American Apparel textile repurposing

I've always loved American Apparel and their philosophy.
This is taking it one step further and I couldn't be more excited about it as it brings together fashion and sustainability!

It is just as exciting as when Nudie made this video explaining their recycled pair of jeans :)
World changers!

phone photos from last week

poncho... finally finished it!

 happy place

 finally I can start working

snowman in our garden just before losing his battle against gravity and warmer temperatures :)

so much snow up in the common

this tree was just too pretty to walk past, different colours and textures fascinate me!

first project on my own blocks!!!!!

 Green Park is indeed very green, even this time of year.

new favourite place to be :) divine and maybe dangerous dreams, visions and actions will be released in there. 

the arts

Came across this quote and the third sentence made me laugh out loud! So true (hello parents, I'm waving at you). Should read this from time to time when I have a bad day :)

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

Kurt Vonnegut

(via the wonderful swissmiss)

Happy weekend everyone x

Enough Food IF

For the first time since the Make Poverty History campaign have more than 100 charities across the UK joined forces! Watch and sign up to help here.
World changers in the making :) We can end hunger, there is more than enough food for everyone out there. It just needs to be distributed equally.

Let's all play our part in this x

reevaluating things

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  MLK

I always wonder and think about the things that matter. What exactly they are. What is consistent and what is short term. Most things will be the same my entire life, some are only here for a short time and than they disappear out of my life.
This quote got me thinking again today and I wish we would all speak up more x

Phoenix Bankrupt!

And the world rejoiced!!!!
http://www.wearephoenix.com/

phone photos from the last couple weeks

24-7 prayer room launch and one big worship party.

good morning

 hard working people

three of hundreds cups of tea made in the dungeon.

 bowling fun

Northamptonshire beauty

country walk with the dog

colour in endless grey surroundings

London town

a year without buying clothes

If anyone remembers, a year ago I started out my year by making

"to not buy clothing - everything needs to be handmade or if necessary thrifted"

one of my new years resolutions. 

Surprisingly it went really well. For eleven months all I bought was four items of underwear and nothing else, than the weather got freezing over here in the UK and I caved and bought three heat tech pairs of leggings, a jumper, a skirt and a long sleeved shirt. 

But even buying these few items was hard. The amount of times I went into shops, picked something out and put it back again because I decided that I really didn't need it or that it wasn't perfect enough! 

Still, new clothes still found other ways into my wardrobe. My friend Lisa gave me one of her dresses when she cleared out her closet and made me a wooly hat for my birthday. My friend Ruth gave me a stripy top she didn't like on herself, but fit me perfectly and my friend Zoe payed me in garments when I helped out and made accessories for her. Winning!

In addition to that I made a pair of shorts, a skirt and a top that can also be worn as a skirt. All fabric used was already in my fabric boxes and shorts and top were made with naturally dyed and printed cotton fabric. In the summer I decided that the shorts will fit my mum way better and gave them to her. It's all a big cycle and I wish we could have a clothes swap again. It is one of the easiest things to do and everyone ends up leaving happy with new and fun things to fill their wardrobe. When my friend Birgit came to visit after the summer, I let her go through my stash of clothes put aside for the next swap. 

Clothes fill up landfills as we go through them so quickly now that fashion is changing every other month. At some point you realise that you can live with a lot less, get pretty creative and actually use what fills your wardrobe rather than forgetting half of the items you keep in there. 

I'm planning on sticking to everything I've learnt last year. Should the necessity to buy something come up, there will be questions:

• Do I really need it - as in really, really. you'd be surprised how many times you'll put it back
• Do I like it and does it fit me - cut, fabric, colours, etc
• What can I wear it with - can I layer it and make it work in different seasons
• How well is it made - this kills it most of the time as I usually inspect seems, buttons, etc

Going into overcrowded shops and being pushed around by the crowds on busy shopping streets or malls, to be honest I haven't missed a thing. The only time I was really bummed out to be missing is when Marc Jacobs had 70% off haha

Here's to a creative 2013 and creating less waste!

new years resolutions

Contrary to popular believe I have not given up on this space here.
Just needed some time off and three days in the countryside gave me new energy to start writing again.
Too much has been on my mind lately but I'll start off with resolutions for this year :)
Here goes...

• 2013 is a year of skirts and dresses
• shop local and buy seasonal
• learn to can food - pickles, jams, relishes, etc
• write letters and cards
• take more photos and get way better at it
• take more time out to spend in the word of God
• refuse, reduce, recycle
• be daring (this is a weird one but to me it means a lot!)

I'll elaborate on all of them in another post but these are the goals I want to tackle this year and I'm quite excited about. As many will notice there is a theme of sustainability running through this once again. 

Hope everyone's years has started with a bang and is off to become one of the best. 

Happy weekend everyone x