Truman Alley

Junky Style shop in Truman Alley, London

Junky Style, i think this store is selling reFashion apparel. There is also a book called Junky Styling featuring wardrobe surgery and not related (but i could be wrong)
No matter i'm lovin the language of it all ...

Sew Up Seattle

inspiration everywhere , don't buy- reFashion!
Window display at Nordy's in downtown Seattle

is behind the Flash Fashion 24 hour Challenge at the Sustainable Ballard Festival next month the 26th and 27th. A local refashion/eco designer show will happen on Saturday and ought to be fun and inspiring as well as being an intro to those new to concepts of clothing off the fast fashion grid.

The Sew Fun option on Sunday is to make bags for the local food bank.

Sew Up Seattle is a scrap happy delight and they offer free sewing classes at Goods for the Planet on the last Saturday of most months. They ask you to call ahead because space is limited. This is a good way to sample the sewing experience and they are in a nice location.
Good stuff!

letter to University Art Gallery,

Dear Director,
i understand that local is important and that recycled fashion shows are a good way to start into sustainable fashion concepts without stepping on old toes.

I am glad i didn't pursue my invite to help with this show any further as real designers attempting to work towards a sustainable economic model, could have been hurt.

Sew Fun at this years Sustainable Ballard Festival is another "let's play green" affair happening next month. I suppose i am just sad that the USA is so far behind Europe in its outlook and concepts.


Have a good show. The Haute Trash affairs are fun and no threat to the fast fashion industry either so you should have a nice event,
deborah barnes

(edited for a general read)

re-Sew Fun

Adili eco fiber guest bags at Sustainable Fashion Center show

Oh, the Sew Fun part is about making bags. Perhaps the local sustainable designers are going to show bags as well as clothing, or the 2 days are only linked by their textiles.

I am confused.

Clare C and Beth H are the heads of this event and i am meeting up with them today at Goods for the Planet an eco home and garden store here in Seattle. More to follow!

Sew Fun

recycouture skirt made from a 70s poly stretch top, a couple remnants and some beheaded silk floral stems

will be at the Sustainable Ballard Festival this year, Sept 26 and 27. I am getting into the design of this gig and will update when i know more. Right now all i can say is it will be a good experience for designers and audience because ripping into a toss away garment is easier than cutting into a piece of $78.00 a yard fabric.

Air Drying

Kensington Gardens area of London next to the Phoenix Hotel

instead of using an energy sucking dryer has benefits other than cost/carbon savings.

Air dried clothing and linens smell great (unless the air is stinky with pollutants) and sunshine is a natural bleach and will kill germs and mildew; so dark clothing should be hung in the shade.

If done with intent hanging the wash on an outdoor line is an op for stretching and bending, which is good for flexibility.

Aqua Green Silk Dress

was finished on the day it was needed. I forgot to take a picture. Will try to get one later as it really turned out beautiful. Really!

Eco friendly

Brush and vanity jar top are celluloid (early plastic), resin topped (BPA hazard) plastic and metal belt from the 60s,
mod shades and a vinyl handbag...PLASTICS, PLASTICS EVERYWHERE

Fabric from recycled plastic is being labeled eco friendly and there is some truth there but perhaps not enough to justify a long term engagement.

The melting process requires "energy" and most likely spews toxic gasses into the air, perhaps these gasses can be contained but according to several websites the amount of time and energy put into the product doesn't justify the friendly labeling.

On the other hand, the smatter that is reused keeps it from the landfill for one more round. Metals, glass and paper however can be re-cycled multiple times and are easier to process. Plastic needn't be a total loser as some things are highly useful and better adapted to the plastic formulation.

So for now, drinks in plastic and excess packaging are on the top of my scratch it list.

Caral - War was not the Answer

In a Gothic Library in NYC

Early this morning PBS aired " Lost Pyramids of Caral" a doc on the Caral site which is one of a cluster of 18 in the Supe Valley. These are the oldest known urban settlements in the Americas, dating around 2600 BCE.

These "cities" had large public areas, irrigation systems, sunken plazas and public buildings with stairs, rooms and courtyards built around a large plaza. These ancients were fairly sohisticated planners and developers. The largest pyramid is 60 ft tall and covers an area of about 4 football fields.

That is interesting, but the best is that they were an advanced civilization built on commerce and pleasure. A peaceful society where no weapons, mutilated bodies or protective walls were found. Instead bone flutes, cornets and beads were found in the pyramids as well as evidence of squash, bean and cotton crops.

Prior to this it was theorized that only war would bring people together to form such complex societies.

Justifying war and exploitation as human nature hits the dust big time....we can be civilized and fair trade is in our natures ...definitely our better natures.

reFashion profile

This is the start of a refashion from a dress that was made about 14 years ago from a pure silk fabric that was purchased in Sienna about 15 years ago.

The sleeves and skirt are being salvaged and the bodice is a redesign cut from fabric left over from its first life.

Letter to Ethical Fashion Forum

Hello,
I was at the Urban Craft Uprising (Seattle WA USA) last Saturday to gather up some interesing eco designers that would like to be in on a sustainable fashion show at the Western Gallery where i was asked to show the recycouture clothing I am doing for the fashionRIP Project.

I was happy to see that the quality, variety and number of designers doing reFashion has improved even since last year. I also came across some great screen printed tees - some fresh graphic styles that stood out even in this rather avant garde group of artisans.

A couple of the best printers told me that affordability of more sustainable blanks was all that held them back and that they would love to switch to the greener, fairer path. I thought of you (EEF) and wonder if you can point me to a supplier that i could turn them on to. I suspect i could gather a few more printers and then be able to do collective orders where the costs would be within their range.

thank you, deborah barnes