Since Star Wars changed how pop culture merchandising was seen and handled decades ago, there have been countless ways to re-fashion our favorite movies, TV series, and more. Whether it’s t-shirts, lunch boxes, beach towels, or collectibles, there are so many ways to celebrate and show off what we love. However, there could always be more. There’s no set rule that rocking a t-shirt or a hoodie with a character on it is the only way to demonstrate that you’re a fan of something. The proof? I’d like to introduce you to The Errant Stitch.
The Errant Stitch, run by Nicole Majewski, is a Western New York based company dedicated to creating geeky goods for those with more eclectic tastes. Majewski makes an incredibly wide variety of accessories for purchase, including light switch covers depicting classic movie posters, cassette tape purses based on iconic albums, wallets made from repurposed chip bags, and much more.
One of the central ideas behind The Errant Stitch is that things should be left out of landfills as much as possible. If an item serves an actual function, then it’s less likely that someone will get rid of it. Because of this, The Errant Stitch ensures that anything that is upcycled has a practical use, like being used as a carrying bag or as wearable jewelry, for example. Majewski frequently uses recycled and repurposed materials for her projects… like her cheeseburger wrapper lamp! That way, she’s finding a use for something that would otherwise just find its way to the dump or along the side of the highway.
It’s genuinely exciting for people to be able to celebrate their fandoms with items that are a bit more unique than the standard t-shirt, and that actually serve a practical purpose. Things, like a wireless phone charger made from an old Duck Hunt Nintendo cartridge, or a light made from a VHS copy of The Lost World: Jurassic Park are genuinely handy to have, but are also much cooler than most knickknacks found on store shelves. My wife and I have a Silent Night, Deadly Night light switch cover from The Errant Stitch in our home library and we absolutely love it. It’s something we would have never found elsewhere. It takes true artistic genius to come up with these sorts of creations.
There are more projects on the horizon for The Errant Stitch as well. Majewski hopes to work with nostalgic 90s properties, involving more VHS video creations. She also hopes to expand on her vintage horror and monster selections, including projects based around classic monster movie art and weirdo comic book ads of the past. She even has projects planned for repurposing McDonald’s Halloween pails.
If there are merchandise items that The Errant Stitch has that you’d be interested in, but you don’t see your favorite movie, video game, or comic book represented, commissions are available. Majewski finds commissions enjoyable because she gets to do something different, while learning about fandoms she may not be as familiar with yet.
The Errant Stitch’s work can be sourced at different Maker Faire and pop-up events throughout the year. A couple of the upcoming events that you can find her at include Maker Faire Rochester on November 19th and the Western New York Maker Faire in Spring of 2023. She also enters her work in the Erie County Creative Arts Exhibits every year, and regularly donates creations to Thursday Night Terrors raffles and select craft fairs.
If you want to check out what The Errant Stitch has to offer, or would like to pick up some cleverly created items for yourself, you can head over to her portfolio website at iamtheerrantstitch.com, her Etsy page, or on Instagram. Whatever it is that you’re a nerd of, you can now express it in more unique ways than ever thanks to The Errant Stitch.