Sassy Smolak

 

The blogging world is really a WORLD, I could have never expected that one click would take me to another blog and another and another.....

One of those happy coincidences is Sassy Smolak, the whimsical life and colourful expression of Emily Smolak.  Her writing is exciting, engaging and makes you want to come back for more.  So much so that Emily is offering a pair of very cute bird earrings from Faded Willow in the *GiveAway*

I am currently reading Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and came across the following passage whilst in the tube:

"I see at intervals the glance of a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage: a vivid, restless, resolute captive is there: were it but free, it would soar cloud high."

Alice and her Wonderland

                                          'A Desolate but Beautiful Life' by Alice Rebbeca Potter
                                                                                    (mixed media illustration, March 2010)


Alice is one of my very good friends from Uni, and I have made a post especially for her because she has really inspired me to get a move on my own project.  She doesn't know that, although she will now.


Alice is a textile designer/ maker and illustrator.  She gathers inspiration from rural and urban landscapes, she has a particular love for forests and mountains, her works comes together in drawings and collages.  Her fresh and witty approach make every piece delightful.
When looking at her portfolio I really get a sense of a this land she has constructed, it is child-like but there is something quite 'desolate' about her work.  It's nostalgic and it's honest.


She currently sells some of her pieces at ENVELOP and be sure to check out her ETSY shop were she sells greeting cards handmade by her mum. (how sweet is that!?)

Fashioning an Ethical Industry: Fast Forward 2010 Conference (Part II)

The other big thing about the conference was the networking opportunities it presented.  I have to admit I felt very comfortable in that world and all the people I spoke with all had very valuable insights for Lunamano.


Ever since the conference I became a Social Alterations' junkie.   Social Alterations is the place I go to further my education and knowledge within the ethical world.  Social Alterations aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice within existing perceptions of socially responsible fashion design education to create lasting change through transformative fashion design education.
I met with founder Mary Hanlon for a long chat later that week and it was a back and forth bounce of ideas between her project, mine and everything in between.  Mary asks the question "So, if corporations, business and business apparel educators have a role to play in transforming the social and environmental challenges facing the fashion industry, what is the role of the fashion design educator? "


It is definitely a big question and Social Alterations forms a big part of the answer.


Overall, between the conference, the people I met and the presentations I heard, the two things that resonated the most for me were, education and issues of scale: how big is enough?


I agree on the importance of educating current design students (not only in fashion but all areas of design) I would also add to that the importance of teaching future generations about social and environmental practices but at a much younger level, to be more specific, 1-6 yrs, the most important learning stage for any human being.


Finally, I would have been interested in a discussion (within the conference to begin with) on the role of the big fashion houses and organisations like the LVMH group (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Pucci, etc) in setting certain industry standards, for instance, the 4-6 collections they produce every year.  A sort of "lead by example" approach.  What would happen if they decided to have 2 collections instead? How would the high street react?


Last but not least, Social Alterations talks 'responsible design' with some very inspiring people, and one very inspired designer...(yours truly)


David Goldsmith from The Swedish School of Textiles and Parsons


Eleanor Dorrien-Smith from PARTIMI


Kat Ross and Larissa Clark from the Environmental Justice Foundation


Carolina Gomez-Aubert from Lunamano


Sophie Koers from the Fair Wear Foundation

Responsible Design: Why should design students care? from Social Alterations on Vimeo.