Vanessa Devaki Andrew

Vanessa Devaki Andrew is an artist, illustrator, clothing and textile designer and producer, community educator, and reuse entrepreneur. She lives and works in West Allis, Wisconsin. Her reuse clothing brand, Madam Chino, started in 2003 and strives to remove the vanity and social irresponsibility from fashion through creative reuse. Madam Chino offers vintage and handmade shopping, sewing classes, and alterations services. Andrew has been teaching sewing, entrepreneurship, and community arts to kids and adults in the Milwaukee area for over 20 years through her own shop and many amazing local organizations, museums, and schools.

The Madam Chino studio houses over 15 tabletop sewing machines, 14 sergers, three treadles, and 12 industrial sewing machines. Ninety percent of these machines are re-homed pieces of Milwaukee’s sewing history, including pieces from the parents and grandparents of individuals, as well as from local factories like Junior House, Canvas Backs, and Sunbias. Andrew restores donated machines and cycles them into the community on loan through her Sewing Machine Library.