photo by Grace DuVal
Jessamy Shay Kilcollins is a textile artist, educator, and sustainable fashion designer who uses secondhand materials and handcraft processes to interrogate the roles of consumption and consumerism in modern society. In addition to the one-of-a-kind creatively mended and upcycled garments she releases under her AMENDED label, she also crafts textile statement jewelry and intricate fabric collages from the fabric scraps generated in the garment mending and making process. She has taught mending and hand stitching at organizations that include Harvard Art Museums, the Farnsworth Art Museum, Patagonia, and the Boston and Cambridge Public Libraries. Jessamy holds a BFA in Fibers and a Certificate in Fashion Design from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She also co-owns High Energy Vintage with her partner in Somerville MA. A Maine native, she splits her time between Somerville and Midcoast Maine.
CV
EDUCATION
2019 Fashion Design Certificate, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston MA
2007 BFA Fibers, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston MA
SELECTED EXHIBITION HISTORY
2025 Backstitch, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth NH
2025 First Look, Somerville Museum, Somerville MA
2025 Artwear: The SOS Fashion Show, Somerville MA
2024 First Look, Somerville Museum, Somerville MA
2024 Artwear: The SOS Fashion Show, Somerville MA
2023 Massart Design Biennial, Massart x Sowa Gallery, Boston MA
2023 First Look, Somerville Museum, Somerville MA
2020 Project Upcycle, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth NH
2019 Lucid, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston MA
2018 MassArt x Eileen Fisher, Eileen Fisher, Chestnut Hill MA
2012 Blank Land, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance CA
2007 Oh Nancy, Otherside Cafe, Boston MA
2005 Big Trouble in Little China, The Elevated Gallery, Boston MA
2005 Word of Mouth: Works on Paper, Rhys Gallery, Boston MA
SELECTED TEACHING ARTIST EXPERIENCE
2026 Sanborn Mills Farm, Loudon NH
2025 Massart Certificate Alumni Gathering, Boston MA
2025 Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland ME
2025 Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge MA
2024-Present Boston Public Library, Boston MA
2023-2024 Patagonia, Cambride MA
2022-Present Somerville Public Library, Somerville MA
2022-2024 Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, Jamaica Plain MA
2022-Present Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge MA
SELECTED PROJECTS AND OTHER EXPERIENCE
2025 Designer, Custom lab coat for Rob Gronkowski in collaboration with Museum of Science, Boston
2023 Speaker, Rags To Riches Virtual Textile Upcycling Summit, programmed by Crispina ffrench
2021 Costume Designer, Some Stranger’s Stomach, directed by Michael Elliott Dennis
2016 Site-specific woven installation, Starlabfest Music & Arts Festival, Somerville MA
AWARDS
2026 Somerville Arts Council Fellowship Grant, Somerville MA
2020 Second Place, Project Upcycle, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth NH
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Museum of Science, "Gronk Spike Gets a Physics Upgrade" YouTube [Video], August 28, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtG75WBDNy4
Sara Lang, “Make do and mend: As landfills grow, people opt for needle and thread,” Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 2023. https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2023/0303/Make-do-and-mend-As-landfills-grow-people-opt-for-needle-and-thread
Jane Milburn, "Jessamy Kilcollins enjoys the thrill of sewing garments that fit her body," YouTube [Video], May 30, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp2S9HS98e4
Jeanné McCartin, “Project Upcycle competition culminates Nov. 7 in virtual broadcast,” Seacoastonline, November 6, 2020. https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/entertainment/2020/11/06/project-upcycle-competition-culminates-nov-7-virtual-broadcast/6185533002/