about
After receiving her BFA in Textile Design from Moore College, Rachel Sherman traded in her east coast lifestyle for a stint in Seattle. It was there, in 2002, that she launched her label “Malagueta”, based on sustainability practices and improvised surface manipulation techniques such as applique, couching, shirring, top-stitching, ruching, embroidery, piecing, and pin-tucking. Her inspiration: foliage, architecture, fruits, vegetables, insects, and machinery.
Malagueta, in Portuguese, is know as a tiny, hot red pepper that grows in Brazil, where her mother was born and where Rachel has visited & sought inspiration throughout her life. Her lively interpretations of color, pattern, texture, and shape pay homage to her passion for nature, world cultures, and the female body. Her vibrant, modern and easy to wear clothing first found their way into independent boutiques in Seattle, then down the west coast to Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, then east to Tucson, Miami, Nashville, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston, where funky and feminine were embraced by a diverse clientele.
Presently, based in Pennsylvania, Rachel has reestablished herself on the handmade scene through a variety of high-end craft and indie shows such as Crafty Bastards (DC & Nashville TN), Handmade Arcade (Pittsburgh, PA), Crafty Wonderland (Portland, OR), Urban Craft Uprising (Seattle, WA), American Craft Council Shows (Baltmore, MD & St. Paul, MN), PMA Contemporary Craft Show (Philadelphia, PA), CRAFT + DESIGN (Richmond, VA), and most recently, the Smithsonian Craft Show (Washington, DC).
Malagueta has been featured in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and blogs since 2002. The most significant was her feature in the December/January 2015 issue of American Craft Magazine, where her new line of "fragment" tops was introduced. The fabric remnants that would otherwise be thrown out are pieced together to make tops, skirts, and small accessories. The intention behind the "fragment" line is to keep fabric waste to a MINIMUM as to not contribute to the already increasing rubbish being created by the global fashion industry.