I am a Black queer feminist disabled urbanist person defying gentrification by crafting liberation through joy.
How do I do all of that?
First, my legacy blog on urban design and policy, The Black Urbanist. If you want a handheld or audiobook version of that, I would suggest The Defying Gentrification Placebook, coming soon!
Then, I really leaned into my childhood love of fiber and surface pattern designs and created Kristpattern, where I sell and teach crochet, beading, weaving, and other fiber and tabletop arts and notions.
They come together with my Substack newsletter Defying Gentrification, Crafting Liberation, and my self-titled behind the scenes page on Patreon.
I curate pop-up spaces, workshops, and keynotes as well and I would love to bring my special sauce to you and your friends, family, colleagues, and or community group.
Let’s set up an initial consultation and talk more about what you need!
Bio
Kristen Jeffers (she/they) is the creator and managing editor of The Black Urbanist and Kristpattern multimedia platforms, which strive to bring a Black queer feminist dynamically disabled perspective to the greater urbanist sphere through a newsletter, workbook and podcast on Defying Gentrification, and facilitating crochet and other needlcraft workshops and spaces. She’s held a variety of communication and public affairs positions over the last decade and a half and is one of Planetizen’s 2023 100 Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists. Most recently, they were the contributing editor for Greater Greater Washington and have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Streetsblog the Commericial Appeal, and on NPR affiliates, WAMU, WUNC and KCUR, along with bylines in House Beautiful, Sierra Magazine, Streetsblog, Next City, and Grist. They live in Washington, DC with their wife Les Henderson and was born and raised in Greensboro, NC.
Artist Stattement
Kristen Jeffers is a Black Queer Feminist Dynamically Disabled Urbanist creating her own Kristpattern. They write stories, film films, and stitch garments as they defy gentrification and craft liberation in the Chocolate City. They make it clear that Black makers, artists, and fiber makers matter.
They ride the Metro to the farthest Michaels’ and climb tiny Dupont Circle steps to view the finest hand-dyed and factory-produced yarns. They were reading and writing as soon as they were crafting, at the feet of their mom, who had already stitched together the outfits of their youth.
They made their first garment together at age 10 in 1996, a bumblebear print vest with royal blue satin lining. Don’t ask them the pattern number, it escapes them, but they feel like it was a Simplicity, as they started fiber craft long before indie PDFs and projectors were the domains of home sewists.
They would have been considered a seamstress when they started. But one thing that’s still evident, is their love of jewel tones, animatronic animals, mechanical objects, and solid wool and cotton blends, that feel smooth to the touch. They’re making the garments they need to have, and they know that there are people here who want them too.
They also want others to experience this fiber joy, especially those who share identities with them, often underestimated in these textile spaces. They took to heart the words of Ava DuVernay, to build a dream that is bigger than them.
In that, they join fiber arts influence Joyce J. Scott, graphic design influence Lance Wyman, and contemporaries Toni Lipsey, Dr. Lisa Woolfolk, London Kaye, Aaronica B. Cole, Julian Collins, Xandy Peters, Dr. Brittany Cooper, and others who seek to use new media to center their fiber craft in public space and in the reclaimation of ancestral practice.
Portfolio
Nonprofit Print Publication Design
Podcasting
- Defying Gentrification
- Third Wave Urbanism (inactive)
- Watch live episode/keynote at the 2018 NACTO Annual Meeting
- Feature on the podcast in NextCity, who was also a trade partner
- The Black Urbanist Radio Show
Public Speaking/Workshops
Personal Essay Writing
- House Beautiful
- Sierra Magazine
- My blog The Black Urbanist
- My Substack newsletter Defying Gentrification
Editing for Nonprofit Media
- Commissioned this piece from a pitch to the general email box to publication for Greater Greater Washington on changing demographics in Prince George’s County
- Synced up the colors to match our site palette on this article on Greater Greater Washington
- Write and edit Breakfast Links article roundup and news summary for publication by 10 am every weekday, along with six years of contributing service journalism and article write-ups.
Self-Drafted Crocheted Garments