Elizabeth Shorrock

Beth earned a BFA in Textile Design and a MAT in Art and Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. After working as a Gallery Assistant in Boston and Assistant Design for a clothing firm in NYC, Beth became an entrepreneur with over 20 years experience. Her company designed and produced clothing, textiles, and accessories which were sold to retail stores throughout the US and Canada as well as developing her own lifestyle brand and fair trade retail stores in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Beth has been a full-time faculty member teaching fashion courses at the University of Rhode Island, Syracuse University and Columbia College Chicago. While in Chicago Beth became a Co-Founder of SEAMworks Studio an ethical cut and sew apparel and accessories workshop using upcycled and sustainable materials while also training and employing refugee women struggling at the poverty line. Beth has collaborated with United Airlines and O’Hare International Airport on the creative reuse of materials which prominently featured work by her students in a variety of media. Most recently she has been featured in the book Sustainability and Social Change in Fashion. As a sustainable designer, Beth is extremely interested in ethical production, sustainable practices and the utilization of waste and surplus materials. Her expertise in textiles and sustainable fashion has led her to develop Farm to Fashion, a circular and sustainable approach to connecting fashion students to the origins of fiber production by collaborating with professors in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Beth is passionate about empowering her students to be independent thinkers equipped with the ability to discover who they are as designers, meeting future challenges and succeeding in their chosen field.