John Lewis urges us to 'Make Do and Mend'One of Britian’s most loved high street institutions has issued a booklet of tips for their customers, urging them to ‘Make Do and Mend’, evoking memories of war torn Britain. The booklet will cost you £3 to buy but the tips will keep saving you money.
To read all about it, see this article in The Telegraph.
On Tuesday 01 Sep at 6.15 pm
Exhibition/Talk : Spin my Style : Stories from the New Silk Road
Nominated Designer of the Year 2008 by Asian Woman magazine, Shazia Saleem is a new British fashion designer specialising in hand spun and hand woven textiles. Shazia studied fashion in Florence and London seamlessly blending this with her Indian heritage. Coveted throughout the ancient world, India’s rich history of hand weaving stretches back many thousands of years. Now, however, it is a dying industry as skilled weavers struggle to compete with industrialisation and these times of fast fashion.
Shazia Saleem’s exhibition aims to showcase the beauty, versatility and uniqueness of India’s hand woven silks and cottons through contemporary fashion and textiles. A feast for the eyes, the designer invites you to see, touch and take a little piece of India’s inspirational history away with you.Open until 4 September during office hours.
Click here for more details.
Just a reminder that the Spotlight on Sourcing event hosted by the Ethical Fashion Forum is being held tomorrow.
The Panel:
Colin McDowell, The Chair
Eric Manu, Founder of Clothes Show Live, Ghana
Cristina Cisilion, Founder of MADE
Rohit Kuthiala, Senior Consultant- Supply chain at Accenture
Jo Maiden, Founder of SOKO
Claire Hamer, Former buyer at Topshop, supply chain consultant
Last week Tesco announced it was sell two sewing machines a minute – an increase of 198% on the same time last year. The recession is clearly having an impact on people’s behaviour with people tightening their belts whatever way is possible and learning new crafts and skills.
Online ethical fashion boutique Adili has become Ascension. It has brand new stuff now in, plus a great warehouse sale.
An interesting article in The Guardian about mulesing – the process involves cutting off the skin around the buttocks of merino lambs, often without anaesthetic, to prevent “flystrike”, the infestation of blowfly maggots, which thrive in the folds of the sheep and eat into its flesh.
Are taking place at the beginning of September in Wales.
Here is a little bit more about them:
That people who Do things, can inspire the rest of us to go and Do things too.
So each year, we invite a set of people down here to come and tell us what they Do.
They can be small Do’s or big Do’s or just plain amazing extraordinary Do’s. But when you listen to their stories, they just light a fire in your belly to go and Do your thing, your passion, the thing that sits in the back your head each day, just waiting, and waiting for you to follow your heart.
To go find your cause to fight for, your company to go start, your invention to invent, your book to write, your mountain to climb.
The one thing the Doers of the world Do, apart from Do amazing things, is to inspire the rest of us to go and Do amazing things.
They are fire-starters.
Click here for more info, including tickets.
Posh Swaps, the recently launched website for swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes, now offers those recycling, refashioning and reworking old clothes, the chance to sell their creations for free. Clothes swap websites, second hand and vintage clothes have seen a recent surge in popularity due to a combination of factors including environmental awareness and the recession. Now fashionistas are taking recycling one step further giving old clothes a new lease of life by refashioning and restyling them into new creations. The beauty of wearing refashioned clothes is that each piece is completely unique and individual.
Posh Swaps celebrates individual style using second hand and vintage clothes. They promote recycling and environmental issues through their blog, but also recognise the need to look stylish. By allowing creators of refashioned clothes, they hope to create a vibrant market place of innovative and fresh styles for everyone to enjoy. Selling homemade fashion is also hugely popular with many crafters selling their individual pieces through sites like Etsy and Folksy, the UK equivalent. Posh Swaps offers those making fashions using recycled materials a sales platform that is completely free to use.
Refashioning of old clothes is the next big trend with some of the big corporate and high street names selling recycled and reworked clothes including Oxfam and Topshop. There are also a growing number of innovative designers and labels using old clothes and recycled textiles in their designs.
Whether swapping, selling or buying registration is free and straight forward to set up. Once your account is formed you may begin listing your creations to sell. Simply add a photograph and description of you item and tick the new creation box. Sellers can receive payments directly by PayPal or cheque. The most innovative and talented refashioners will also be featured on the Posh Swaps blog giving them additional exposure.
Click here for more details.
