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About Jenni Guarascio, Founder of Spindle

Jenni Guarascio is a designer, stylist, educator, and creative visionary with over two decades of experience in luxury fashion, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment. She is the founder of Spindle — a modern sewing studio and creative lounge where people of all ages reconnect with the lost art of sewing as a path to healing, self-expression, sustainability, and empowerment.

Jenni’s journey began with a B.A. in Environmental Textile & Apparel Design from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She launched her career in New York City, working directly under Oscar de la Renta in one of the last full in-house ateliers in the country. During the time he was awarded CFDA Designer of the Year, Jenni contributed to fittings for First Lady Lauren Bush, facilitated editorial samples for Vogue, and crossed paths with fashion icons like Barbara Walters, Anna Wintour, and André Leon Talley.

Answering a call to Chicago’s fashion revival, Jenni joined the exclusive Ultimo runway-to-retail store, where she quickly evolved from high-end showroom fashion into tailoring, custom design, and mentorship. In 2009, she opened her own brick-and-mortar Minx Parlor — a River North boutique where she continued to style Chicago’s elite, offered wardrobe transformations, designed custom wedding and formalwear, and cultivated a space for women to rediscover their creative essence through fashion.

Minx Parlor grew into more than a boutique — it became a hub for emerging designers, artists, photo shoots, a modeling program, and youth mentorship. Jenni was a member of the Apparel Industry Board Inc. (AIBI), partnered with the Art Institute of Chicago, and launched youth fashion programs in collaboration with Racine Unified School District and PRCS. Her outreach extended globally, as she continues her aspirations of supporting vocational sewing programs for women and children in underserved populations — assisting access to fashion as a tool for economic freedom and creative voice.

At the core of Jenni’s mission is the belief that fashion is a sacred art, a vital vocational skill, and a powerful solution to economic inequality and environmental harm. With the fashion industry being one of the leading causes of pollution on Earth, Spindle champions sustainable, slow fashion — empowering individuals to make, mend, and upcycle their own clothing instead of buying into fast fashion waste.

Now, through Spindle, Jenni is preserving the legacy of fashion as both art and activism — creating an inclusive sanctuary for education, mentorship, and the rebirth of craft.

Your donation helps fund materials, scholarships, and access to this transformative space — supporting underserved youth, emerging designers, and creative entrepreneurs both locally and globally.

Together, we’re not just stitching garments — we’re sewing futures, preserving the planet, and reclaiming fashion as a force for good.

Thank you in advance for investing and sharing in this vision.