Mayfly Bus delivers an “act of revolution in a world of overconsumption” to Harvard Square

Nestled in the heart of Harvard Square between fast casual food joints and overpriced college merch, Mayfly Bus serves as a beacon of brilliant sustainability. The official storefront in the Garage had its grand opening this past fall, a dream realized for founder Alex DiMauro. What began as a pop-up marketplace to redesign and repurpose used clothing has turned into a space for curation that is equal parts whimsical and purposeful. 

We sat down with Alex to chat about her artistic vision, how she cultivates her creative community, and how she navigates running a brand in her twenties. 

YLM: Where are you from? When is your first memory of creating something with your hands?

Alex DiMauro: I grew up in Woburn, but I now reside in Lowell, where I have a studio as well. I also just opened a shop in Cambridge, which is nostalgic for me since I went to undergrad at Lesley University Art + Design. I always wanted to be an artist and make things with my hands, and I know I was doing that long before this memory, but when I was in middle school I got really into working with duct tape. I can remember now the bin I would use to create weavings I would do with the tape. I really think in some way it definitely sparked something in me to move towards textiles in my creative process. 

YLM: Do you have any professional artistic training/background? Self-taught? Family taught? 

AD: I went to college at Lesley Art + Design where I studied fine art. I was mostly drawing, painting, and working with ceramics. Before that growing up my dad had a paintbrush in my hand before I could even grip it myself. We were always painting and my dad is really nostalgic so there are a bunch of really bad oil paintings from when my sisters and I were kids framed and hanging on the walls in my parents’ house. With sewing I had pretty basic knowledge from middle school home economics classes where we learned machine sewing, as well as some hand sewing skills from Girl Scouts. But most of what I have learned at this point is from YouTube or from trial and error. I am actually now teaching sewing classes at a small art school in Lowell, called Refuge. I tell my students that I learned through trial and error but in the beginning it was mostly error. But I think that’s the beauty of learning something new is grappling with constant failure and pushing through it to better your skills. 

YLM: Where did Mayfly Bus come from? What is the inspiration for the name and principle? 

AD: Well Mayfly is my business name and I remember doing some rabbit hole searching online one day my senior year of college which often paired with my scribbling down notes in my journal as a source of inspiration. And I thought to myself what living being has the shortest lifespan on earth? And I found out it was the mayfly that lives for about 24 hours. My middle name is May and I really connected with it as a sign to live my life to the fullest. And the bus comes from my 1969 VW bus which is often part of my storefront. I do pop-up markets with the bus which really kickstarted what I am doing now. 

YLM: How did the pop-ups evolve into owning your own store? 

AD: Well I had this concept in 2018 for a vintage shop out of my bus where I would do pop-ups around town. Around then I started collecting secondhand pieces but hadn’t done much other than try to build inventory and inspiration. At this time I was working at the deCordova museum shop and teaching art at an after school program in Lexington. While working at the deCordova my coworker Lydia was constantly wearing her self-made clothing to work. I was so impressed and inspired and I always wanted to sew my own clothes. One day she came into the shop with one of her sewing machines and gifted it to me. The first thing I sewed on her machine was a little stuffed mouse for her cats as a thank you gift. From that moment I was hooked, playing with my old clothing and other fabric scraps that I had a small collection of. And then Covid hit, where I began making masks. I probably made around 50 of them. I then began sewing tote bags out of thrifted curtains and tablecloths. Around the same time as the sewing machine gift. I also received a small screen printing kit from my manager at deCordova, she was cleaning out her studio and thought I might enjoy it. I began making upcycled t-shirts and sweatshirts from second hand pieces with my own screen printed designs. 

From there I launched my online store and sold a few things before the holidays in 2020. 

In 2021 I started doing markets around Lowell and the Boston Area. SoWa was one of my first markets and I did the Stoneham Farmers market. While at these markets I made friends with vendors who let me know of other local markets. At the end of the year I went on to do the SoWa winter festival for the first time.

