thrown out. Age is a gift.

Keep watching the art. There are things hidden in the stitches.

Hi — I'm Cate, the artist behind Spooky Laundry. I'm a working visual artist and photographer with a fine art degree, and mending is where that training actually gets used every day.

My stitch work grows out of the native and indigenous stitching traditions of my own family and culture — what I was raised around — blended with sashiko, the Japanese technique of reinforcing worn fabric with visible running stitches. Sashiko brings the minimalism and function; my heritage brings the color, pattern, and spirit. Together they've become something that's mine.

This isn't invisible mending meant to hide that something broke. It's the opposite — the repair is the art. A hole becomes a flower. A tear becomes a seam of color. Your clothes get to keep their story instead of getting replaced.

I also run a wash, dry & fold laundry service out of my home in Crestone — that's how Spooky Laundry started, and it's still here for anyone who needs it (see the Laundry section below). But mending is the heart of the work now.

I started this because I believe in fixing things instead of tossing them — for your wardrobe and for the planet. It's the punk, Pueblo, make-it-yourself way I was raised: age is a gift, and a torn or worn piece is a reason to make something, not a reason to throw it away. Every mended piece is one less thing in a landfill.

I'm also building toward my own clothing brand — that's the near future for Spooky Laundry. As it grows, I'll be releasing specialty items and one-of-a-kind pieces. Because each one takes real time and hand-work, they'll always be limited — made in small numbers, never mass-produced.

The Spooky Laundry name and art come from my October illustration series of the same name, and from a character I've been drawing for years. Cute, grungy, a little haunted — you'll get to know her over time. That's the whole vibe.