Janelle Abbott (JRAT) was born into the fashion industry—her parents owned a clothing manufacturing company where they produced Tencel garments in Seattle for over 20 years. This early exposure to the BTS of garment production gave Janelle a sense of reverence for the labor involved in creating clothing. She received a BFA in fashion design from Parsons School of Design in 2012.

Through her work, Janelle seeks to reclaim as much as possible from the trash heap of hyper consumerism in order to reduce the weight that modern life is impinging on our fragile and precious planet. Reclaimed, found, second-hand, and donated goods are the foundation of the clothing, furniture, sculpture, and tapestries that she creates.