Glo.Bug, awesome un-crotchety crochet

Bright as a summer day and refreshingly airy, Gloria Joan Haag’s Glo.Bug line of crocheted gear is what’s up. The wild color collection includes one-of-a-kind mini dresses, skirts, vests, striped hot pants, gauntlets and legwear.

“I don’t work from patterns,” says Glo, rapidly crocheting an orange headband to finish off a model’s ensemble.

A native of Ambler, she just returned to Philadelphia after earning a master’s degree in art education at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Glo’s choice of materials and colors in her work has always been influenced by place.

“I spent some time camping in the desert in New Mexico, and I had a ball of twine, and used only found objects,” she says, displaying photos of a number of crocheted sculptures. The exhausted, desaturated tones of the desert infuse these pieces. Their contrast to the Candyland palette of her current workroom is remarkable.

“I got to Chicago and went through a white phase right away, and then the color came. I went from the desert to this urban environment and started looking at graffiti all the time.”

Glo is democratic in her range of artistic inspirations.
“Vinyl toys, graffiti, skateboards…. The suspended work of Eva Hesse.”

Friend and model Theresa suggests catching a sunset skating session at South Philadelphia’s FDR Park after the photo shoot and launching a business giving skateboarding lessons. Apparently mini-dresses aren’t for gym rats only.

Though fanciful, the dresses are feminine without being sickly, and quite controlled by perfect needlework. Glo recommends American Apparel foundation garments under the more transparent creations, such as the silver lame tube dress used to provide dimension and opacity under the pictured frocks. The open-work fishnet dress is pure next-level as a bikini cover-up.

Commission a bespoke piece from Glo.Bug in any color or style. The pieces in the photos are available for sale, hit her up at Glo.Bug@comcast.net.

Pix and story by Felicia.