Frank

hand stitched stuffed felt toy

Made by Shayla Thomas
a free form pattern child's toy that's a weird combination of a frog and a mudskipper (Frank or Fripper?)
Shayle was asked to do it for a friend's niece and the Sanctuary has the materials and supplies to help it happen, most of them donated.
Shayla also makes fun, unique skirts...she has her own aesthetic and is very articulate in fabric (and words!).

the bones beneath

recyCouture work by Clare one of my current students

This shirt's sleeve was patched in the recyCouture class, with scraps left over from an earlier patch job on this Ralph Lauren shirt. Clare liked the idea of the skeletons -a bit of our inside structure peeping through; she says it amuses her (me too!)

they don't get it

Todays email ad from NM.
I worked in the sunglasses department at the St. Louis Neiman's. I was told to send thank you notes to customers.....dudes came back into the store thinking i was making advances; just great.. so i refuzed (z is intentional!).
It appears to be another round of being at odds....reinventng for fast fashion is like biodiesal...the results are not greater than the resources and energy used to create it.

Recycouture

will break the spell of fast fashion.

Manifesto

of the Fashioning the Future Summit 2008 from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion will be out April '09.
Armed with a Manifesto i will be much bolder, for it's proof that i am in good company and not just an irritating nag.