Today we’d like to introduce you to Hanoi “Blu” Bellmas-Acosta.
Hi Hanoi “Blu”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Hanoi, but most people know me as Blu. I’m 25 and I run Palopsee LLC here in Portland.
Palopsee started from thrifting. I was spending all my time in the bins and thrift stores finding these old quilts, tapestries, and blankets that had so much history but no one wanted them anymore. I didn’t want to just resell them, I wanted to give them a new life. So I taught myself how to cut and sew and started turning them into one-of-one jackets, pants, and tops.
The mascot you see is Palopsee. He’s the character of the brand. He represents that feeling of being a little weird, a little nostalgic, but still trying to find your way.
As the brand grew, I started showing my work in the Portland fashion scene. I’ve had the opportunity to work with numerous fashion shows in the PDX metro including NuWave, FashionNXT, and FirstGen. Those shows helped me take my one-of-one upcycled pieces from the market racks to the runway and connected me with other designers who care about sustainability.
I also run my own market called the F*ck Fast Fashion Bazaar because I wanted to create an accessible space where young creatives in Portland could sell sustainable clothing without paying crazy booth fees. That community market is a big part of how I got to where I am today.
Today, Palopsee is a sustainable clothing brand focused on one-of-one upcycled apparel, screen-printed on
tees, and creative workshops.
My goal has always been bigger than just clothes. I want to build a creative space in Portland that is actually accessible for our community to shop, learn, and create together.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest struggle is that it’s just me. I am the designer, the sewer, the person sourcing quilts from the bins, running the market, hosting the workshops, doing the marketing, and handling the LLC. When you’re doing everything solo, a quilt jacket that takes 4 to 6 hours to make means you can’t restock fast, and if you miss a weekend market, you don’t make money that week.
The second struggle is money and space. Booth fees in Portland are $150 to $350 per market, and studio space is expensive. I want to create an accessible space for other creatives because I saw how hard it was to get a spot if you didn’t have a lot of money. That’s why I started the F*ck Fast Fashion Bazaar, but running your own market while also being a vendor in it is a lot to balance.
The third struggle is competing with fast fashion. I can spend hours turning a vintage quilt into a one-of-one piece and price it at $111, and someone can buy a copy of that look online for $20. Teaching people why sustainable, one-of-one clothing is worth more takes time.
Even getting into fashion shows like NuWave, FashionNXT, and FirstGen was a challenge at first. You’re in rooms with brands that have teams and funding, and I’m one person sewing in my apartment. I had to prove that upcycled clothing belongs on the runway too.
But those struggles are also why Palopsee exists. Every challenge taught me how to make the brand more sustainable, more community-focused, and more real.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Palopsee LLC is a sustainable, upcycled clothing brand based in Portland, Oregon.
What I do is take any old, discarded materials mainly vintage quilts, tapestries, and crochet blankets sourced from thrift stores a turn them into one-of-one jackets, pants, and tops. Every single piece is cut and sewn by me, so no two are ever the same. I also produce screen-printed Palopsee tees/garments, which are our more accessible, everyday pieces.
What I am known for is the one-of-one work and Palopsee. People in Portland recognize it now.
What sets us apart from others is that we live in both worlds. We’ve shown up in major PDX fashion shows including NuWave, FashionNXT, and FirstGen, while also sold at local community markets. Ive hosted upcycling workshops around Portland Metro and ran markets, to create an accessible space for young, sustainable creatives to sell.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is that I didn’t just build a clothing brand, Ive built community. Ive kept clothing out of the landfill and gave people a place to learn and create.
What I want readers to know is that Palopsee is more than thrifted clothes. It’s a creative space for Portland. My goal is to open a permanent studio and storefront that doubles as a workshop space for the city. Everything we make is sustainable, one-of-one, and made with intention here in Portland
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is community and sustainability.
Community matters because Portland gave me everything. The thrift stores, the markets, the people who bought my first quilt jacket when it wasn’t perfect that’s why I’m still here. That’s why I started Palopsee and why I do free and low-cost upcycling workshops. I don’t want creativity to be something you can only do if you have money or a studio. I want to build an accessible space where young/older people in Portland can learn to sew, upcycle, and sell their own work. If we don’t create those spaces ourselves, we lose them.
Sustainability matters because I see how much clothing gets thrown away every day. I pull quilts and tapestries from the bins that were headed for the landfill and spend hours turning them into something someone will wear for years. Every one-of-one piece is my small protest against fast fashion. It’s slower, it’s more expensive to make, but it means something.
So what matters most to me is proving that we can do fashion differently here more sustainable, and community-first and still make it cool enough for the runway and accessible enough for the sidewalk.
Pricing:
- $11
- $22
- $33
- $44
- $55
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Palopsee.univer.se
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/palopsee
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/ogbabyblubenz
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ogbabyblubenz
