LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 2, 2026) — For Jonny Ochoa-Suarez, his love of vintage pieces began with his first pair of LeBron sneakers, which his mom bought for him when he was in the third grade. Now a freshman studying Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles at the University of Kentucky Martin -Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Ochoa-Suarez has cultivated that love into an upcycling business called Threads Para Ustedes. “I’ve always found a way to express myself through my clothing and through what I wear,” Ochoa-Suarez said. Ochoa-Suarez said he found himself uninterested in brands’ modern-day collections that are expensive and unoriginal. Instead, he was drawn to upcycling, or the creative reuse of materials. Close to three years ago, when Ochoa-Suarez saw examples online of repurposing damaged clothing into an original item of higher value, he was inspired to try it himself. “I basically bought everything all at once, and I just kind of threw myself at it,” Ochoa-Suarez said. His first step: learn how to sew. He took a course that introduced how the sewing machine worked, but he is otherwise self-taught. He starts his process by thrifting used pieces, either at resale stores or online. He targets pieces with stains or holes — things that likely wouldn’t be worn again without his work. Once he chooses a piece to work on, he pairs it with another with “wear and tears.” “I basically try to cut around it, sew around it,” Ochoa-Suarez said. “Every design is freehand. I don’t brainstorm a design; the colors and patterns that I use just kind of come to mind. I freehand draw it on the piece with chalk, and then I patchwork the two pieces together.” The process, Ochoa-Suarez said, is time-consuming in the best way — “time flies by.” Once he’s finished sewing, he has a Kentucky Wildcats sweatshirt with the colorful patterned sleeves of a ’90s-era sweater. Or black Nike shorts with squiggly patches of red and purple. When a piece is done, he wears it or sells it. He’s made most of his sales at events, though he sells online, too. He also does custom orders by request. “I was just really fascinated with making something that’s one of one,” Ochoa-Suarez said. “Nobody else has it; you can’t go to the store and buy it. I just thought it would be a very cool idea to try to make wearable art.” His first business name, Threads by El, reflected that originality. El means “him” in Spanish, and Ochoa-Suarez’s customers were getting pieces made by him. But he changed the name to honor his parents, who immigrated to the United States from Veracruz, Mexico. “They would always tell me growing up that I needed to just try to do well in school, try to find a passion so I could pursue it,” Ochoa-Suarez said. “They would always say that they came to the United States to give my sister and I a better life, so they would say, ‘We came here para ustedes,’ for you.” During his first semester at UK, Ochoa-Suarez took Martin-Gatton CAFE’s introductory course, Issues in Agriculture, Food and Environment. He had to complete a final project on how he could help the environment, and he realized that he already was. By upcycling clothes, he was keeping them out of landfills. “It was cool to learn that,” he said. “I didn’t know I was helping the world, in a way.”  As he continues his education at UK, Ochoa-Suarez hopes to expand his business and bring awareness to the importance of upcycling. Find Threads Para Ustedes online. Learn more about the Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles program. The post ‘One of one’: UK freshman focuses upcycling clothing brand on originality, sustainability appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less