In 2022, I did more markets throughout the summer and this year I had more upcycled goods than the year before, but some of the vintage markets really took off and I did a mixture of upcycled and secondhand goods. I didn’t get into the SoWa winter market this year, so I reached out to the Burlington Mall where I had a kiosk with my bus in the middle of the mall. 

In 2023, I had a similar year in terms of continuing on with my upcycled goods but also had a lot of vintage/secondhand goods throughout the summer markets. I went back to the Burlington Mall this year but for a month in a 700sqft storefront. I collaborated with SMLeo where I sold her tote bags and prints, as well as Rebloomed who had a rack of upcycled clothing. 

In 2024, I had the opportunity to work with Project Pop-Up in downtown Lowell at 51 Market St. This storefront was for 4 months, from March - June. It was 2,000sq ft and I collaborated with 15 other local artists and businesses to fill the shop. Within the space I had a studio where we also hosted a few workshops. We also hosted a fashion show in the space where 4 other designers and myself worked on collections for the “Reworked Runway.” It was such a fun experience. This year was the year I also decided I didn’t want to sell secondhand/ vintage clothing anymore so that I could focus solely on making my upcycled goods. Throughout the summer I did markets for the first time without it. For the holidays I went back to the Burlington Mall in the same shop that I had the year before, but this time it was 3 months. I worked with 3 designers that were in the Lowell shop earlier that year and we split the hours. It was such a fun and amazing experience to work with other artists. I knew I wanted to keep doing that in the future. 

In 2025 I slowed down just a little bit, I did a few less markets than the past few years

before, and then I was presented with the opportunity through UpNext (who is also Project Pop-Up) to have a shop in the Garage in Harvard Square. Being a Lesley Alum, this pulled on my heartstrings. I had been going to the Garage now for 11 years since I started school at Lesley and thought how special it would be to revive The Garage and bring it back to life.  We opened in mid October here. For the holidays I also got into the SoWa winter market for the first time since 2021, so I decided to go back again and give it a shot. We just wrapped up there on Dec 28th. 

YLM: This is a very collaborative effort. Many other artists are featured here. How did that come about?

AD: From previously working with other artists in my past shops, I really loved the camaraderie of working as a team. I also am so excited about upcycled clothing and many of the people I have in the shop I had never met before. I had been a fan on instagram for a while and decided to shoot my shot! I really wanted to create a space for upcycled work to be showcased. 

YLM: How are you finding the Harvard area community? 

AD: I think slowly but surely we are getting there! I have met people who are really excited about what we do. I have received fabric donations, had many long chats with locals about what we do. We are part of the revitalization of the Garage so I think the foot traffic is a bit slow so far as we are really just starting to get the word out!

YLM: Hopes for the future?

AD: I hope that this shop creates a space where people think outside of the typical consumer box. Creating something new out of discarded material is an act of revolution in a world of overconsumption. This space showcases creative ways to reuse and repurpose what already exists. We are only at the beginning of the slow fashion revolution. 

YLM: What’s your yellow light? Do you have one right now?

AD: Honestly the Garage has been a real yellow light moment for me. I can’t yet tell if it is the best decision I have made, and I think I am really trying to figure out how to speed up. I am typically a “squeeze the lemon” kind of girl with my mayfly 24hr mentality. The Garage has presented one of my most challenging experiences yet as a small business as it in itself is something we are basically trying to raise out of the dead. Myself along with UpNext and the other small businesses moving in here are hoping to revive it and create a lasting space. Clearly being presented with all of the challenges that go along with it, I still floored ahead through the yellow light. When I moved into the space, I loved the green painted ceilings. I noticed as I was hanging up the hand-painted signs that say “handmade” and “upcycled” that I’ve had now for 3 years in the all of the different shops that I’ve been in, that they almost match the ceiling color in this space. That to me is literally a sign, in the color green, so maybe that in some way is a green light to keep pushing through all of the obstacles and challenges of being in this space. 

Be sure to stop in March 7th for a bring-your-own garment printing workshop at The Garage from 12-6PM.

Shop Mayfly Bus here!