🎙️ Local Threads – Episode 1: Kelly Dempsey - What if the real currency is you?Host: Molly AmatangeloGuest: Kelly Dempsey – Designer, Season 14 Project Runway Finalist, Founder of Barterloo🔥 Episode Summary In the premiere episode of Local Threads, Molly sits down with Kelly Dempsey — best known as “Kelly from the Deli,” Boston’s first native Project Runway contestant and self-taught designer. From humble beginnings in a small Western Massachusetts town to national television and now launching the visionary barter-based platform Barterloo, Kelly’s story is all grit, growth, and wild inspiration.We discuss fashion regrets, 90s style, sustainable creativity, upcycling before it was cool, and how dolphins may have sparked one of the boldest new ideas in alternative economies.🧵 Topics CoveredGrowing up thrifting and sewing as a form of empowermentThe real story behind getting on Project RunwayWhy traditional fashion production wasn’t the pathBuilding Barterloo: a peer-to-peer trading platform built on community valueWhat “you are the currency” actually meansUpcycled jewelry from CDs, auctions, and shifting to an intuitive businessCreating a sustainable, community-governed digital ecosystemTrading your skills, services, or goods — no cash needed👥 Join the Movement. Barterloo is launching soon with a community-led Kickstarter. Want early access and beta testing, and want to help shape Barterloo from the beginning? Sign up here to follow Kelly’s journey on all social platforms you frequent most below!🌐 Mentioned in the EpisodeBarterloo Sign-Up & Affiliate Link → https://barterloo.com/ Kelly’s Instagram → @_KellyDempsey_Barterloo Instagram → @BarterlooKelly’s Linktree → Kelly's LinktreeKelly’s Website & Weekly Auctions → https://www.salvagedaura.comOnline beginner sewing courses →  https://kellydempsey.com/Youtube → KellyFromTheDeli-DesignerFacebook → Kelly Dempsey DesignerTikTok @_KellyDempsey_🎧 Subscribe & Follow Local Threads wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Instagram and YouTube 🎧 🎧 Music by MobyGratis

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