top of page

SUSAN ABPLANALP

 

FOUNDER & OWNER OF EMERY STREET, INC.

B.S. Textile and Clothing Design, UC Davis

M.S.Ed., OTL Masters of Science in Education, Cal State East Bay

​

Continuing Lecturer, University of California, Davis (present)

Lecturer, Otis School of the Arts (2021)

Senior Lecturer, California College of the Arts (2013-2018)

_David-Suh-Susan-Headshot_edit_web.jpg

Susan Abplanalp is the Founder and CEO of Emery Street, a Consulting Service in the Global Garment Industry. This includes Sustainable Original Designs, Illustration, Development, Technical Design, Pattern making, Production, and Fitting. Emery Street Designs has been a woman-owned business since 2008.

 

Susan serves as a Continuing Lecturer in the Design Department at the University of California, Davis. From 2008 to the present, Susan has taught Design 171: Fashion Illustration, and Design 14: Core Illustration.​

 

Susan has taught at Otis College of Art and Design, teaching the summer pre-college program for Fashion Design.

​

Susan has also taught at the California College of the Arts. She has taught Pattern Making, Advanced Pattern-making and Draping, and the Pre-College Program for the Fashion Design students. 

Emery Street and Susan Abplanalp have a mission to be sustainable and earth friendly. They are "saving the planet one garment at a time" by using:

  • Organic Fabrics

  • Vintage Buttons

  • Reclaimed Fabrics

  • Salvaged Trims

  • Local Production 

  • Thoughtful Design

 

Susan works on sourcing raw materials responsibly and combining them with ideas from used clothing that would otherwise be discarded - she is inspired by the concept of a circular economy, a theoretical system in which goods are manufactured in a way that allows them to be broken down and turned into something new at the end of their lifecycle, rather than just being thrown out. Under this model, nothing would ever truly be discarded. 

 

The average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles annually, according to the nonprofit Council for Textile Recycling. Meanwhile, the making of new fabric used to make the new garments requires vast amounts of water, dyes, and chemicals. Much of this is wasted if the garments wind up in a landfill. Susan and Emery Street's mission is to reduce this by making a difference as an individual, and teaching this sustainable method in all of her classes - it is an ongoing thread that weaves throughout every discussion.

bottom of page