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kohl & cochineal

In January I took the leap to self employment through the opportunity to do some contract sewing for a local business Kohl & Cochineal.

The designer Louise Leggat creates sublime packages for life's tools, using high quality NZ leathers in clean cuts, complex wraps and folds.

I've relished the opportunity to broaden my horizons, while working on dressmaking commissions and developing new designs at my own workshop.

the clothes on your back

You know that lovely addition to your capsule wardrobe that flatters you in all the right places in a  colour that pulls everything together... but in the back of your mind there's a niggling shadow of awareness, momentarily pushed aside. There's a strong suspicion that cheap fashion does come with a human and environmental cost. I feel powerless not knowing when the story behind low prices tell the story of exploited workers and unsafe practices and when it could be explained by the global differences in the cost of labour and materials. I am not immune to bargain buys that boggle the mind: how did they produce the material, sew into clothes and ship across oceans for $20-30 dollars, including the retail markup?

Even if my purchase would be a second hand one, the act of using a product until it's useless doesn't erase the history of how it was made.

I have no idea where the products in this film are heading to, but I'd like to send these kids to school, so they learn to read and write, explore and wonder, express their feelings and ideas and still have time to play and be kids in order to grow into empowered adults. And it's not just a question of underage workers as I'd like to believe there's less and less chance to get away with it these days. How are adults who are tied into lack of education, low wages and long hours able to offer any hope for their children?

It's a sad world where it's accepted to take advantage of the social and economical differences.
Is the price of locally produced goods really out of the average earner's reach or do we just want too much stuff?

Oh to be a conscious consumer.

 
Here's my remedy: when I create clothes I feel more comfortable as I can make informed choices about every detail, starting from the raw material. Knowledge is power.

on raw materials

Bookmarking and sharing:
http://nordicfashionassociation.com/content/raw-materials

Written with an angle on sustainability.

hemp dress

It's been a quiet year with the blog as family has taken centre stage. We also bought a house half way through the year and started renovations, which would be a wonderful creative topic to blog on. However I felt a strong urge to keep my home private, so I'll just say that choosing paint colours is a real treat!

Revisiting 100% hemp cloth I've worked with before, I savoured tailoring this simple dress that I recently included in a photo shoot with dear Ishna Jacobs. What you see is version 1, not a perfect fit on me personally, but special enough to always get comments from strangers when I wear it. I call that a success as the form and material are very understated, just in the way I intended. And the photos are simply otherwordly, conveying a strong mood, magic seen by Ishna's eyes. I've been very inspired by Anton Corbijn's photography and that was our only starting point. We were looking for a location that would strike a balance between natural and man made, we needed complex light on a brightly lit summer's day. The goal was more portrait than fashion photography and I must say it was a thrill to relax and trust being in front of the camera, as it's something I'm quite scared of.

winter warmth - Arctic Spell

I brought some old stock with me from my recent trip to Finland. I made these tops and vests when I still lived in Finland as part of a collection called Arctic Spell.

The material is 100% wool, short furry pile with a knit base. The textile was made by a Finnish company and I've never seen it anywhere else. The buttons are thin disks of oxidised silver coloured metal.

Ville Suomaki worked his camera magic on the wintery Ruissalo beach just outside Turku. Kaisa was the perfect model, getting changed outdoors while it kept snowing... cool in every sense of the word. At least these garments are warm!

I'm setting up a shop at Felt to sell these and other garments, so you can soon click your way there to get your own!

from the archive: Smirnoff International Fashion Awards

When I was sorting through boxes of old stuff while visiting Finland, I came across this wearable arts creation from my design student days... 

It might have been 1995 when I drew three sketches to enter the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards and was one of the ten that got accepted to the national final. The jury chose this design out of the three (it actually wasn't my own favourite) and I had a couple of months to make it. I called the ensemble Verso (Sprout) and made it out of little wooden pegs. I spent my summer holidays drilling a hole in each peg lengthways, stained them darker and then threaded them together into a net-like structure... 

I loved the way the structure made a wooden "textile" that draped well. By the time it came to making the metallic undergarment I had run out of steam and never really liked the way that part turned out. I still love the wooden shoulder piece and should really keep it and maybe take some photos of it worn with a simple dress.

The whole competition was a wonderful experience in itself, with trips to the capital with a wonderful fellow student Tytti Thusberg who I still count as a good friend and who ended up winning and travelling to South Africa with her felt creation to represent Finland in the International event. The jury included some well known journalists and other fashion folk, including the then Marimekko CEO Kirsti Paakkanen.

I was already upcycling and made myself a dress out of an old curtain found in a Kuopio charity shop. For some reason it ended up as part of our graduation show in Helsinki about a year later, where someone from the audience bought it. I wonder if the pattern in still lurking in my stash, as I made a nice job with the neck/shoulderline!

My oh my it's been quiet here this year. Not a peep since January *blush*.

