Where Field Experience Meets Wearable Art

Vicky Rankin conducting fieldwork in dense marsh vegetation while collecting NRDA data following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Field2Fabric was born from a lifetime spent outdoors—restoring coastlines, documenting endangered wildlife, monitoring construction, and walking miles through wetlands, beaches, rivers, and power sites long before the sun rose. For decades, my work as an environmental scientist brought me face-to-face with the raw, unfiltered beauty of the natural world.

Eastern indigo snakes weaving through palmetto shadows, snowy plover chicks hiding behind blades of dune grass, bluebonnets blooming beneath wind turbines, monarch migrations, seagrass beds, and the quiet resilience of wild places countless people will never see.

Relocating a juvenile endangered eastern indigo snake from a construction site
Alligator partially hidden in coastal marsh vegetation observed during environmental survey work

Those moments shaped me. And now, they shape the art I create.

From Fieldwork to Fabricwork

Embroidery has always been part of my life—quiet, patient work done with my hands whenever I wasn’t in the field. But modern embroidery machines opened a door to an entirely new world of creativity. Their precision, detail, and artistic range felt like a natural extension of everything I loved: craftsmanship, color, evolution, and the ability to bring nature to life one thread at a time.

After years of environmental work, I finally decided it was time to merge both sides of my identity:
the scientist and the artist.

Field2Fabric is where those two worlds meet.

Fred the caracara and his mate sharing food together in a grassy field

  • Yes. Every Field2Fabric piece is created on a unique, vintage, or upcycled denim jacket, then embroidered by hand or on my embroidery machine. No two jackets will ever be identical — each one has its own story.

  • I hand-select each jacket myself. Most pieces come from local Goodwill stores, second-hand shops, or online thrift auctions. I genuinely enjoy the hunt—digging through racks and finding denim with character and good structure. Every jacket is chosen for its quality, durability, and potential to become a piece of wearable art.

  • Denim has history. Just like the fieldwork that shaped my career, every worn-in jacket carries its own past — and embroidery lets me layer new life, color, and story onto it.

  • For best results, hand wash in cold water with a gentle detergent and air dry.
    Turn the jacket inside out and avoid scrubbing directly on the embroidery.
    Do not bleach or machine dry.