Every piece I create starts with a story — and sometimes that story begins in a coffee warehouse.
Burlap coffee sacks are one of my favorite materials to work with. They travel thousands of miles carrying beans from farms in Ethiopia, Colombia, and Guatemala before landing here in Detroit. Most people see an empty sack. I see a jacket. A vest. A one-of-a-kind statement piece that carries its history right on its surface.
Where the Sacks Come From
I source my burlap sacks through a combination of generous donations and local thrift stores. I’ve had a friend give me about 3 huge hefty bags full of Burlap over the past couple years now. Shout out Denyse!
The Transformation Process
Once a sack comes into my studio, I inspect every inch of it. I look at the weave, the weight, the markings — some still have the coffee/bean farm's name or logo stamped right on them, and I try to preserve that whenever I can. That branding becomes part of the art.
From there, I trace garments or patterns, often in the beginning without any templates. Each piece is designed around what the fabric wants to be. A wide sack might become a structured vest. A narrow one might become a patchwork for a pair of pants.
Here's the part I'm most proud of: nothing gets thrown away. Every scrap of burlap that doesn't make it into the main piece gets repurposed — into hats, dopp bags, or patch details on other garments. My studio has a strict no-waste policy, and I mean it.
Why It Matters
Fast fashion produces an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste every year. Every burlap sack I transform is one less thing in a landfill — and one more piece of wearable art with a real story behind it.
When you wear something from Be The Light, you're not just wearing a garment. You're wearing a coffee sack that crossed an ocean. You're wearing Detroit. You're wearing intention.
That's what zero-waste fashion means to me.
— Blight Hernandez, Be The Light