About

Reciprocate started in 2019 as a way to express my living philosophy and what I believe art and community should do: mirror, mend, and move us. The word is a play on my name, Catalina Cipri.

I use upcycling as my main artistic and healing practice — to restore discarded materials, parts of our identity, and ancestral stories. I’m interested in the energy and possibility they all carry, and uplifting them through handcraft.

My background is in social impact design, birthwork and art therapy, and my work is about holding space.

Holding space to center:

  • Where/how can we increase love? Through embodied reflection

  • What futures can we redesign together? Through creativity in community

  • What artifacts of love can be created? Through crafting resilience, love, hope through mending

Everything made or offered is healing art: created to feel more love, more ourselves, and more connected.

Offerings

Here are some ways that we can build together, though it is always exciting to dream up new things together.

Everything can be adapted for all ages and group sizes

  • Create by hand using existing materials, this can include:

    Visible Mending, Quilting, Clothing-making, Zine-making, Natural Dyeing

  • Always catered specifically for the community. Some past events have been:

    • Self-love and personal sustainability

    • Sustainable Crafting: Upcycling what we have

    • Clothing Swap: Loving something pre-loved

    • Creative practices for Healing

    • Release and Refresh: Dessert making and tea journaling for grounding

    • Transforming a Heavy Heart into a Joyful One

    • Somatic, Guided Journaling and Reiki

    • Engaging the 5 senses through Color

    • Color Therapy and Reiki

    • Full Moon Manifesting: Restorative Meditation and Cacao Ceremony

  • Collections of upcycled garments made to share a story

    Most recently, Postpartum and Birthing Art

  • 1:1 upcycled clothing exclusively made by Reciprocate. Often including a mix of vintage, handmade, and natural fibers.