To bring the blog to up to date I'll have to start by a little follow up on the Black Nightshade experiment, where I used ripe berries to dye a fine silk scarf. The good news is the scarf has had quite a bit of wear since then. The very pale pinkish colour from Pineapple Sage got a deeper slightly bronzy hue, which happens to go very well with my natural hair colour. I've seen that many times before: when plant dyed garments match your own colouring, they can be unusually flattering and very easy to combine with other colours in your wardrobe (providing they suit you too). It's quite baffling how a basically boring beige scarf can do anything for you, but you never know until you try it on!

I was taking a short leave from blogging, but I totally dropped the habit when my previous laptop gave up the ghost. It's amazing how you can keep yourself connected on a little fruity gadget, but eventually I was very relieved to move on from mini-size.

Another distraction was going for a quick dash overseas...

To visit family in Finland. It had been almost 5 years from my previous visit and the jump from late summer straight into a snow flurry was quite an experience. I picked up a rental car from the airport and headed straight into the traffic on snowy roads, on the other side of the road... Thankfully I wasn't particularly jet-lagged, so I got myself to the destination all safe and sound.

During my brief stay I feasted on sights of Marimekko and Arabia designs, planning what to purchase on my next visit, which will be very soon! There's so many cool colours to choose from (Iittala Kastehelmi)...

Not only revisiting the design heritage I grew up with, I had many boxes of things from my design studies to go through. Sketches, cloth, garments and patterns got sorted and packed and what wasn't thrown away, I shipped here! More on that later.

After travels I've been busy with preparations to buy the house I've been living in for a couple of years. Ooh I love making plans for improvements! After lots of budgeting and getting reports and quotes the process finally reached the settlement day, which means we've got our house! The kitchen upgrade plans have come along nicely. I look forward to showing you some before and afters in a couple of months! 

withches brew - black nightshade

I started this year with preparing for a withces brew... Some black nightshade plants had gone under my radar hiding beneath the feijoa bushes. Now the plants were tall and the berries ripe for picking. Yes! Let me explain.

I found a book on natural dyes at the Founders book fair some months ago. I was browsing through it with the intention that I might discover something new that I have easy access to. I was quite sceptical when I spotted Black Nighshade (Solanum nigrum) berries among sources for purple. It is generally considered poisonous, not as dangerously so as Deadly Nighshade, but not one to mess around with. It's also a nuisance in gardens as it self seeds so readily, as the ripe berries fall when you disturb the plant.  

I had just discovered that some young plants had appeared along my back border = handy supply of material for testing. But I was concerned about the health and safety when being exposed to the fumes from the dye bath and also possible skin reactions when wearing items dyed with said plant. After an afternoon of Googling I had discovered that Black Nightshade might not be such a meanie after all. Both the young leaves and ripe berries are used as a food source in some parts of the world. Some daredevils who had tasted the berries reported them delicious and some had even made pie or jam with them... Now as I don't have any desire to turn this into a cautionary tale, I didn't taste any, but the berries smell nice when crushed. You've got to keep in mind that there are 1,500-2,000 species under the solanum genus and many different varieties of nightshade, only some of which are edible, according to Wikipedia. Which particular variety I have growing in my NZ garden is not known to me, but I'm suspecting it's unlikely to be exactly the same as the kinds commonly eaten in Africa or South America. Take care and be sure what it is you are tasting if you are keen! And then share with others how that went. My mission is to find out if the plant is of interest as a source for dye, and I handle it with gloves on in the process.

The first lot of plants got culled by a gardener who was not aware of my intentions. But as is the nature of nighshade, the second generation is alive and kicking.

 Here's my first harvest. 

Hapa zome on silk previously solar dyed with pineapple sage.

 The jury is still out, but I'll let you know how it goes.

Have you tried dyeing with this plant before?

new year - together

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and abundant 2013! ♥♥♥

If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together...

The quote and picture above really stopped me in my tracks today. Together would be a natural theme for the coming year, as that was what I most enjoyed about 2012.  I'm reminiscing working with Strands, the photo shoot with Ishna and Noa and my lovely colleagues at Playcentre. Thank you all for being in my life! I feel a little sting in my heart knowing how often I have chosen to go my own way at various points in my life. I suppose I'm learning when it's the right time to do that and when it's better to stick together. I so look forward to what this year will bring for us all!

A year ago I was thinking about Durga and Kali. Integrating the full feminine power was a strong undercurrent all year and it inspired me in my work as well, not as blatantly as I planned it to, but it was there nevertheless. 

The festive season has been full of quality time with kids and late nights by the computer. I discovered Pinterest some months ago but only started using it now. OMG it's so much fun! Hours of fun! It's dawned on me how the variety of social media caters for different styles. Twitter has never interested me, but as you can't get more visual than Pinterest - I'm in! While sifting through photos I've been sorting out my music collection at the same time. And making plans for a website! Shopping for a font is such a treat, like trying on different personalities.

Bring it on 2013!

 

Happy Christmas!

Wishing you all a happy and joyous Christmas, whatever your persuasion might be!

I see Christmas as the ultimate lovefest, where we remember those who are near and dear. It's also an opportunity for thanks as the year is drawing towards its end. A good time to have a quick look back at what the year was like and a chance to express our appreciation to those who have made a difference in our lives.

