Skippy Cotton
Skippy Cotton is Emma Mierop: an exceptionally imaginative, self-taught textile and paper-based artist, based in the Northern NJ/NYC area.
With a background in retail management and visual merchandizing, Emma began sharing her artwork on social media in 2017 under the moniker “Skippy Cotton”—a name she discovered on a typed piece of vintage ephemera. Quirky, lighthearted, and not-too-serious—it was perfect for her work. And so, like Ziggy Stardust was to David Bowie, Skippy Cotton soon was to Emma Mierop.
As Skippy Cotton has expanded and become an outlet for her growing collection of work, her whimsical creations have developed a devoted following, and she’s skillfully leveraged social media and production partnerships to scale her artistic practice in order to work with clients local and global. Her work can be seen in shops in her own hometown of Montclair, New Jersey, and as far as Copenhagen.
In 2021, Emma launched her first clothing collection, Circa 26—inspired by family heirlooms and inherited, ancestral treasures—to great praise, and continues to expand both the Skippy Cotton and Circa 26 worlds.
As her brand's recognition has grown, Emma has made it her mission to use her influence and platform to support her community of small, female-run businesses—something she’s deeply passionate about. In recent years she has been featured in Where Women Create, In Her Studio , Candy-floss Magazine, and Create Magazine, among others.
