SEW
FRISCO
Sew Frisco
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Bay Area Seamstress, Artist, Educator, Cultural Organizer
After many years designing and creating various mini collections Ariana Martinez-Cruz focused all her combined skills towards embroidery, textile, and fiber arts to create memories of life growing up in the 7x7, San Francisco Bay Area. Transforming iconic areas and memories of San Francisco into iron on patches, embroidered pins and textile art bringing Sew Frisco into a wearable thread art brand.
Over the years Sew Frisco has grown into teaching sewing skills and costume design through Ariana's experience preparing a non-profit youth contingent for San Francisco's Carnaval Parade. Now teaching and showing her partner Victor the process together they create each patch, pin and costume in their home sewing studio.
Sew Frisco offers hella handmade items Por Vida in the 415.
Patches & Thread Art
Each patch created is pulled from memories living in San Francisco and all the treasures and destinantions the Bay Area offers. Most memories are heavily included on life living and growing in San Francisco's Mission District
During the years of working Loco Bloco SF Ariana was able to curate and run a sewing intern class teaching San Francisco youth beginner sewing skills and costume design. The class was able to create one of the many costumes used during San Francisco's Carnaval Grand Parade. Once the 2019 Covid-19 Pandemic hit Ariana was able to transition her curriculum to an online platform teaching her students through Zoom and YouTube videos.
You can see her designs and the work of her students HERE.
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Currently working with ScrapSF as a teaching artist with their Sustainable Fashion Design classes brought to various afterschool programs in partnership with SFUSD. She has created a traveling curriculum that can be tailored from mini to large scale workshops will all equipment and machinery provided.
Youth Sewing Classes
Costume Designer For
La Mezcla SF
Ariana has now been brought on by Vanessa Sanchez of La Mezcla SF to produce and design their production costumes and signature 40's hair for their productions of Pachuquismo and Ghostly Labor (premiering 2023)
Seamstress Works
Outside of her own works Ariana has helped bring many different creative ideas to life through costumes and custom works.
Most recently she assisted Paola De La Calla in producing her quilts for her Caravan for the Children Campaign. She also created custom folklorico skirts for Susana Arenas of Arenas Dance Company.
Carnaval Parade
San Francisco, CA
From 2017-2021 Ariana as created and lead the seamstress team for San Francisco's Loco Bloco Carnaval Contingent. Creating new costumes each year based on the chosen Contingent theme to dress over 270 dancers ages 5 up to 55 years. Bringing a new level of creativity and visual expression to 24th street during Carnaval SF grand parade
Embroidery & Sewing Workshops
Ariana has partnered with local art organizations to bring free workshops that range from beginner embroidery and patch making to Sewvivial Skills focusing on hand sewing skills that can be used in mending and every day sewing emergencies.