Samsung’s Climate Week show featured faces familiar to Owensboro residents on Saturday. Her native Kelsey Reese modeled one of her handmade dresses for her ReeseCycled, her business.

Reese was invited to Samsung’s show to promote the company’s sustainability efforts. She, along with her eight other designers from around the country, was tasked with creating pieces out of paper, metal, or electronic waste.

“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done and it’s no exaggeration. I couldn’t believe how hospitable we were and that we were even in New York City for our first fashion show.” I did,” said Reese.

The materials were outside her standards, but the idea of ​​being creative with her designs is something she does now in many of her creations.

By shining a spotlight on small businesses in the sustainable fashion community, Reese was grateful to join the conversation and showcase his work.

She said the separation between the tech and creative industries often seems a little competitive. But being there showed that the two could coexist and showcase something in both mediums.

“I was very honored. Samsung is a giant in technology, so it was very interesting,” she said. “…So it meant a lot to me for Samsung to see value in what creatives and designers are doing. It was really special.”

The dress and small purse she had to put her cell phone in were all made out of paper and took at least 20 hours to complete.

She never expected to model for Samsung at her first fashion show, but being there fulfilled a wish she had longed for when she was younger: wanting to open her own fashion business. The desire came after years of taking notes, sketching designs, and seeing a lot of work. project runway with her mom.

“When I get excited about what ReeseCycled has achieved, I think it’s Kelsey, 25, who’s excited, but a lot of the time, it’s Kelsey, 9, who’s excited. Because I was a designer,” she said.

As she grew up, the idea of ​​becoming a designer went deep into her mind, but she never abandoned the idea. Told.

It continued through college and into adulthood, and eventually started selling second-hand clothes, but that didn’t change. It wasn’t until I took a theatrical costume class.

Sustainability has never been at the forefront. It was simply her childhood habit she continued.

Ultimately, though, she wants to learn about the impact second-hand shopping has on the world and encourage people to buy second-hand goods.

“There are many reasons to be interested in shopping for used items. Whether it’s just a used one, friend, then it makes me feel a little better,” Reese said.

Using ReeseCycled, she takes clothing and other fabrics and turns them inside out. Besides her clothes, she creates clothes from curtains, tablecloths, placemats, quilts and several other “blank canvases”.

By the end of October she will be adding more blanket and quilt creations to her website for the cold weather. She plans to include a coat and pants in that release.

She appreciates all the support she has received from people around the world. Whether she’s wearing a sweater she made in her hometown of Owensboro or someone across the country sharing a joe set (a corset made out of jeans), she’s proud. I am posting to my followers on

“It’s just as important to me that everyone I send products to is satisfied and excited about what they receive,” she said.

To stay up to date with ReeseCycled, be at reese.cycled on all social media platforms.