She is a freelance costume and apparel designer. She holds a BFA from MassArt and MEd from Harvard University and studied fashion design at the London College of Fashion and costume design in Florence, Italy . Varekamp has worked for several theaters and costume shops as designer, dye specialist and embroiderer in Boston and Chicago including the Steppenwolf Theatre. She received a Massart Foundation Fellowship in 2012, was a selected participant in the "Creative Industries and Sustainable Design" Tour of Germany in 2009, was a Surdna Arts Teacher Fellow in 2005 and received the Martin Arts Connection Award and the Ronald William Lane Designer Award.