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Jane Valadez
Jane Valadez is a San Antonio-based creative professional with over 20 years of experience in fashion design and garment construction. She founded and operated her own fashion brand for 17 years, building a strong reputation for custom design and craftsmanship.
Today, Jane is a dedicated mentor and educator with the Puro Community After School Programs. She teaches sewing, upcycling, and fashion design to at-risk youth and leads community workshops that promote sewing as a trade within underserved communities. Her work centers on practical skill-building, empowerment, and community development through hands-on creative education.
Resume (PDF)
Work Samples (PDF)
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Artist Type: Teaching Artist/Instructor
Artist Style: Teaching Artist/Instructor: Workshop Presenter
Artist Medium: Fiber/Fabric
Artist Statement of Work
Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):
Jane Valadez is a fashion designer and seamstress whose career in garment construction and design began in 2003. After founding her own fashion business, she spent 17 years working as a professional fashion designer, with her work promoted through collaborations with a range of organizations, magazines, television programs, and news outlets. Her experience spans apparel design, patternmaking, and textile-based craftsmanship, rooted in both creative expression and technical skill.
Jane’s practice has since evolved into community-centered work through nonprofit and after-school programming. She now serves as a design mentor within after-school programs that support 100% at-risk youth, teaching sewing and upcycling as tools for creativity, sustainability, and self-empowerment. Students engage in hands-on learning that builds confidence, encourages problem-solving, and introduces practical skills connected to the fashion and textile trades.
In addition to youth mentorship, Jane facilitates separate community-based sessions focused on teaching sewing as a viable and much-needed trade within underserved communities. These programs emphasize skill-building, workforce readiness, and creative independence, expanding access to vocational pathways often unavailable in these communities. Through her work, Jane bridges fashion, education, and community engagement, using design as a means to uplift individuals and strengthen community capacity through creativity and craftsmanship.