It can be easier to be a creative in Detroit, the city where she grew up, says Paulina Petkoski (Fashion Design ’10), but it helps to get a jump-start in New York City. After nearly a decade of working and designing in NYC, she returned to her hometown Detroit in 2014.

Petkoski had already co-founded Playground Detroit while living in New York, hosting pop-up exhibitions, music showcases, and film screenings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, inviting Detroit artists to New York and bringing New York-based artists to Detroit. Playground Detroit has now moved beyond pop-ups, to its own gallery and performance space in Detroit.

“I was inspired to showcase Detroit talent to a New York audience,” Petkoski said. NYC has a robust, developed art market and industry where talent can be easily discovered and appreciated. The drawback? “Detroit affords many creatives more time, space and wanderlust, to be resourceful in their practice.”

Artists and creatives, she says, have the potential to thrive in Detroit, “thanks to the benefit of less expensive space, allowing time to create.”

“I am always amazed by the creative work of our alumni and how the skills they develop at FIT can be applied in so many ways to positively impact our world. The work Paulina is doing demonstrates the power of art to bring change to a community. Her gallery Playground Detroit is truly contributing to the cultural life of the city and providing opportunities to that city’s artists.”

– Dean Troy Richards, School of Art and Design

Detroit also has a rich design history, including important architecture, an influence on the Mid-Century Modern movement, and is home to the world-renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art and College for Creative Studies, all of which set the foundation for a city that thrives in creativity, she says.

Petkoski’s path to FIT wasn’t linear. Growing up in Detroit, she says, “I always wanted to be in fashion. My grandmother taught me how to hand stitch pillows and make dresses for Barbie dolls.

“Once I got a sewing machine, I started thrifting and upcycling clothes, reworking vintage patterns, and figuring out what a yoke was before any formal education!”

Her father, an architect, was also an influence, stimulating her early interest in art and design.

“Living and working abroad allowed me to think differently. I gained an understanding of international design,” says Petroski.  “Detroit can feel like a small town despite being a large city. Those experiences have allowed me to maintain a global perspective.”

Before arriving at FIT, she spent a little over a year at Michigan State University. The college offered an exchange program with FIT, but she decided to transfer entirely. “I was waitlisted for the main campus in Manhattan, but pre-approved for the study abroad program at Polimoda. “I moved directly to Florence for a year and began my first semester. It was a pivotal, life-changing experience,” she says.

Petkoski encourages designers to learn more about business, even while in college. “Often designers seek to start a business right after graduating,” she notes. They learn quickly that “It’s not just about creating a collection.”

While attending FIT, she launched the sustainable clothing line Sosume, taking calls from buyers at Barneys in-between classes. Later she conceptualized Playground Detroit while working full-time for Rachel Roy, where she eventually became head of trim and embellishment.

“The design process I learned during my time at FIT continues to influence all of my work, says Petkoski. She manages off-site and site-specific exhibitions, designs public art experiences and events; she has directed the gallery branding, the website, and helps emerging artists craft their creative image and personal branding. “To me, these are all forms of design,” she says.

During her time at FIT she traveled to Australia to attend a wholesale tradeshow for Sosume, and later visited factories in China and Hong Kong to understand sourcing and production while with Rachel Roy.

“Living abroad allowed me to think differently. I gained an understanding of international design. Detroit can feel like a small town despite being a large city. Those experiences have allowed me to maintain a global perspective.”

Playground Detroit didn’t start as a gallery. After returning to Detroit, Petkoski and her partner did pop-ups. They quickly outgrew their initial “bedroom turned gallery,” where they hosted exhibits in 2014. “It was in a 6,000 square-foot residential loft building. As word got out, attendances began exceeding 200 people,” she recalls.

The Motor City Match program helped them find a commercial location and create a business plan and budget. To raise funds for the gallery they “launched an ambitious Kickstarter and achieved the $75,000 goal.”

With community support and additional funding from community lenders, including Michigan Women’s Forward for the interior renovation, they took over a historic building, dating from 1887.

“The design process I learned during my time at FIT continues to influence all of my work, says Petkoski.

She manages off-site and site-specific exhibitions, designs public art experiences and events; she has directed the gallery branding, the website, and helps emerging artists craft their creative image and personal branding. “To me, these are all forms of design,” she says.

Playground Detroit maintains its operations primarily through artwork sales, client-based projects and special events including dinners and music performances in the gallery space.

“We have gallery hours, host opening receptions and sell artwork online through Artsy and 1stDibs. We just finished an interior mural project for a soon-to-open speakeasy in Ann Arbor. Annapurna Pictures from Los Angeles hired us to commission Detroit artists for a billboard campaign for the film premiere of ‘Detroit,’ directed by Kathryn Bigelow.” As a social-mission enterprise, Playground Detroit seeks grant support as well.

Petkoski continues working as a fashion stylist and designer. She now teaches at College for Creative Studies on topics such as closed-loop design and circularity.

One of her fondest memories as a student in Professor George Simonton’s class was meeting the esteemed alum Calvin Klein. He met with students one-on-one for feedback on their work. “I met him at his gorgeous Chelsea office,” said Petkoski. “He graciously reviewed my collection.”

Then “years later, I was attending the Armory Show wearing one of the designs he helped me with, an oversized anorak jacket. He recognized the design. It was such a great moment!”

Go to Playground Detroit for more information about current and past exhibits. Follow Paulina Petkoski on IG @paulinapetkoski and visit her website at: PaulinaPetkoski.com.

To learn more about the School of Art and Design’s Fashion Design major, go to: Fashion Design at FIT.