Here's a little treat from our very summery summer. Fazer milk chocolate with crushed almonds and apricot. The Ned Sauvignon Blanc from Waihopai River in Marlborough, NZ. And beautiful Pohutukawa blossoms.

beauty break #3

Summer and lazy mornings. Say no more...

upcycled container from a tablecloth

This project was very fast from thought to finish and used 1/4 of a stiff machine embroidered linen/polyester tablecloth. The container is a perfect size to house a little herb plant that is still in its little plastic pot that I bought or raised it in. Fun to make and looks easy on the eye on the kitchen windowsill.

beauty break #2

On my recent visit to the WOW Museum gallery shop this piece from Andi Regan caught my eye. It's called Mini Urchin and made of cable ties. What a wonderful way to see a utilitarian item made into something so pretty. Here's me thinking if it would be possible to recycle cable ties towards this kind of art, but I suspect the whole point with them is that they won't come undone once they're tied up.

Summer School

I will we teaching a three day long Up-cycled sewing workshop on the theme Something new, Something old, Something borrowed at the Creative Journeys Summer School.

We are taking enrolments now, so have a look at the website http://www.creativejourneys.co.nz/up-cycle-sewing.html to find out more or contact me through fibreoflife at gmail.com.

beginners sewing workshop

I'm very much looking forward to teaching a beginners sewing workshop at my home studio during the next two Saturdays. I can still take two more students so if you are interested to join in you can contact me at fibreoflife@gmail.com.

This is great for you who already have got a machine but use it mainly for gathering dust. Something about how you thread or adjust the machine is just beyond your comfort zone... What do you do to wind the bobbin and how on earth do you get it to sew buttonholes and in a way that they land in the right place?? Cutting your design might feel a bit intimidating as you don't know how much extra you should allow for seams. You've heard of French seams but never seen one? Come along!

Fibre of Life

sewing room

Beginners sewing class

Two Saturdays 17^th and 24^th of November 2012.

·                      Learn the absolute basics of sewing from threading a needle, to using simple hand sewing stitches.

·                     Sew on different types of buttons and learn where to place buttons and buttonholes.

·                      Get comfortable with a sewing machine! Wind on a bobbin, thread the machine.

·                      Learn to start sewing forward in straight lines, and turn corners.

·                      Sew simple seams.

·                      Create either a shopping tote or beach bag and/or a simple cushion cover, and take away your finished project and the pattern so you can make it again at home!

Cost: $75
Time: 10am – 2pm. Bring a sandwich for lunch.
Materials required: Bring your own sewing machine, scissors, pins, material and matching thread for your project.

burp in the symphony

My jolly girls have coined a new phrase - a burp in the symphony. I have no idea what it might mean in the mind of a 4 or 6 year old, but it's used in a rather grand way. I try to imagine a burp that interrupts a symphony and love the way it tackles my serious thoughts, turns on the happy glow and just spreads an inner grin somewhere deep in the body...

I can already see how useful this phrase is...
This week turned out to be a bit of a burp in the symphony.
People in groups. There's always someone who turns out to be a burp in the symphony.
It's just begging to have some art created just to be able to use it as a name. 

Ah kids!

Nelson Masked Parade 2012

One of my favourite Nelson events is the Masked Parade, when the whole community gets on the streets either to take part in the parade or to watch. This year the theme was Myths and Legends. Here are some entries that caught my eye. I don't remember or know names for all groups or acts. If you know better you could help me name things correctly, so credit goes where credit is due.

 Victory Adult ESOL

Montessori Preschool (?) Taniwha

 Hampden Street School

 I think this was Hampden St School as well.

 A solo stiltwalker.

 Nayland College.

  Nayland College.

  Nayland College.

  Nayland College.

 Tasman School.

These two characters were part of a larger band, but stood out strutting and trumpeting in their colander hats and huge black sideburns.

 jump!

 Dragon and knight.

Nayland Primary School

Nayland Primary School

Nayland Primary School

Nayland Primary School

 This is one of the two creatures that started the parade.

Thank you Nelson, I love you!

beauty break #1

The above flower I picked by the mailbox is a bit special as it gave birth to this idea of a beauty break. The term is very respectfully borrowed from my Facebook feed where "Awakening Women Institute" (founded by inspirational Chameli Ardagh) shares goodness under the same name. I just can't think of a better way to say it.

Now I have been a bit more regular with my posts here but not quite enough to explain the growing number of pageviews I've observed in the last months. It's delightful and interesting as I have no idea how people find their way here and who they are. Curious friends, some good old internet stalkers mixed with folk with a textile bend is my guess as I've kept my focus in that direction.

As a thank you for visiting and with the intention to keep rewarding you with new posts on a regular basis I've given myself an excuse to post little delights without needing to be wordy and to widen the visual outside the textile/fibre/dye/stitch. And please give me a sharp kick in the shin if this blog has any hint of turning into fulltime flowers and kittens kind. Pretty please.